confused about gutloading mealies

[scottd]

i was wondering what the stuff is that the mealies come in? does it hold any nutrients? i mean the cereal like substance that you buy them in from the pet store. i have always gutloaded crickets but after reading these forums i decided to add more mealies to the diet. just confused on the gutload part. do most of you add veggies because the mealies you got came without food? are the mealies i have been giving my geckos no good without gutload? just a few pointers and id appriciate it. thanks, scott.

 

[Baker14]

Most pet stores sell emalworms with sawdust, wood shaving. That is not nutritiious and is not proper gutload. The member LeopardBreeder has a homemade blend that he sells which I will buy soon that would work. For right now, I use 1/2 to 3/4 of oatmeal in the container with potatoes/apples/veggies.

 

[scottd]

how long can i leave the fruit n veggies in the oatmeal before it goes bad? or should i just put them on the veggies and fruit and store them in the oatmeal seperately? im really clueless on this process, like i said i was a cricket guy

 

[Baker14]

I keep the oatmeal i the container as long as the mealworms last. They last about 2 weeks. I say change the oatmeal every 2-3 weeks. Keep fresh veggies/potatoe slices in the container at all times. After a day or two, take the old veggies/potatoe slices out and replace them.

 

[scottd]

cool thats what i needed to know. i was thinking ewww the veggies gotta get gross in there!

 

[acpart]

If you have enough mealworms, you won't have to replace the veggies --they eat them up. A few years ago I was trying to make my own gutload by getting a wide variety of grains and nuts from the local food coop (mostly from a list I found in a now defunct website) and grinding them up in the blender. My mealworms started to die! I don't think I was feeding them anything toxic; I think the stuff was too high on nuts and too oily so they were getting clogged up and suffocating. Now I use progeckos gutload and both the mealworms and geckos are growing really well.

Aliza

 

[Leopardbreeder]

My gutload has various wheat, fruits, and veggies in it. I just leave my worms in a big container of it.

 

[geckonoob]

Here's a picture of my mealworm set-up:

Oatmeal, Cereal (2 kinds), Crushed dog food and a Carrot

I replace the carrot with a chopped version after 4-5 days.. if you don't replace the carrot it gets mouldy..

 

[andypg3]

With a setup like above, do you store them outside the fridge?

It seems like they wouldn't be active enough to eat and move like that.

 

[Leopardbreeder]

Is that Coco Puffs?