Cricket dust?? what to use

[squirt]

Right now I have Leopard Gecko Dust by T-rex it is an ICB. I also just bought Zoo Med's Reptivite which is a reptile vitamin... I need to know if they are the same thing or what???... HELP PLEASE :main_thumbsup:

 

[acpart]

I assume they probably have many of the same ingredients --you could do a comparison by label. I would trust Reptivite more. I know their vitamin A is from betacarotene which is a better way for the animals to get vitamin A. I'd go with the reptivite.

Aliza

 

[squirt]

:main_huh: Do you think they are the same things? ? ?

 

[OSUgecko]

I have both bottles sitting in front of me... actually both of these supplements use straight Vitamin A (acetate) as their vitamin source, not B-carotene. After comparing the contents, I would say that Reptivite is much more concentrated than the T-Rex brand, which makes sense because the T-Rex powder is supposed to be used with every feeding. Reptivite also seemed to use more "straight" ingredients (i.e., straight folic acid, etc.) whereas T-Rex used ingredients that would contain these vitamins.

If the T-Rex formula was based off of accurate nutritional needs information about leos, I would definately go with that and just feed it more often. However, I'm not sure that there has ever been a comprehensive leo nutritional study done before. You might alternate feeding both supplements to cover any gaps in either product, erring on the side of undersupplementation in your rotation schedule. (Vitamin toxicosis can be just as big of a problem as not getting the vitamins in the first place!)

 

[acpart]

Sorry, I got mixed up between Reptivite and Herptivite (since their calcium supplement is called Repcal). Whatever I said about vitamin A is true of herptivite, not reptivite.

Aliza

 

[OSUgecko]

:main_thumbsup:

 

[squirt]

So they are about the same thing... Should I dont dust the crickets ALL the time?... they run around the tank for some time b4 they finally dissapear...i dont know if that is a good thing or a bad....:main_huh: hmmm..... all i know is she seems happy... she doesnt hide in the half a log I bought her or the coconut BUT she does "hide"/sit under her fake plant and sleep the day away... .....

 

[OSUgecko]

You should dust the crickets when you feed your gecko at least once a week. If you want to use both formulas, you could maybe dust the crickets once a week with Reptivite, and then rotate to using the T-Rex formula twice a week the next week, then back to Reptivite, etc. That way you won't (hopefully) miss any needed supplements.

You shouldn't leave the crickets in your gecko's enclosure for more than 24 hours - if they get hungry, they may start chewing on your gecko! Pull them all out after 24 hours and put them back in the container you store them in. Let them gut-load again, and then put them back in with your gecko. Try to only put as many crickets as your gecko can eat in a night in there at one time. You can "pinch" the cricket's legs to make it easier for your gecko to catch them if you want, but they will probably still run like mad around the enclosure for a while then hide... that's normal.

 

[squirt]

well for some reason it seems as though once they lose their big back legs they die soon after.... I havent been having good luck with keeping them alive. I just bought a little container for the crickets annnnd petco just so happened to give me crickets that sing DAY and NIGHT.... ~amber

 

[OSUgecko]

What is their container like? What are you feeding them?

 

[squirt]

the cotainer is made for like bugs, lizards soo on.... it's small... and I am feeding them pieces of lettuce from time to time..I think they were to busy eating eachother.... that was the problem....

 

[OSUgecko]

Don't feed them lettuce, it's not worth much in the way of nutrition. Try carrots or dog food, those are much more nutritious food sources. Do you have a water source in there too? Crickets do have a tendency to kill each other, but make sure that it's not just because they're hungry or thirsty!

 

[Crystal Lynn]

Cricket wise, they also have special stuff to feed them, that comes in different colors and is like gel. Sometimes that's easier. They also have little sticks that you can throw in the cage. That has the water they need built right in. But yeah, carrots, dog/kitten food works well, too. And about dusting them, you can shake em around in a bag with which ever vitamin supply method you decide to make sure it gets all over them. Just make sure there isn't D3 in it, because that has been known to poison geckos if given too much. D3 every now and then can be good though. Hmm... and about your gecko, they are nocturnal so her sleeping throughout the day is normal. If you're worried she's not eating, take her out and feed her a few times in a separate container just to make sure she gets a chance to get them. Crickets have a tendency to find the hardest, best hiding spots. Stupid bugs. And if the darn things are keeping you up, you can consider going to mealworms which I'm sure you gecko would still like. Plus, that way she could get to them easier, and if you get them the right bowl, they won't wonder throughout her cage. Plus you can keep them in the fridge and use them when you need to. They don't smell really either. Let me know!

