The Whys of Gutloading

[dbolack]

I've been having Fred (Grey TF) help me take out my aggressions on the grasshoppers eating my raspberry bushes. He seems to take more interest in them than the crickets and the meal worms he completely ignores.

This had me wondering if rickets require gutloading to be nutrienty enough, are the grasshoppers in my backyard?

We don't use pesticides - if that's a concern. I'm only getting the small grasshoppers, smaller than most the crickets he seems to be eating. They don't get very big here in WV, at least not in the eyes of a Kansas boy.

[Paul Rust]

Any insect that you feed your frog should at least be dusted with a vitamin supplement to ensure proper nutrition. Gut loading is just another method to deliver nutrients to your animals.

[dbolack]

Any insect that you feed your frog should at least be dusted with a vitamin supplement to ensure proper nutrition. Gut loading is just another method to deliver nutrients to your animals.

Is this a presumption due to the comparatively limited diet of the captured frog?

[Paul Rust]

Is this a presumption due to the comparatively limited diet of the captured frog?

Yes, along with the body of research concerning the proper nutrition of captive amphibians.