Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Victor,

You get flies (pupae) from Skipio's, right? I had an order from him where most emerged en route but he replaced it and I got a nice batch of healthy, plump ones today. I am curious to know if you take the time to gutload the adults before feeding them to your herps? Do you put a few in a cup and place it in the cage or do you put them in the cage after gutloading? They don't live long so I don't know if it is worht it, but I don't imagine their nutritional value is much on their own.

Have you ever gotten the larva? There were a few in the batch and I took them out to give to my geckos - they LOVED them!!!

thanks,
lele
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0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Lele;
That's really nice of the guy to replace your pupae. From what I gather, he usually deals in really large orders. Small orders, like the ones he receives from us herpers, are hardly worth it for him, from a financial standpoint.
No, I don't really take the time to gut load the flies once they emerge from the pupae. From what I've seen of their natural diet and from their short shelf life, I wonder if it would even be worth the hassle. I would point you to the good people at Skipio's anout trying to gutload adult flies.
The guy from Skipio's has the low down on the flies' nutritional value. He uses freeze-dried flies as part of the suet diet he offers. I seem to remember them being high in vitamin C and having a good calcium to phosphorus ratio (1:1 I believe), but please don't take my word for it.
In all honesty, the flies' nutritional value is more of a fringe benefit to me. I use them as a stimulant, especially for fussy or bored chameleons. The flies have a strong, positive impact on my chameleons. They keep my chameleons happy and interested in their other food, which is the flies' most important benefit.
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Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

Victor,

yes, it was nice. It took me awhile to get him to respond but he was gracious about it. They are just beginning to emerge today so I am looking forward to giving them to my "little" herps. I think I will gut load the ones that go into the anole and gecko tanks just as I did fruit flies - I'll keep some honey and yogurt mix, or something in there for them. As for the cham you are probably right - hardly worth the effort. I am hoping Luna will get her tongue back in shape by shooting for them.

I think I will write to Skip and ask what he gutloads his with for the suet cakes.

Thanks!

lele

>>Lele;
>>That's really nice of the guy to replace your pupae. From what I gather, he usually deals in really large orders. Small orders, like the ones he receives from us herpers, are hardly worth it for him, from a financial standpoint.
>>No, I don't really take the time to gut load the flies once they emerge from the pupae. From what I've seen of their natural diet and from their short shelf life, I wonder if it would even be worth the hassle. I would point you to the good people at Skipio's anout trying to gutload adult flies.
>>The guy from Skipio's has the low down on the flies' nutritional value. He uses freeze-dried flies as part of the suet diet he offers. I seem to remember them being high in vitamin C and having a good calcium to phosphorus ratio (1:1 I believe), but please don't take my word for it.
>>In all honesty, the flies' nutritional value is more of a fringe benefit to me. I use them as a stimulant, especially for fussy or bored chameleons. The flies have a strong, positive impact on my chameleons. They keep my chameleons happy and interested in their other food, which is the flies' most important benefit.
>>-----
>>Victor Gomez
>>gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
>>gomezvi@yahoo.com
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta