I Need Your Advice!

[BigTex]

i just placed my first order of crickets with reptilefood.com 500 will be arriving shortly. i have never had to take care of so many crickets and i was wondering how much food i am going to need to provide? also i can not afford to buy expensive gut load. so what foods should i provide that will act as a healthy gut load for such a large number of crickets?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

healthy breakfast cereals, dark leafy greens, squash, carrot peelings apple cores, etc.
If you eat healthy food you should have a lot to choose from in your kitchen.

-Brad

 

[BigTex]

how about oat meal? and yes i have kale, carrots, apples and grapes

 

[Brad]

You will find some good reading on the subject here: Chameleon News
Check the nutrition category.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Oatmeal is okay.
Stay away from using:
brocolli
spinich
dog food
cat food
fish food

Make sure you check and change the fresh foods often so they don't mold.
If you are constantly supplying your crickets with fresh produce you won't need to worry about an additional water source.

-Brad

 

[BigTex]

what is the reason for staying away from fish food?

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Besides the obvious (it's formulated for fish)
You run the possible risk of hypervtaminosis. Particularly with pre-formed vitamin A.
Edema and Gout have sometimes been attributed to fish, dog or cat food in the gut-load as well.

-Brad