Is this chicken feed okay to feed my mealies and supers?

[justin-branam]

Hey,

i went and bought a bag of chicken feed, but when i got home and opened it, it looked like little greenish colored chunks, rather than the sawdust looking stuff. Does this matter, or is their a certain brand i should buy?

normal stuff compared to the stuff i bought:

 

[robin]

ya they can eat chick mash but i notice allot of best bugs from chick mash. i generally use my own blend of oats and bran and some other high fiber stuff

 

[ReptileMan27]

If they eat to much of the new food, you will have super giant mealies lol

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Be VERY careful using chicken feed as a gutload. Chicken feed is made from non-human grade corn products which come from crops that have suffered from blight (a type of mold) or were stored in silohs that became wet and moldy. This mold is a form of aspergillus flavus, which is an aflatoxin.

The mold lies dormant in the germ of the corn kernels until it becomes wet, and begins to grow again. This toxic mold poses no danger to the crickets that eat it, but they can carry a large load in their bodies. When the leopard geckos (or other animals) eat these toxin-laden feeders, over time the aflatoxins will begin to poison them.

I know this because in 2001, I lost 17 out of 24 of my breeders that had become poisoned from eating crickets from a supplier that cultured them on moldy chicken mash. It was a horror beyond comprehension to watch my beloved geckos slowly die in this manner, and not know what was wrong.

It wasn't until Dr. Frederic L. Frye (the world's most renowned Reptile Pathologist) performed the 5th necropsy that he found that they had been poisoned. He had me send him a box of cricket feeders straight from the supplier, and they were loaded with aspergillus flavus. Needless to say, I stopped using that cricket supplier and was able to rehabilitate the other 7 of my geckos. (This is how I developed the GGG Slurry...)

So, if you chose to use chicken feed as your cricket and mealworm gut-load, KEEP IT DRY!!! A better choice might be using human-grade cereals and corn products for your feeder insects.

Here is some information on AFLATOXINS

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Be VERY careful using chicken feed as a gutload. Chicken feed is made from non-human grade corn products which come from crops that have suffered from blight (a type of mold) or were stored in silohs that became wet and moldy. This mold is a form of aspergillus flavus, which is an aflatoxin.

That is one of the MANY reason's I have become a vegetarian.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

That is one of the MANY reason's I have become a vegetarian.

It is true that chickens and beef cattle are affected by the aflatoxins in sub-grade corn and soy feed.

Another problem is with aflatoxins in non-human grade grain products in certain brands of dry dog food, along with non-pasteurized meat by-products that can become rancid... another reason not to use it as a gut load, either.

 

[justin-branam]

in this case, can anyone reccomend a good recipe for making my own feed? i imagine it would be stuff like, oats, flax seed, and stuff like that, but a recipe would be cool. thanks for the info.

looks like the local FFA gets a free bag of chicken feed!

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Justin, I use 10-grain cereal from the bulk bins at some large grocery stores, and add oatmeal, Cream-of-Wheat, Malt-O-Meal, etc.

 

[ReptileMan27]

That is one of the MANY reason's I have become a vegetarian.

I would rather die from eating meat then die without ever eating any meat:main_thumbsup:

 

[Scott&Nikki]

I would rather die from eating meat then die without ever eating any meat:main_thumbsup:

That's exactly what I said, almost word for word. Then I saw a video documentary on factory farms and that changed my mind instantly. I do not even miss meat, I've lost weight, I have more energy, and the other health benefits are enough for me to continue it. I'm not trying to "convert" you to being vegetarian, just explaining my end.

 

[robin]

i haven seen factory farms and even processing plants (really gross) and i still love my meat

 

[Scott&Nikki]

i haven seen factory farms and even processing plants (really gross) and i still love my meat

Lol yeah... that's how some people are. I just feel sick thinking about it.

 

[MischiefManaged]

I use Cody's Pro Gecko Gutload and I really like it. If you would rather make your own, you can combine dry oatmeal, dry baby cereal, Spirulina fish flakes, bran, protein powder (small scoop), and dry milk to make a decent gutload.

 

[justin-branam]

I use Cody's Pro Gecko Gutload and I really like it. If you would rather make your own, you can combine dry oatmeal, dry baby cereal, Spirulina fish flakes, bran, protein powder (small scoop), and dry milk to make a decent gutload.

ordered some of Cody's, so i'll see how it works out. thanks!