things you cannot gut load your feeders with....

[TroubleSome976]

so i know that you cannot gut load crickets with tomatos or it will killl your cham... so are there any other fruits, veggies, etc. that will kill a cham or be unhealthy to a cham if you gut load your feeders with them??? thank anyone in advanance....

 

[Dez]

avoid spinach and broccoli because they can block calcium absorption

Also I have heard melons should be avoided but I dont remember the reason

 

[TroubleSome976]

okay so then things like cilantro.... are good cuz i got some extra leftover from the ceviche that we made and i know its good for humans

 

[bradley]

Never heard of no tomatoes in all the years I have kept reptiles. I have used them before with no effect on the animals. Won't use them again though. I thought it was jut tomato plant leaves and if horn worms eat them.

 

[nobrate]

Never heard of no tomatoes in all the years I have kept reptiles. I have used them before with no effect on the animals. Won't use them again though. I thought it was jut tomato plant leaves and if horn worms eat them.

I've never heard of that either. I wouldn't stop unless we see a source on that

 

[TroubleSome976]

Yea, when my homeboy and I first got into chameleons, he read on howtokillyourchameleon.com that using tomatoes to gut load crickets would kill your chameleon then he passed the info to me.... I'm gonna check it first hand now that I'm passing to people on this forum.. Kinda makes me feel like I half a$$ed it...

 

[sandrachameleon]

Limit your use of grains, beans, and other items higher in phosphorous than calcium (a little can be very good, a lot is not unless you compensate to fix the ratio). Good grain choices are stabalized rice bran and crushed whole barley.
Limit use of broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, beet leaves, parsley, cassava, onion, watercress, kale, collard greens, spinach, swiss chard, Soy/edamame , bran, buckwheat, almonds, rhubarb, sesame seeds, pine nuts, apricot, figs, kiwi (anything high in phytates/Phytic acid, Oxilates/ Oxalic Acid, Goitrogens). Some is fine, possibly beneficial. Just not as a regular item.

Avoid dog food, cat food, fish food, and other prepared foods that are heavy sources of animal protien and/or fat and may provide excessive preformed vitamin A and also D.

Anything poisonous like the leaves of nightshade plants (tomato leaves included), or rhubarb leaves.

 

[SMCNARY]

Limit your use of grains, beans, and other items higher in phosphorous than calcium (a little can be very good, a lot is not unless you compensate to fix the ratio). Good grain choices are stabalized rice bran and crushed whole barley.
Limit use of broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, beet leaves, parsley, cassava, onion, watercress, kale, collard greens, spinach, swiss chard, Soy/edamame , bran, buckwheat, almonds, rhubarb, sesame seeds, pine nuts, apricot, figs, kiwi (anything high in phytates/Phytic acid, Oxilates/ Oxalic Acid, Goitrogens). Some is fine, possibly beneficial. Just not as a regular item.

Avoid dog food, cat food, fish food, and other prepared foods that are heavy sources of animal protien and/or fat and may provide excessive preformed vitamin A and also D.

Anything poisonous like the leaves of nightshade plants (tomato leaves included), or rhubarb leaves.

As always good info

 

[Jupiter]

I know mushrooms have an absurdly high phosphorus:calcium ratio and are right out.

 

[TroubleSome976]

Sandra you are awesome.... That is allot of knowledge... What are you zoologist? And thank all for providing me and everyone with your responses....

 

[sandrachameleon]

I know mushrooms have an absurdly high phosphorus:calcium ratio and are right out.

Good point

As always good info

Sandra you are awesome.... That is allot of knowledge... What are you zoologist? And thank all for providing me and everyone with your responses....

Glad to be hepful.
I forgot to mention the corn is mostly useless as a gutload

 

[chefboyardee]

anyone try using spirulina as a gut load? the Ca ratio is near 1:1, its high in protein, provides all necessary amino acids, isnt high in fat-soluble vitamins like A, E, and K (I dont think it even contains D)

thoughts?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Its an excellent addition to a varied gutload

nutritional info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...dried-spirulina-seaweed-blue-green-algae.html

 

[LazardLizard]

Confused...... Its agreed that animal proteins are bad for Chams, yet almost all roach chows use animal proteins(dog food, tropical fishfood, etc.) in them. I'm not a roach guy, but with poeple feeding dubias, how does this work out for the Chams?

 

[Olimpia]

Confused...... Its agreed that animal proteins are bad for Chams, yet almost all roach chows use animal proteins(dog food, tropical fishfood, etc.) in them. I'm not a roach guy, but with poeple feeding dubias, how does this work out for the Chams?

We don't feed the roaches animal protein. If you just want to bulk up the colony then you can give them dog food and they seem to breed like crazy. But if you are feeding.out of the roach bin, then it's just fruits, veggies, and other good foods like that. Because you're right, the cham would still get the animal protein from their gutload if they were allowed to eat it.

Roaches go equally nuts for sweet fruit, so I don't think they hate life when they get some cubes of mango or strawberry! So the roaches will breed and grow just as well without protein.

 

[LazardLizard]

10-4, makes more sense now.

Thanks-

 

[sandrachameleon]

Dog and cat foods also can have considerable fat content, and fat soluble vitamins that your chameleon may not need/benefit from.

Too much protein isn't good for the roaches either, in that it can result in a build up of uric acid (which in turn gets into your chameleons - not good). Roaches need far less protein than people sometimes think. They get plenty from veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds.

 

[Cassie6550]

If I were to grab 3 things from the grocery store for my crickets gut loading...what would they be??!
I'm single and live alone, keeping fresh produce is a challenge!

 

[gotwqqd]

If I were to grab 3 things from the grocery store for my crickets gut loading...what would they be??!
I'm single and live alone, keeping fresh produce is a challenge!

By thinks you like to eat every day. Slice out or tear pieces to feed feeders.
Most things should keep for at least three days. Hardy leaf vegetables much longer

 

[Bush baby]

Never heard of no tomatoes in all the years I have kept reptiles. I have used them before with no effect on the animals. Won't use them again though. I thought it was jut tomato plant leaves and if horn worms eat them.

Tomatoes are high in Oxolates. Oxolates block calcium absorption which is why they should b avoided.