Crickets don't like carrot?

[kwmc]

I put 2 pieces of baby carrots and a slice of orange in the cricket cage yesterday. The orange is almost gone but 2 carrots seem like not being eaten. Is orange alone good enough for guyloading? Thanks.

 

[jordanebert89]

your crickets just must not like them i put two in my cage and they were gone in a day and a half.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Is orange alone good enough for guyloading?

Orange alone or even with carrots are not enough for gutloading in the slightest. The goal of gutloading is to provide all the nutrients that your chameleon needs, especially calcium. Neither oranges or carrots have any significant calcium value. They are good for vitamin A and C and oranges are good for hydration, but you need lots of other things too.

Gutloading ingredients should be chosen that are higher in calcium than phosphorus. High phosphorus levels in the food impedes calcium absorption. Inadequate dietary calcium leads to metabolic bone disease. Commercially available gutloads (such as Fluker Farms Cricket Food) are not balanced or sufficient for good nutrition in any species. Ideally there should be a wet and dry component to your gut load:

Good Wet Gutloading Ingredients: dandelion leaves, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, escarole lettuce, butternut squash, carrots, mango, alfalfa sprouts, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, sweet potato, strawberries, hibiscus leaves and flowers, papaya

Good Dry Gutload Ingredients: bee pollen, alfalfa powder, kelp powder, brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, raw uncooked sunflower seeds, raw uncooked pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, small amounts of whole grain cereals, spirulina algae, tortoise pellets

Foods to AVOID: Broccoli, spinach, beets, and parsley, have large amounts of oxalic acids which bind calcium absorption. Lettuces and cabbage do not have any significant nutritional value. Also, avoid things like dog food, cat food, and fish flakes which are high in animal proteins which can cause kidney damage. Feeding such things like pinky-mice, fuzzies, and feeder anoles that are extremely high in fat and protein content is harmful to your chameleon's health, bones and organs that can lead to serious illnesses like gout, edema, organ failure and fatality.

This site has nutritional info on many commonly available fruits and veggies to help guide you in choosing good gut loading ingredients: http://www.greenigsociety.org/foodchart.htm
Sandrachameleon has a wealth of wonderful blog entries on gut loading and nutrition.

 

[kwmc]

Thanks ferretinmyshoes. I will try to get some dandelion leaves. I am planning to switch to dry guyload next week with grounded sesame seeds and raw uncooked sunflower seeds.

 

[Robyrango]

The crickets I get will eat me as well if they could!!

 

[CKC32327]

I think the best think for "guyloading" is beer

 

[jannb]

If you shred the carrots they will eat them. I feed carrots to my feeders just about weekly along with other veggies and dry gutload.

 

[kwmc]

I bought some dandelion leaves yesterday and they love it!!! I will finish those baby carrots myself instead.

One question, today is the third day I have crickets (around 50 I would say) with me but they are kind of smelly now. Any way to get rid of the odour? I did remove unconsumed veggie daily. Thanks in advance.