So...I was at Petco looking at all the various things to either feed or dump/spray onto crickets and other such critters for feeding. I must admit, I was a little overwhelmed with the variety! I figured a canister of Calcium and a canister of multivitamin powder would do it. Maybe I'm over-thinking things (as I tend to do because admittedly I suffer from mild OCD), but I figure it's probably always better to ask the experts than to buy the wrong thing.

Firstly, I did pick up a canister of the Zoo Med ReptiCal so I had some form of Calcium supplement, and there were some sample packets of Reptivite in my goodie bag from Repticon, so I figure I can use that for a bit. I read that the supplements should be rotated (one day w/the Cal, one day w/vitamins, a day or two without dusting with either), but looking at the labels it seems that the multivitamin powder already has Calcium in it. That's still okay? To give a straight Calcium supplement one day in a heavier "dose" and still give them a smaller amount of it the next that's prebuilt into the vitamin powder?

Then there was the question of the powder vs the spray. Has anyone had any experience using the Calcium and/or vitamin sprays? They're made by Zilla brand (the vitamin supplement w/an added "bonus" of containing beta carotene, which I know nothing about...). It's supposed to work just like the powder, only in spray form.

There's also the matter of feeding the crickets. I know there's the basic gut load, which I already have since my roomie has a monitor lizard so I have access to what he uses for his crickets there. He also said that he likes the gel stuff, which he picked up a canister of today at Repticon. I think his was just a basic hydrating gel, but Petco had different kinds of that stuff, too. They're Fluker's brand, and they have a yellowish gel that's got extra Calcium in it, or something called "Orange Cube," which has extra vitamins and kind of looks like gooey sweet potato chunks, lol. So firstly, are those specialty gels even worth messing with? Secondly, if the crickets were to eat this "extra fortified" gel stuff diet, would that mean I shouldn't dust/spray them with the external supplements?

Then there's the question of crickets, in general. We have quite a few Dubia roach breeders in my area, so would it be better for my kids if I shift to roaches after I run through this first round of crickets? Then, of course, there's the question of earthworms. My frogs are just tiny babies right now, so should I do anything with worms at all or wait until they're bigger? I don't want to over or underfeed them, something I'm always very paranoid about when it comes to my dogs, but I don't know enough about frogs to be able to tell if they're too fat or too thin, lol.

Any advice or debate in regards to the above questions would be appreciated. Thank you, as usual, for putting up with my million newbie questions.