Cricket Diet

Discussion in 'Feeder Forum' started by Little Gecko Face, Aug 20, 2013.

  1. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    So this may be a little strange, but it's my only thought so far... I have been feeding my crickets that orange Fluker's stuff, but it made them smell sooooo bad. I read on some forums that changing the crickets' diet would help with the smell (it did!) - I put some potato in the feeder a few days ago. However, last night, my leopard gecko wouldn't eat any crickets - that has NEVER happened before in all of his 3 1/2 years. Everything is normal - temps, water, hides, tank size, etc., and my only thought was that the crickets may smell different because of the new food. Has this happened to anyone else? He absolutely refuses to eat them.

    Thanks so much - I'm still a newbie : ) I inherited my little guy about 3 months ago, but I was peripherally involved with him for the last 2 1/2 years.
     
  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    Ok, not sure if anyone is reading this, but I was able to feed him some crickets late last night without incident. No idea what the other night was about... Anyways, if anyone has had the same experience with cricket diet, I'd still like to hear about it : )

    thanks!
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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    Welcome to the forum = )

    It looks like you resolved your own problem! I apologize in our delay responding to you... things have been pretty hectic for me lately.

    I've never heard of 'gutload' (what you feed the feeder insects) influencing whether or not the reptile will eat them. It may have been a fluke, or perhaps just a picky little leo. For future reference, I've never been all that partial to the commercial gutloads and products by Fluker Farms... you can create a much healthier alternative gutload from scratch for a lower cost using simple items.

    For the dry feed - try baby cereals, chick starter (non-medicated), fish food, and quality dog/cat kibble. Grain product should be the main base of the dry feed, and crickets aren't too picky about you you offer them.

    For moisture - try offering a variety of salad items or fruit products (just like the potatoes you threw in there). A lot of the insect's nutrional value for the reptile comes from what they eat, so feel free to offer a variety of dark leafy greens, veggies, and fruits. You don't need to go out of your way to buy high quality produce; I usually just offer them scraps and pieces that are safe, yet starting to become "unpalatable" for humans if that makes sense. Your feeder insects can make for a nice recycling team ; )
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    Thanks for the tips! I also have a problem with crickets dying... Not sure why, but so far, I've lost about 7 out of 22 in one week...? How can I make them last longer?
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    Ugh, I went to feed my little leo last night, and there was only 1 live cricket left. I purchased 22 just one week ago (8/15)! I used to get about 35 crickets at a time, but thought they were dying so quickly due to overcrowding in the feeder, so I bought less last time to experiment - that seems not to be the case. How can I keep them alive longer? More than half of them died in one week - I think I only got to use 10. Grrr...
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Godzillagecko

    Godzillagecko Member

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    Well if your gut loading and using that water gel stuff. It could be due to the shop. Or they are old (if your using adult crickets). You can try adding veggies and fruits to the diet. It also is a good source of water. What sort of setup does the shop have. Are they feeding them?
     
  12. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    You mean the shop where I buy my crickets? I can't tell... They're kept behind a closed door, and you have to get an elusive sales associate to get them for you.

    However, I've kept buying less (no more than 25 at a time) but put a cardboard toilet paper roll in there for extra hiding space, and I had ZERO die on the last go around!! Maybe the plastic feeder tubes were too crowded, or the crickets really were old, I'm not sure. Like I mentioned before, I never had such a wave of death in my cricket keeper until recently. Super weird...

    I've also nixed the cricket cube food and have moved on to veggies. The cube stuff made the crickets smell so bad, I could hardly stand it. My only worry with that is wondering if the crickets are gutloaded at the store, and my veggies are enough? Or if I should supplement with some sort of cricket vitamins, if such a thing exists.
     
  13. Godzillagecko

    Godzillagecko Member

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    You could always ask to see what they keep the crickets in. Most Pet shops never have a problem if they are "clean". You'll know how clean they are once you look into the bin and see exactly what they are eating. Or if they are eating at all for that matter. Crickets also let out a stinky fume that builds up and well they die off their own gas pretty much so it could be they don't have enough ventilation. Im pretty sure you do if you can smell them.
    (Side note: If you want to keep the smell down try using a bio substrate it actually absorbs smells. Organic dirt with sand mix. You can also throw earth worms in with pill bugs to eat the crap and decaying cricket bodies and veggies)
    You are doing everything right it could just be a bad batch they got in stock or something they are doing wrong. I use the veggies for gutload mixed with a cap of Repashy I usually dust my feeders with anyway. If you try superworms Baby rice cereal is their crack. They swarm over the stuff. Its pretty cheap as is the oatmeal I keep them in. They don't smell really and your gecko should enjoy them. Try a few and see how he takes to it.
     
