Dubia Gutloading (cat food)

[adamb94]

I just started my Dubia colony. I set up a bin with a black light connected in series to a thermostat set for 90F.
I have placed some cereal in there for them to eat, but I read somewhere about using cat food? Can it be any kind, like with tuna? or does it need to be dry?

 

[Jonas]

Cat food COULD be a part of the crickets everyday staple food, but that is not the same as gutload. As gutload, catfood is bad.

 

[adamb94]

roaches...

 

[Surfrat]

Dry dog or cat food is fine for the roaches while trying to breed them. However you do not want to feed them to the chams while they are eating it. I use dog food and grind it up pretty fine and then put it in their enclosure. Works great for them/

 

[sandrachameleon]

Any kind of cat or dog food (canned or kibbles) or a boiled egg are fine for helping your roach colony grow. Do not use this to feed the roaches when you start feeding them off to the chameleons.
Roaches also like fruit, vegetables, seeds, bark and leaves, bee pollen, seaweed, ... You can feed them much like you might feed crickets.

 

[Pure]

My Hissers don't touch dry dog food. Just moved over to puree' left over steak..Talk about disgusting. It turns into a pale brownish pink goo, but at least they like it.

 

[Sang]

Any kind of dog food/cat food is going to be high in protien, be very careful as this can eventually cause problems in the long run of things for you animals that are eating them.

 

[xanthoman]

when you order complete colonies many places ship with a brown crumbly powder that is just crushed dry dog food , i wouldnt feed off of your colony while using dog food , once it is well established you can just feed your roaches normal gutload , theyre roaches they will eat most things

 

[Zen Reptiles]

I've heard so many people say not to feed your cham a roach if there is dogfood in their stomachs - why?

I understand that gutloading with vegetables adds great nutritional value, but does dog/cat food cause a problem?

I use mostly bee pollen, high quality koi fish pellets, wheat germ, flax seed, and dulce seaweed powder and fresh veggies/fruit every 2 days. I don't specifically gutload though, just whatever they get they get.

Also, I heard ferret food was an even better source of protein than dog/cat food.

 

[Chameleonboy]

Feed them as much protein as you would like it is good to boost your colony. BUT when feeding roaches to your chameleon make sure you gutload your roaches with some sort of gutload(carrots apples bananna) that is what I like to use but you can be creative and do different things yourself. Keep in mind that what your crickets and roaches eat your chameleon eats as well.

You should be gutloading for about 48-72 hrs.

-Clemonde

 

[xanthoman]

I've heard so many people say not to feed your cham a roach if there is dogfood in their stomachs - why?

I understand that gutloading with vegetables adds great nutritional value, but does dog/cat food cause a problem?

I use mostly bee pollen, high quality koi fish pellets, wheat germ, flax seed, and dulce seaweed powder and fresh veggies/fruit every 2 days. I don't specifically gutload though, just whatever they get they get.

Also, I heard ferret food was an even better source of protein than dog/cat food.

my understanding is that too much of the wrong types of protein cause gout or gular edema. if you really want to know and she doesnt chime in , i would shoot sandrachameleon a pm she seems to be one of the forums most knowledgeable on nutritional issues

 

[Jonas]

my understanding is that too much of the wrong types of protein cause gout or gular edema. if you really want to know and she doesnt chime in , i would shoot sandrachameleon a pm she seems to be one of the forums most knowledgeable on nutritional issues

This was discussed in another thread. The chameleon cant get gout from this, because the protein-rich cat food is not there when the chameleon eat the insect. If i were to eat you whole today, there wouldnt be any breast milk in your system (I hope?), right?

 

[Chameleonboy]

my understanding is that too much of the wrong types of protein cause gout or gular edema. if you really want to know and she doesnt chime in , i would shoot sandrachameleon a pm she seems to be one of the forums most knowledgeable on nutritional issues

This was discussed in another thread. The chameleon cant get gout from this, because the protein-rich cat food is not there when the chameleon eat the insect. If i were to eat you whole today, there wouldnt be any breast milk in your system (I hope?), right?

And that us why you are supposed to gutload your roaches for about 48-72 hrs prior to feeding. You can feed your roaches as much protein as you want just gutload them with veggies and your chameleon will not get gout.

-Clemonde

 

[Jonas]

Yup, when it come to roaches, i could even stop using cat food earlier tghan that, it's mainly in the beginning where I want the bugs to grow fast that I would find a need for high-prodein diet anyway.

 

[Crazy Pet Lady]

I've heard so many people say not to feed your cham a roach if there is dogfood in their stomachs - why?

I understand that gutloading with vegetables adds great nutritional value, but does dog/cat food cause a problem?

I use mostly bee pollen, high quality koi fish pellets, wheat germ, flax seed, and dulce seaweed powder and fresh veggies/fruit every 2 days. I don't specifically gutload though, just whatever they get they get.

Also, I heard ferret food was an even better source of protein than dog/cat food.

I think it's because dog food contains animal proteins that they (chams) cannot digest. Just a thought.....