Does anyone know how to DIY Bug Burger / Insect Chow?

[Ilike4hornedchams]

So I am a big fan of repashy Bug Burger. I even tweak it by adding a little repashy Gutload to the mix sometimes. However with so many insects I am breeding to keep my chams healthy and happy, I find it really expensive and I go through a pound of it really fast now...

I have found some pretty great resources on here before and I was wondering if anyone had a DIY replacement recipe they would care to share? I just want to experiment / try to save some money so anything would help thank you!

 

[Syreptyon]

I'm not personally a fan of Bug Burger or similar products. Without fail, their top ingredients are made from corn or grain, which are smack in the middle of the "Avoid These Ingredients" section on the forum's gutloading/feeding resource page.

I do know, however, that some people will buy their own fresh produce, chop it all up, mix it together, and then freeze it in an ice cube tray. Then take out a cube at a time (or however many you need) to offer your feeders as needed. Not sure about a homemade dry gutload, though!

 

[insectovore]

we've come a long way since the days where most insects were fed bran right up until feeding time. I grind up a lot of my own ingredients using non medicated chic feed as the basis for most of what I feed to insects. I will mix in whole grain ground cereals and I always have a caroteniod source because the research I've seen shows captive raised insects tend to have far less caroteniods than wild ones. For this I put some spirulina in the dry feed and for the wet foods I am using oranges, sweet potatoes & carrots ground up, leafy greens, etc. At least once a week I would separate some feeders for 24-48 hours and feed them an 8%ish calcium food item (you can just grind in extra calcium) or you can purchase a ready made gutload like superpig

 

[Curlytails]

So I am a big fan of repashy Bug Burger. I even tweak it by adding a little repashy Gutload to the mix sometimes. However with so many insects I am breeding to keep my chams healthy and happy, I find it really expensive and I go through a pound of it really fast now...

I have found some pretty great resources on here before and I was wondering if anyone had a DIY replacement recipe they would care to share? I just want to experiment / try to save some money so anything would help thank you!

apples collard greens carrots potatoes bee pollen glycerine and sometimes a sprinkling of multivitamin and tropical fruit peels is all it takes

 

[jamest0o0]

Dude do this, it makes life so much easier(and cheaper)... get a smaller bin for whichever feeders you'll be using over the next couple weeks. I put cleaner beetles in along with superworms, orangeheads, ivoryheads, dubia, discoid, etc. They all do fine together. Then I just add my high quality gutload mixes to this, I only have to use a small amount and they get top notch ingredients in their diet for days/weeks before they are fed off. It makes it easier to gutload with precision and I'm still on the same batches I bought/made almost a year ago.

My main colonies just get some large organic carrots, oranges, scraps/extras 1-2x a week. I usually get a big bag of carrots for like $3 and that last a couple weeks. Gets them moisture and nutrients and doesnt mold. About 1x a month or so I'll add a protein source like bee pollen or seeds. I have 14 different roach species, 7 isopod species, superworms, and snails.

 

[Ilike4hornedchams]

I'm going to have to try some of this stuff. I've been weening myself of bug burger for about a month now and I'm almost not using it at all now and this all give me a lot of hope

 

[kelly_girl199]

I'm not personally a fan of Bug Burger or similar products. Without fail, their top ingredients are made from corn or grain, which are smack in the middle of the "Avoid These Ingredients" section on the forum's gutloading/feeding resource page.

I do know, however, that some people will buy their own fresh produce, chop it all up, mix it together, and then freeze it in an ice cube tray. Then take out a cube at a time (or however many you need) to offer your feeders as needed. Not sure about a homemade dry gutload, though!

Food dehydrator . I even added different fruits, lots of green veggies, oats, and I actually added a little repashy superload abd cricket crack(to get some protein in) the cricket crack alone is too high in protein for roaches. But in small amounts I think it's fine. But if you are going to do a dry gutload make sure you use alot ot greens low in oxalate such as collard greens, mustard greens, green beans ect. I even added some organic spring mix, and a little organic seaweed. They seam yo like it pretty good. But the goal is variety in my opinion. I had quite the list of organic veggies to my gutload.

 

[Andee]

I make my own, vegetarian gutload and is not got a corn or wheat base. 20+ ingredients. And it takes me only 2 hours or so to grind about 3 lbs.