  14. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    Ventilation: this is weird, because at my old apartment (I moved about a month ago) I kept the crickets in the guest bathroom, which didn't have any windows. However, they were fine like that for almost 2 1/2 years, and only started dying by the dozens a couple weeks before I moved. Now, in my new place, I still keep them in the guest bathroom, but there's a small window that's open all the time. Before I chucked the cricket cubes, the smell was still bad, even with an open window. At this point, I'm chalking the whole thing up to several bad batches in a row, and overcrowding (which doesn't make total sense, since it was always fine before, but I have no other ideas).

    Superworms: I'm not familiar with Repashy - I'll have to check that out. I haven't tried superworms with my leo yet... He only ate crickets for his first 3 1/2 years with the occasional wax worm as a treat. A couple of months ago, I tried introducing mealworms to him, and he did not like them. At all.

    I only inherited my leo a few months ago, so I wasn't really responsible for him up until that point, but I was... around, I guess you could say. Clueless about geckos, though.
     
  15. Godzillagecko

    Godzillagecko Member

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    Hmm could try a larger bin. I keep about 500 crickets on hand at all times in two 30 gallon bins and they do ok in those. Cut out holes in the tops and taped screen to allow airflow. Repashy is GREAT! The benefits it has compared to other reptile vitamins is over the top. I dust mine every other feeding. Which is about twice a week. It has all the needed vitamins a leo would need. Also always keep Calcium without D3 in the tank so the Leo can use it as a lick. Just a small amount works. I change it once a week since its powder and doesn't really go bad.

    Superworms move a lot more than Mealworms. Especially if you use the feeding tongs they squirm around. My leo enjoys them along with the crickets.

    Just ask to see their cricket bin at the petshop. You'll know for sure if its them or you. Most likely it could be them.
     
  16. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    500?! Wow, I think the noise alone would drive me nuts. I don't have the room for that kind of cricket volume.

    I can't remember the brand of calcium I use, since I rarely have to buy it. I've been dusting my crickets each feeding, which is every other day. My little leo occasionally gets a red tongue, which I've heard is from a calcium deficiency. Is that correct? I've been dusting each feeding since I found that out.
     
  17. Godzillagecko

    Godzillagecko Member

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    Calcium without D3 is best left in a flat bowl for the gecko to lick. You need a more multivitamin diet thats why I recommend Repashy since it has a complete formula for the gecko. Which is every other feeding. So you dust, skip, dust, skip.

    My super worms are on a different diet since well superworms are harder to dust (shells and dusting don't mix). I use a inch of oatmeal, and carrots for water. I also use Baby Rice cereal which is basically crack for them. They go after it within seconds of dumping some in.

    If you want to keep 5 hundred crickets its not hard at all. 2 30 gallon bins is enough. I use a 3 gallon bin for the superworms they don't need all that room just a inch or two of oatmeal or whatever you want to use as flooring. I've also used bio substrate for them and it has worked like a charm.

    There are other ways to work with feeders of course but I find this method works best for me. And all my feeders live pretty well off it. Gecko is happy thats for sure.
     
  18. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    I tried superworms last night, and my little Reggie was not having it. Just not interested. And they smell kinda nasty. Is that normal? I'd really like to try and introduce variety into his diet, but he hasn't had any his whole life (3 1/2 years) so maybe he's set in his cricket-only ways...?

    I did buy Repashy, though. We'll see how that goes. Tonight will be the first time using it to dust crickets - I just got it yesterday.

    The pet store keeps their crickets in a giant trash barrel. But that's all I could see...
     
  19. Little Gecko Face

    Little Gecko Face Embryo

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    So the Repashy didn't go over too well, either... I fed him last night, and dusted the first cricket with Repashy. Since I have to hand feed my little guy (spoiled by the previous owner...), I held down the cricket like I always do, and he kept turning his head. Would. Not. Touch. It. I figured he wasn't hungry, so I took all the crickets out of his tank. Then, maybe an hour later, I kept thinking that I knew he had to be hungry (and he was in his 'please give me food' position) so I tried again, but didn't dust the crickets - he ate them quickly, like he usually does. I'm hoping he just needs to get used to the new calcium? It probably smells different than the other stuff I was using. I thought about trying to trick him by lightly dusting a wax worm, cause that's his fave...
     
  20. StikyPaws312

    StikyPaws312 Moderator

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    Tough love is sometimes your best option. You could try the wax worm trick so he gets to know the smell as something yummy (a wax worm), but then dust the crickets, and you can even leave a little tiny capful or small bowl with the calcium without D3 in it in his tank at all times. Good luck!
     

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