I will endeavor to keep the lightning bolts to a minimum.



Just two points:

1. Obviously I know you weren't implying to do so, but feeding them so many crickets that gorging and regurgitation might even be a likely occurrence sounds like a recipe for an impaction and poor general health due to excessive fat and heavy work load on their liver, heart, etc.

Those who have known me on this forum for the last couple of years, will recall that I previously kept a cornutum on a high cricket diet for an extended period of time. After that experiment, and after consulting by telephone with Lester Milroy III, conservation biologist, I no longer recommend it. If I agree with nothing else, I know Letser knows biology.



2. On Calci-Sand, I think it's a waste of money. Horned Lizards don't ingest enough of it to justify the cost. They do take in some, and it won't hurt to use it. But it's a far cry to say that it will meet all their "calcium/mineral needs". I don't like the way supplements are overused/prescribed in the herp field, but if you are going to use a high cricket diet you should know that they have a bad calcium/phosphorus ratio to begin with and high fat. Most of the food items you suggested to feed the crickets don't have an appreciable calcium content or good Ca:P ratio. A snickers candy bar has more calcium than carrots, and romaine lettuce isn't much better. Their Ca:P ratio is on the negative side; less that 1:1. Greens such as Collard, Turnip or Mustards are far superior. And fruits are generally bad too, though crickets will enjoy them. If such a diet is used at all, it should include items which will tend to raise the Ca:P ratio of the crickets as feeders.



These are reasons I tend to steer new people away from the temptation to just feed these lizards another insect as a staple besides what they were designed to eat as a staple. There is much more to know than just throwing the lizard something it will eat in captivity.
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"A man that should call everything by it's right name, would hardly pass the streets without being knocked down as a common enemy." The Complete Works of George Savile, First Marquess of Halifax 1912,246

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