Fresh outta carrots for gutloading.

kyle0417

Established Member
I've got some other fruits and veggies to feed my crickets though. Need to know if I can use any of the following:
radish
cucumber
oranges
romaine lettuce
 
Ii wasn't sure about radishes but the rest are good. Also, dandelion greens are a good gutload and free this time of year.
Yeah. That was my first option, until I looked outside. Not one dandelion. Not even one. I was concerned.
 
Dandelion is very high in oxalates. Definitely a great gutload, but shouldn't be overused. Most/all greens have something whether it's high oxalates or goitrogens that make eating the same kind each day potentially problematic. Hence why variety is so important when it comes to fruits/veggies.
 
Dandelion is very high in oxalates. Definitely a great gutload, but shouldn't be overused. Most/all greens have something whether it's high oxalates or goitrogens that make eating the same kind each day potentially problematic. Hence why variety is so important when it comes to fruits/veggies.
Was not aware... thank you. I have seen them listed as a very good gutload. I have probably been over ushering them this spring.
 
@NickTide I wouldn't worry too much, oxalates are found everywhere. Just keep a balance.

I've been wondering if the high rate of veiled mbd cases among other things has an relation to the amount of pothos they eat. People always have veileds stripping pothos plants which are also high in oxalates to the point of toxicity in cats/dogs. Apparently these bind to calcium, which could lead to mbd. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, just been something on my mind.

And to go completely off the rails here, I wonder how important most of the gutload we offer even is. I'd imagine 99% of the insects they eat in the wild feed on nectar, pollen, other insects(which probably have a very limited diet), etc. I still like to offer a gutload mix, but I'd think the variety of healthy insects is just as/more important than gutload. Since different nutrients make up different species of insect. We have the ability to offer such a wide range of highly nutritious gutloads, nothing in the wild comes close. But the one thing we can't replicate are the hundreds of different insects the chameleons come across in a day. Feeding 12+ different feeders doesn't come close to that. So I wonder if our gutloads are almost too nutritious. Even humans shouldn't eat an abundance of the same greens each day and we are much larger.
 
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