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NUTRITIONALLY COMPLETE DRY CRICKET
DIET or GUTLOAD
Developed by
Susan James, Don Wells, and Ken Lopez, DVM
used with permission
Gutload - the process of filling the feeder insects with
nutritionally valuable food just before offering them for consumption.
Links to Ingredients
The James/Wells/Lopez Insect Gutload
This diet recipe is solely owned by the
creators (Susan James, Don Wells, and Ken Lopez, DVM) and is allowed for
private use only. Commercial reproduction of this recipe by individuals
is not allowed without the written permission of the creators.
Reproduction of the lists contents and the recipe therein is not allowed
without written permission of the creators.
Copyright December 2000
Dry mix
1 large box dry milk (8 quart size)
1 box rice baby cereal
8 oz. raw unsalted sunflower seeds
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup of chaff from loose alfalfa or 3/4 cup alfalfa powder
1 1/2 cup fresh bee pollen
1/4 cup powdered spirulina or Klamath Lake algae
http://www.algae-world.com
1/2 cup crushed fine quality monkey chow (not Purina)
1/4 cup dried sea kelp
*1/4 cup dried egg yolk (or add freshly cooked egg yolk to wet mix (see
below)
1/2 cup mixed unsalted nuts
1/4 cup coconut
1/16 cup brewer's yeast
1/8 cup dried dandelion flowers (optional)
The above should be pulverized using a food processor, blender, or
coffee grinder. The texture should resemble a "chunky" powder.
Wet mix
Prickly pear cactus (opuntia)
A mix of sweet potatoes, yams, organically grown carrots, orange/yellow
squashes and carrot tops
Mixed dandelion, turnip, mustard, collard greens, kale, and watercress
greens
Citrus fruit, melon, grape leaves
*If dried egg yolk is unavailable for the dry mix, add to the wet mix:
1 fresh egg yolk, cooked
Note: Measurements are approximate and may not reflect actual
measurements used. The authors assume no responsibility for misuse of
this recipe.
© 2001
ADCHAM.COM |
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Storing Cricket Diet:
Freeze what you will not use
within a week, last for up to 3 months.
Refrigerate what you will use within the week. Change food daily in cricket feed
bin because of the few perishable product content.
FRESH FOODS TO USE AS THE
WATER/NUTRIENT SOURCE
These are as important as the protein source and will fill the
insects with even more nutrients your herp needs.
Prickly pears (Vit C)
Citrus fruits (Vit C)
Mustard greens (Vit C, beta-carotene)
Carrots (beta-carotene)
Squashes (Vit C, beta-carotene)
Other fruits and veggies but avoid spinach and broccoli which are calcium
binders.
Place fresh foods in disposable cups in cricket bins and alternate food types
from carrots to greens to squashes etc to vary the vitamins the reptiles are
absorbing from the insects.
This works for mealworms and waxworms as well as crickets. Just put the worms in
a feeding container with the dry food mixed with wheat germ the night before you
are going to feed them so they gut-load themselves.
Feeder insects should be constantly constantly gut-loaded for the best health of your
herp.
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