I'm sure the person I want to reach will read this, he/she is on here a lot. I wanted to send this message to you not to blast you but to help you. You answered one of my questions the other day and I thought it was an excellent answer. In a previous post you said you fed your crickets carrots and the chicken mash that they used at the Cricket Ranch. First off its good that you feed your crickets, a lot of people don't feed them at all, just give their gecko empty crickets hulls full of nothing but Chitlin, hard insect casing. The crickets at the cricket ranch are there for only a short time and the diet you are using over the long haul is high in protein and high in vitamin A. Over time this will show up in your Geckos as Edema - fluid retention and swelling. The best way to get rid of it in your Gecko is to chnage your crickets diet. Use some greens (Collards, Mustards, Turnip and Dandelion are all excellent) Add some slivered squash such as butternut or Banana Squash, some carrots (for now you should probably not use carrots), some slivered Parsnips and some fruit such a Raspberries, Srawberries, Apple, Mango or Papaya. If you feed you crickets fruit, you don't need to give them any water, or use "Cricket Water". This is the moist food, you should also use some dry food. Raw Pumpkin or Sunflower Seeds, oatbran, wheatbran, Oats, Wheat Berries are all good. Avoid any corn based grains as these are high in Phorphorus. Don't let the "dry food" come into contact with the "moist food" as this can cause mold. Feed the chicken mash one or twice a month. Also if you can locate it "Bee Pollen" is excellent to feed to your crickets. In the wild lots of insects that are eaten have pollen on them so your Geckos will really benefit if you use a diet like this. Good luck!
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To my intended audience
Replies (4)
well i assume you are referring to me...but i can understand all the greens and other fruits, veggies, blah. but i dont understand the no carrots thing? I also thought that the bee pollen thing was a clever, good idea! i never thought of that.
but i have heard from many breeders and such that they feed their crix carrots aswell for nutrition and water source.
LOL Yeah I thought that post was for me also fatties!! Either way its all good. Like i have said many times i am still learning as is everyone even the so called "pro's". ANytime i learn something new i take it as a learning experirence. I dont think anyone should take ones advice as a concrete base of lnowledge. As everyone knows just about everyone has different advice to give in some degree! A gecko in a sense is no different then raising a child, they all need basic things that they can not live with out and as long as those are being meet and there all healthy then obviously your doing right. Were all hear as a support structure and I think thats the most important thing to remember!!
New to herps and enjoying it!!
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Mike & Wendy 
2.0.0 Siberian husky, Jackrussel/schitzu
0.0.1 Lepard Gecko
0.0.4 Beta's
3.1.0 Warm blooded life sucking spawns.
theres other good things for your little feeders : brewer's yeast, spirulina, etc...
Yes it was intended for you. There is no problem with feeding carrots but the steady combination of carrots and high protein can cause the problems I mentioned. You don't want problems with edema because that can lead to other more serious problems with kidneys, vascular system and heart. I certainly agree with everybody else's comments.
