Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know, I posted this to another forum as well, but I trustyour opinions here so....

I was using oatmeal as a bedding for my crix.

I was wondering if birdseed would be better? I can buy it cheaper (huge bulk) and is all grains and nuts (so if they eat their bedding it would be more diverse than oatmeal.

Also it tends to not mold and has a nice smell.

Any problems with bird seed?

If you live close enough to a rural area, you can buy a 50lb bag of chicken feed for dirt cheap.

Farmers market or some place that farmers buy their seed and supplies.

Joe

Joe-

Remember what you feed you crickets, your chameleons will eat. Chicken feed is not a good choice for a gutload. I would not recommend using this. You get what you pay for and cheep is not always a good thing, especially when it comes to your chameleons health. Hope this helps!
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John @ Chameleon Paradise
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers
1.2 Rhampholeon uluguruensis

So about the bird seed then.

Good idea? Just grains and such...

Let me redeem myself here:
I didn't say enough. By no means do I think chicken feed is a proper gut-load.
I use chicken feed for cricket breeding purposes.
It is cheap, absorbant, and is high in protein for baby cricket production. When the crickets are rady to become food, they are transferred to my other bins where they can be gutloaded.

My regular containers have no substrate at all, making it easy to scoop out the dead crickets, shed, waste and food spillage.

I use the premium mix from cricketfood.com and flukers gel to gut-load.

Man oh man oh man. Had no intention of spreading misinformation, nor did I try to answer a question that wasn't asked, nor did I try to ignore the question that was asked...just didn't make things clear.

It's just one of those days..

Adam-

I have found that no bedding works best! I would recommend you using nothing in the bottom of your cricket box. I have used a few things in the past like wood shavings and so on, but have found that no bedding works the same if not better. All you need is something for the crickets to hide in, like egg crate or paper towel rolls, a food bowl for the gutload, a water source, and a well ventilated box to keep them all in. Hope this helps!
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John @ Chameleon Paradise
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers
1.2 Rhampholeon uluguruensis

heh -

Here is why I use bedding.

The plastic containers I use are very slick...they also are not truley flat on the bottom....have a lip on the edge that sinks down...

If I dont use a bedding they tend to stay in there and just run in circles. They dont go in their tubes and eat each other due to stress.

I was just curious if the bird seed would be harmful to the cham. For food I have both the cricket yummies and have some of the gutload from a good source on the way.

-adam

Adam-

Just get a new container, it will save you time and money overtime. I use a "Cricket Box" which is an 18gal Rubbermaid tub (you can get smaller ones) (-$4) with a large cutout on the top covered with a piece of aluminum screen. Email me off the forum if you need more info. The problem with any type of food as a bedding is that they will eat it, it will mold, and food mixed with cricket feces is not a good idea. You want the crickets eating only the gutload and water source. What is the "yummies" made with? If it is a Poly crystal that expands in water, I would not use them, if it is a gel based it is fine. The difference is that the crystals expand in liquid and what's to say it wont do the same in the chameleon. The gel just holds liquid in a solid form and dose not expand. Hope this helps!
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John @ Chameleon Paradise
1.1 Ambilobe Panthers
1.1 Nosy Be Panthers
1.1 Sambava Panthers
1.2 Rhampholeon uluguruensis

Yummies are the stuff by ectotherm. New stuff. rep mag raved about it. thought Id buy a bag and try it out.

Ill go look at Target for flat boxes.

-adam

I use those "slick" plastic containers, too (and aquariums but I have three diff. sizes). I don’t find them to have a problem getting around though especially larger crix. My tiny ones are in the flat bottom aquarium. Sometimes I use a single sheet of paper towel so they have something to grab onto.

The reason I DON'T use bedding is due to tall the feces and sheds that stay. You would have to clean it daily...do you?

Just last night I was devising (in my head) a cricket cage with a false bottom so that most of the "crap" falls thru.

Anyway, just my thoughts

>>heh -
>>
>>Here is why I use bedding.
>>
>>The plastic containers I use are very slick...they also are not truley flat on the bottom....have a lip on the edge that sinks down...
>>
>>If I dont use a bedding they tend to stay in there and just run in circles. They dont go in their tubes and eat each other due to stress.
>>
>>I was just curious if the bird seed would be harmful to the cham. For food I have both the cricket yummies and have some of the gutload from a good source on the way.
>>
>>-adam

I like that idea... Rubermaid with false bottom, say 1/8 aluminum screen that would feet perfectly at the bottom, with ruber framing, that would leave a about a inch at the botom for poop...

hmmm its gona be a long week end of me building stuff again...
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Gabriel - Montreal - Ding.
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