Reptile & Amphibian Forums

If I dust my mealworms and crickets with a calcium and vitamins powder, do I still need to gut load the food in advance? Wouldnt they get enough from the dusting? Just wondering.

If I need to gutload too, whats good to give mealworms the couple days before they are fed? I know I've been told some fresh fruits and veggies and calcium/mineral powder. Is that enough to give them? Or do they need more?

No, dusting is more a way to augment gut-loading, it's not sufficient by itself. In fact, just gut-loading with a calcium formula would be better than just dusting--but both are really needed. Cricket and mealworm calcium/phosphorous ratios are THAT bad.

I gutload all my live preys. For mealworms, they're happy with a piece of carrots or even a piece of sweet potato.

Actually your point is arguable. Just how much surface area or volume does an insects gut have? I would imagine that dusting is a better form of delivery for nutrients, based on the amount of surface are of the insects body. I'm by no means saying not to gutload, just bringing up a point that I have thought about on many occasions. I don't dust at all with my leos, I just have supplement in my worm dish. Half way through my breeding season this year I switched up my routine. I now just keep the t-rex leopard gecko supplement(developed at sandfire dragon ranch by Allen Repashy)in my mealie feed dish. It has all the nutrients in it with no extra supplementing needed.
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Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
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What is this? What do you do? Mix some vitamin powder with water and inject it into the insect?

Why do you get the impression that I mix anything with water. I feed only mealwoms to my colony. I usually keep a calcium and vitamin mix on the bootum of my feed dish. Many larger breeders use a product called Vionate. It is a corn based multi vitamin and mineral product. This is all they use as far as supplements. I use the t-rex Leopard gecko supp, in the same manner. The melaworms move around it it and get covered, the also eat it, and the leos get a little mouthful when going for the food. This is the only supplementing needed when feeding in this manner.

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Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
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I didn't assume that at all. I was just trying to understand the process of "gut loading." I had never heard of it before. I was trying to figure out how one got the vitamins and/or calcium supliments inside the insect so that the leo could eat them.

I did find another thread, that linked to an old post about baby food feeding and suplimenting...My question is answered in there. Thanks though!

Oh, I wasn't sure what you were talking about. If there is a petco near you, you can look for the sandfire gutload formula put out by t-rex.
good luck
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Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me