Gut Loading = process explained

[dadmccabe]

I keep reading about "gut loading" however, I'm not 100% on the process. Is it as simple as providing vitamins to the crickets (on their food) thus making them a "healthier" meal?? Or is it the process of dusting the crickets w/ vitamins before meal time??

I've been doing the calcium+ every other feeding - and the Multi Vitamin (dusting on crickets directly) once / week..

Please advise

[Miss Roddam]

It's when people feed their crickets a lot of food such as apple and carrot and loads of vitamins or minerals or atleast that's my explanation for it

[JeffreH]

Yes, Gutloading literally just means to feed the prey items adequately before feeding them to your herp. Usually you want to ensure that an insect has been well fed within 24-48 hours of feeding; this will aid in making the insect itself more nutritionally stable and the partially digested stomach contents of the insect will also be beneficial to your pet.

To get a little more specific about it, gutloading is important because it allows reptiles and amphibians to obtain nutrients from food items they wouldn't otherwise consume. For example, most frogs are insectivores. The insects they feed upon are generally herbivores - the grain and plant matter they consume and digest are going to contain an array of macro and micro nutients that the herp would otherwise not encounter since it does not naturally feed upon these substances, but these nutrients are important to your pet.

To gutload, you generally want a good quality grain product as a main course - usually high quality dog or cat kibble, non-medicated chicken starter, fish food, baby cereals, etc (and in any combination). Hydration is also important in keeping insects alive, and to double as an an additional gutload source, feed things like fruits, greens and veggies. The insects can use these to drink and hydrate, while also consuming the good stuff inside as a food source. A general practice is to keep dry gutload available 24/7 and offer salad items routinely, making sure all is consumed before adding more to prevent mold or bacterial growth.

The dusting of insects is simply supplementing them further; providing raw calcium, calcium w/ D3, and multivitamins on the surface of the insect so that it may be consumed by the herp. The frequency at which you dust will depend on the species you keep, how old it is, and your general setup. The routine of supplementation you are following sounds about right for most herps, though others can clarify depending on the species and age.