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Old 06-15-2004, 04:27 PM   #1
LCReptiles
Help with feeder insects (PLEASE)

Okay, I don't feel like my leos are gaining weight the way they should.. or even eating as properly as they should. As for gaining weight, I feel like the blame is mine for not gutloading as well as I can. However, at the same time, if I try crickets, mealworms, whatever they seem to die off. I can't figure out what is the best way to gutload with minimal death or a horrible smell. I keep all my feeders in my reptile room, so the odor emitted is a high priority for me. Can someone give me fairly explicit details on their feeder setups for mealworms and crickets...?


Thanks!
 
Old 06-15-2004, 04:40 PM   #2
robin d.
use a flat lip to put the veggies and whatnot on... like the lid to an oatmeal can round and flay they can get in to eat but once the food is stink you can pull it out esily and just shake off the mealies that are on the food
 
Old 06-15-2004, 04:44 PM   #3
CoolGecko
Give the feeder more protien and it will fatten them up. Feed vebatagles like carrot, and cerly. I notice furits do little better. My gutload are high in protien while it is not breeding season and high Caliucm while breeding season.
 
Old 06-15-2004, 05:16 PM   #4
LCReptiles
Robin:

What do you gutload your mealies with? A factory made gutload like Flukers or ESU, or your own mix of things? I will try your idea about putting something round in there. What about their sheddings. . Do you guys ever sift through them to remove their old shed skins and whatnot?

I also read in the new Reptiles magazine that crickets do not like high calcium diets.. so what do you guys keep your crickets in, and what do you feed them with??
 
Old 06-15-2004, 05:28 PM   #5
robin d.
Quote:
What do you gutload your mealies with? A factory made gutload like Flukers or ESU, or your own mix of things?
for my bedding i used regular oatmeal (not the quick cook), a powered baby food cerial and wheatgerm.
the veggies i use are: kale, carrots,sweet potatoes,potatoes,yellow and green squash and i also will put either some apples or pears in there and sometimes orange slices (for moisture)

crickets i pretty much do the same thing but i give them no bedding... we use a big old roughneck rubbermiad put the egg crate in there with some paper towel tubes

make sure and give them good orange or potatoes for moisture and give them different veggies i use the same veggies i use on my mealies and supers

Quote:
Do you guys ever sift through them to remove their old shed skins and whatnot?
nope dont remove those
 
Old 06-15-2004, 05:44 PM   #6
LCReptiles
Alright, now that I have my grocery list for when I get off work... do you keep a lid on the roughneck for the crickets? What size by gallon do you use and how many crickets do well in there at a time? What is the easiest way to get them out for feeding? How often (twice a day, daily etc) should I change out their food. Do they need any sort of supplemental heat and/or light?

Thanks so much, this is very helpful =)
 
Old 06-15-2004, 06:11 PM   #7
robin d.
we have like an 18 gallon rubbermaid we can put up to 3000 crickets in there.. use some of the egg crate they come in... put the food on one of those same dishes and use the paper towel rolls to get em out....... take the top and cut most of the center out and replace it with a very light mesh light screen (for air)... no additional heat or light just dont let them get too hot or they will die (prolly over 80). as far as food... they need a moisture source at all times oranges or potatoes. as far as feeding them and gutloading figure a minimum or 8-12 hrs of good munching before feeding them.... i normally leave food in with them for about 24 hrs before pulling it but they eat alot!!! sometimes nothing much is left but leave in the taters and or oranges. now this will gutload them and keep them alive longer but remember crickets do not have a long life span they only have a life span of a few weeks.... if you buy full grown crickets you will only maybe get a week out of them before they start dieing off.... i order 1/2 or 3/4 in so they keep longer
 
Old 06-15-2004, 06:26 PM   #8
LCReptiles
Okay, so right now I'm feeding 10 leopard geckos (and probably 4 cresteds once I get back from Orlando), so I don't need 3000 crickets, heheh. I guess I'll just start with 100 or so and see how it goes. So you keep the gutload mixture on a round dish like the mealworms and just put the taters and oranges and stuff in there. Gotcha. Thanks bunches, this sounds alot better then I've been trying to do, lol
 
Old 06-15-2004, 06:50 PM   #9
robin d.
use a ten gallon tank then with a screen top LOL or a critter keeper
 
Old 06-15-2004, 07:09 PM   #10
Lemur_6
IMHO I would remove the sheds if you see excessive amounts of it. Especially for mealworms. I've had trouble with a wierd fungus that liked to grow on the sheds and after a while the fungus started to attack the pupae, and I had to dump my entire colony out and start over. Also it might harbor bacteria.

Also, if you're going to keep a colony, the baby mealworms shed profusely, and the sheds go all over the place if you don't deal with them, the slightest amount of static will make them stick, and they're so light that just breathing slighty over the bins will send them flying.
 

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