 

[OSUgecko]

The cricket gels actually have less nutritional value than lettuce (there was a thread about this in the Feeders section recently) and they're awfully pricey. I wouldn't use them to feed your crickets. It's a whole lot cheaper to put a little bit of water in a pop bottle cap and buy a bag of carrots.

D3 is not a bad thing in small amounts. While there hasn't been a study to determine if geckos need D3 to metabolize calcium, a lot of reptiles need it, so it can't hurt to supplement your leos with some of it as well. Reptivite and T-Rex both have D3, but as long as you're not giving them the Reptivite every day (although you can do that with the T-Rex) and you're not making either vitamin powder available free choice to your leos, you should be fine.

Mealworms are a lot easier to feed. If you are still having problems with crickets after trying out the different foods, I would switch entirely over to mealworms. It would probably be less hassle for you anyway.

 

[squirt]

I was told by her previous owner that she is picky and won't eat them... she only eats crickets..... over the last few days she has been doing well....AND the crickets are still alive... and they eat the lettuce right up.... hmmm and i figured that the lettuce would even have water in it...sooooo let me know if it is really a big deal if I Do feed them it

 

[Inlovewithherps]

I feed my crickets spring mix baby lettuce and they love it. They also get cricket gutload, dogfood, carrot, potato and apple (for a water source) Cheerios and wheat bran cereal. Dog food is their favorite.
You can pinch off the back legs of the crickets and put them in a feeding bowl with some mealworms and see if they eat them. Mealworms are so much easier to feed.
I buy medium crickets and they don't sing. I made the mistake of buying larges once and now we have about a thousand little itty bitty baby crickets.. :main_rolleyes:

 

[OSUgecko]

Don't JUST feed them lettuce because it will not increase their nutritional value for your gecko very much at all. Eva's cricket diet is pretty much ideal - the more variety the better, although you can definately get by with just feeding one or two types of food.

Some leos are picky, but if they get hungry enough most of them lose that picky streak pretty quick! After she eats all the crickets you have, you might try putting a bowl of mealies in her cage and just not feeding her anything else for a while. It sounds harsh, but as long as she's in good health and not a baby it won't hurt her to go without eating, even for a couple of weeks.

If she is losing weight at that point and is still completely uninterested, I guess you're stuck with crickets.

 

[squirt]

well when I got her from her previous owner she said that she was underweight b/c of trying to breed her.... i think by the looks of pics..that her tail is kinda tiny......and I dont mind the crickets I just dont like the singing at all hours of the night..... alsoooo I just checked the crickets*got home from work* annnnd about 4 of them were half eaten by the other ones...Gross

 

[Cheaton]

The cricket gels actually have less nutritional value than lettuce (there was a thread about this in the Feeders section recently) and they're awfully pricey. I wouldn't use them to feed your crickets. It's a whole lot cheaper to put a little bit of water in a pop bottle cap and buy a bag of carrots.

D3 is not a bad thing in small amounts. While there hasn't been a study to determine if geckos need D3 to metabolize calcium, a lot of reptiles need it, so it can't hurt to supplement your leos with some of it as well. Reptivite and T-Rex both have D3, but as long as you're not giving them the Reptivite every day (although you can do that with the T-Rex) and you're not making either vitamin powder available free choice to your leos, you should be fine.

Mealworms are a lot easier to feed. If you are still having problems with crickets after trying out the different foods, I would switch entirely over to mealworms. It would probably be less hassle for you anyway.

Not to mention the cricket gel stuff contains chemicals which my wife has to wear gloves to handle in the lab she works in.......:main_robin:

 

[squirt]

OH!