Gut loading; homemade mix, premix, or alternate?

[rothsauce]

Curious what y'all gut load your feeders with.

I've read in some places that things like Bug Burger should not be a staple gut loading method, that it should be rotated with fresh foods in later feeders.
Is this an accurate statement?
Buying fresh ingredients is not a problem, but I am wondering how many use premixes and/or fresh ingredients; and whether it is exclusively one method or the other, or a rotation of a few different sources (multiple premixes, alternating different homemade ingredient mixes, etc).
Also, what are some of the drawbacks to premixes, or maybe fresh foods if some have had negative experiences there.

 

[acpart]

I use pre-made gutload I buy in bulk from progeckos.com. In addition I give the crickets orange peels and the mealworms and superworms lots of fresh veggies left over from my cooking (the raw veggie parings,not the cooked veggies). I used to make my own gutload but I was using too much oily stuff like nuts, I guess, and the mealworms got all stuffed up and died.

Aliza

 

[indyana]

Bug Burger is more designed as a maintenance diet than a gutload, although you can certainly gutload with it if you want. SuperLoad is designed as a gut load and, conversely, should not be used as a steady feeder maintenance diet for a colony.

I use different steady diet ratios for different insect colonies; I'll go into that if you're interested, but you seem to be specifically asking about gutloading. What's great for gutloading doesn't always work as a colony maintenance diet.

For specifically gutloading feeders to be fed to my gecko in the coming week, I use MS2 chow mixed with SuperLoad and feed a bunch of fresh veggies and fruit as well. I tend to "stage" feeders for the coming week in a different container, especially for the dubia roaches, as I have to spend time hunting ones the right size out of my colony.

I don't make my own mixes, as I don't really feel like spending the time to research proper nutrient ratios for each feeder species. Good quality commercial premixes have done all the research for you.

 

[staceyleigh]

I use a pre-made mix, also, Pro Gutload, Professional Reptiles Supply Store very easy to use and a reasonable price! I also add in carrots, apples and sweet pot. for moisture.

 

[Olympus]

I have the commercial diet Repashy Superload as my main dry gutload, and to it I will add in other commercial gutloads I have, such as Repashy Superpig and Dinofuel. All three have an excellent assortment of great ingredients, and Dinofuel for example has a lot of ingredients considered superfoods (it is a little pricy, but worth it to me. You are what you eat, after all.) I've used Bugburger before and liked it (it serves as food and water at the same time) but my roaches didn't care for it, so I stopped buying it.

In addition, since all three are dry gutloads, I will supplement with fresh fruits and veggies for all the insects as a source of moisture. So they will get things like carrots, apples, collard greens, mustard greens, oranges, squash, zucchini, alfalfa, pear, mango, strawberry, blueberry, banana, etc. The roaches appreciate sweet fruit more than the other feeders but everyone gets a bit of everything. I never use empty foods, like potato, everything that goes into the bins has to be worth something nutritionally.

I am a strong believer in raising colonies on a strong, well-rounded diet all the time, not just in the day or two before you feed them off. I think it makes for a better feeder over-all.

I think that if you look at the ingredient lists on the back of these products the good ones will jump out at you, just like you can probably tell what food is good for you at Publix. If you look on the back of a jar of Orange Cubes, for example, it's like 4 ingredients, and two are food coloring and gelatin. So avoid the commercial gutloads that are obviously junk, look for something better in your price range, mix in some fresh food, and I think you'll be in good shape.

 

[rothsauce]

Most the stores in my area are the chain stores, the specialty reptile store that isn't too far I'll have to check on again for different gut loading mixtures. I know they had many different types of powder mixes, but will have to look more closely for some of these new suggestions.
Right now I'm getting some mealies ready for a newly acquired juvenile, and while I am using BB at the moment I would prefer something else. The BB was recommended to me as the rep store said that it got the most interest from their mealies. I will likely go with the Pro Gutload and a few others for alternating after the just-came-home-from vet visit for a sickish cat is done taking effect.
Once the new baby gecko is more comfortable strolling around its new enclosure and hunting, I'll be adding crickets and dubias (assuming the rep store carries them; they should) to its diet.

Raising any colony right now is not an option; apartment complex and all that plus the room to safely do so just isn't here.

Thank you all for your replies! With so many different brands and mixes to try, hearing what different bugs tend to prefer and new brands to take a look at helps a lot.