Quote Originally Posted by JeffreH View Post
I wouldn't feed anything medicated, personally. The Coccidiostats in the medicated poultry diet are concentrated in such a way to be an effective treatment for chickens. As a result, the feed might be potentially harmful to the crickets directly, or indirectly harmful to the herp feeding on it. I don't have empirical evidence to back this up, because studies haven't been done on the effects of these kinds of Coccidiostats in herps... but I wouldn't to take the risk given this lack of research.

Coconut oil would be fine to offer crickets, but I have a potentially better alternative that has yielded true, positive results in herps:

If you are concerned about inflammation, I would feed a few silkworms (Bombyx mori) here and there. Health benefits to people are well documented, and benefits in herps have been directly observed. For example, a friend of mine who rescues bearded dragons feeds silkworms to her rescues and has noticed substantially faster recovery time compared to feeding other feeders. Why? Silkworms contain an enzyme called serrapeptase, that is known to reduce inflammation, reduce arterial plaque, and promote calcium absorption. Additionally, silkworms are high in calcium, soft-bodied, protein and nutrient rich feeders as is it (they're just a little pricey, and have a specific diet).
Thanks, Jeff! That's what I was thinking about the medicated feed/crickets too, something that would really need research and I'm no scientist. That is some really awesome info about the silk worms though! They eat mulberry leaves don't they? I think I remember hearing about that in a discussion regarding plants and animals used for textiles, but it's been many many years ago :P Thanks again!