I feed my crickets turnip greens or collard greens, and uncooked oatmeal, and some rat pellets for added protein. Allie's not having any reactions to the oatmeal or rat pellets. I'm wondering if I can give the crickets dry dog food to give them more variety and what kind if so? (I do know they pass the nutrients to her since I gutload them before giving them to her.)
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Cricket feeding help
- Thread starter Noella
- Start date
- Messages
- 833
- Location
- Indiana
Hi, dog food is not recommended.
Grinding your own ingredients is the way to go. Its intially expensive but you can control what you want in it
Here is a list of what i typically put in my gut load.
alfalfa
powdered kelp
air dried, shredded dandelion leaves
sunflower seeds
sesame seed
raw pumpkin and squash seeds
dried mixed cranberries and blueberries
ground (dead and dry) garry oak and maple tree leaves
roasted seaweed
hemp seed
bee pollen
spirulina
brewers yeast
slivered raw almonds
dried coconut
dried banana
millet
poppy seeds
ginger powder
boab fruit powder
couple times a month some powder milk
couple times a month a little fish food
lintels
split peas
variety of beans
oatmeal
flaxseed
I dont personally use water crystals either. They get hydration from vegetables and fruits.
Grinding your own ingredients is the way to go. Its intially expensive but you can control what you want in it
Here is a list of what i typically put in my gut load.
alfalfa
powdered kelp
air dried, shredded dandelion leaves
sunflower seeds
sesame seed
raw pumpkin and squash seeds
dried mixed cranberries and blueberries
ground (dead and dry) garry oak and maple tree leaves
roasted seaweed
hemp seed
bee pollen
spirulina
brewers yeast
slivered raw almonds
dried coconut
dried banana
millet
poppy seeds
ginger powder
boab fruit powder
couple times a month some powder milk
couple times a month a little fish food
lintels
split peas
variety of beans
oatmeal
flaxseed
I dont personally use water crystals either. They get hydration from vegetables and fruits.
Augie
Juvenile Dragon
- Messages
- 534
- Location
- San Antonio TX
I concur about dog food. Good for raising feeders, but not good during gut loading. Got some good advice from Germ on that. High protein is ok for raising feeders, but not for gut loading them within 24 hours of a feeding. I too would prefer to use veggies over crystals, but its a matter of cost vs convenience.
On a side note, there is some talk about how well your feeder colony will do on a high protein diet over a long enough timeline. Some experienced "feeder breeders" do not feed their colonies high protein diets because they feel it weakens the stock over a long period of time. They compare it akin to feeding a baby large amounts of fat. Sure, they will grow, but how well will that suit a colony over time? It all depends on what you want to accomplish either long or short term.
On a side note, there is some talk about how well your feeder colony will do on a high protein diet over a long enough timeline. Some experienced "feeder breeders" do not feed their colonies high protein diets because they feel it weakens the stock over a long period of time. They compare it akin to feeding a baby large amounts of fat. Sure, they will grow, but how well will that suit a colony over time? It all depends on what you want to accomplish either long or short term.
