Concern with Oranges as Gutload

[Psychotic4mb3r]

It's better to know why then not knowing at all in certain cases

 

[Cainschams]

I was thinking more along the lines of squirting it on the cricket and placing it in the feeder bowl. My chams go for the food when it hits the bowl. Now "they can get sores from the acidity" makes sense to me not to do it.

I would not see the harm in it. Although roaches will consume a lot more fruits than crickets and be much cleaner about it. I usually feed my roaches and flies the fruits and crickets (also roaches get cricket crack) the cricket crack plus carrot, collards, mustards, kale, etc. Crickets seem to get messy with a high water content gutload such as fruits as opposed to the greens that have less water content in them. It seems more watery diets in the crickets produce a wetter poop which makes the container and the crix pretty rotten even if you do clean up frequently. It seems the roaches actually store more of their food and crix just go through it and that is how I come to that conclusion

 

[PardalisGirl]

I wouldn't

I wouldn't do it.....I don't think the chams like the taste of oranges anyway. Better for the cricket to eat it and pass the nutrition on....

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

I agree, citric acid burns people mouths if you eat to much of it. I can only imagine what it would do to a chameleons mouth after awhile. Just feed it to the food and it should work just fine.

 

[sandrachameleon]

While the arguments against make sense to me, I hadnt thought of those myself and many times over the years I have dipped crickets in juice. Not frequently. But certainly I've done it. Ive smeared pureed carrot and squash and such on them too. No harm came of it so far. But I doubt it's done much special good either. Really freshly gutloaded is much the same thing. I tend to use a good variety of gutload items. But I guess if I used a lot of acidic gutload all the time, it would have consequences.

 

[tglassburner]

I'd say when making a wet gutload to even grind the seeds in from citrus fruits just for good measure. I know it wouldn't be like extract but I'm sure it could help a little.

Can you explain how you make a wet gutload?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Can you explain how you make a wet gutload?

A wet gutload is any fresh fruit or vegetable.
There is really no "making" required. I try to feed my feeders a different fruit or veg every other day or so, to ensure a variety of nutrients are going into the chameleons via the guts of the feeders.