Gutloading with Calcium or Herptivite
- Thread starter rcutchens
- Start date
Jono
New Member
The cricket feed you use should have everything in it. The easiest thing to do is to use a store bought cricket food that is formulated to provide the calcium, vitamins etc. You should still be giving fresh stuff along with that but you won't need as much. If you do it right there should be no need supplement at all although under artificial lights this can be a challenge for things like D3 which will need ingested in larger amounts as it is not metabolized as efficiently.
I treat my crickets like kings and haven't used supplements/dusting for more than a year now (but my chams have unfiltered sunlight most of the day). The only extra thing I do is once every month or so I give a tiny bit of codliver oil.
I treat my crickets like kings and haven't used supplements/dusting for more than a year now (but my chams have unfiltered sunlight most of the day). The only extra thing I do is once every month or so I give a tiny bit of codliver oil.
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
In disagreeance with you on this. But to each his own on how you want to raise your chameleon. Just gutload your crickets with fresh veggies and fruits and follow the supplementation guidelines on here for calcium without d3, with d3 and multi and you should do just fine. We all do!!! Most of our chameleons do fantastic on this schedule. Hey, alls we can do is provide you the info from our experiences. There can always be things lurking on the inside that we cannot see, and that's where maybe supplementation comes in and plays a part.
I do not agree either. Even though extensive research is scarce I think any experienced hobbyist and successful keeper will disagree that store bought gutloads are ever nearly complete. And extra supplementation is a necessity if you want to prevent MBD, especially in females laying eggs and especially under artificial light. You are lucky to be able to offer yours real UVB but without that I would never limit my gutload.
I add all kinds of dry stuff to the flukers gutload so that it's only half their stuff and always have fresh fruits and veggies in there. And I dust them regularly with Ca (no D3) and every other week with either a multivitamin or Ca + D3. To answer the original question I also add some of the supplements into the gutload...but I don't know how much data there is to support if it actually helps or not. Crickets don't really eat that much total so unless they really chow down on that one thing I wouldn't think it'd be enough to really provide what they need. jmho
Reptile have very slow metabolism, just because you haven't seen any problems for a year doesn't mean you won't down the road... Not to diss you or anything, I'm glad your husbandry setup is working well for you, but everyone has their own opinion on husbandry issues and yours happens to not be the majority most of the time.
Obama the cham
New Member
i aint even had a cham a year and im with yall on this one, dust(depending on vit) and gutload REGULARLY!!!
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Feeding much calcium supplement to a cricket will kill it.
Supplements should be dusted on insects, as a supplementary additive. Gutloading PROPERLY with the right fruits and vegetables, etc is KEY. A store bought gutoad is rarely adequate
Supplements should be dusted on insects, as a supplementary additive. Gutloading PROPERLY with the right fruits and vegetables, etc is KEY. A store bought gutoad is rarely adequate
SSimsswiSS
Avid Member
Yes, I agree Sunshine, and what you feed the feeders go's a long ways. My girlfriend thinks my insects eat better than me.
Back to the original question: Everything in moderation. Nature usually has ways to balance everything out. Stuffing insects with too much calcium will kill them. This is why the preferable method of calcium delivery is through lightly dusting the insect food prey.
rcutchens
New Member
Thanks you all for the feedback; as always, it's greatly appreciated. I also want to apologize for dwelling so much on supplementation as of late. I have to admit that I have become overly concerned about MBD issues and just want to do everything possible to help ensure Rico is never afflicted with any. I know there's always a risk regardless of what is done.
Just so everyone knows, we only use Rep-Cal brand supplements for Rico and his primary feeders are crickets and an occasional superworm; maybe one once a week. His supplementation schedule is as follows:
Rep-Cal Calcium w/o Vit D3 – Daily
Rep-Cal Calcium w/ Vit D3 – Once every other week (Every 14 days)
Rep-Cal Herptivite – Once every other week (Every 14 days)
As for a light source, we use a Reptisun 5.0 tube light in the hood and he spends the majority of his day within 12 inches or less of it.
As for gutloading, we use a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as oats but have been using more vegetables as of late, particularly carrots and collard greens, but have also been offering apples. I’m never sure if the crickets are “sufficiently” gutloaded, however, and I’m not sure how to best tell.
Again, thanks for everyone’s feedback.
Just so everyone knows, we only use Rep-Cal brand supplements for Rico and his primary feeders are crickets and an occasional superworm; maybe one once a week. His supplementation schedule is as follows:
Rep-Cal Calcium w/o Vit D3 – Daily
Rep-Cal Calcium w/ Vit D3 – Once every other week (Every 14 days)
Rep-Cal Herptivite – Once every other week (Every 14 days)
As for a light source, we use a Reptisun 5.0 tube light in the hood and he spends the majority of his day within 12 inches or less of it.
As for gutloading, we use a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as oats but have been using more vegetables as of late, particularly carrots and collard greens, but have also been offering apples. I’m never sure if the crickets are “sufficiently” gutloaded, however, and I’m not sure how to best tell.
Again, thanks for everyone’s feedback.
