# What do you gut load your feeders?



## Emotionlessness (Oct 3, 2013)

Anyone have any winning combinations? Anything you shouldn't feed them for your Ts?

Reactions: Like 1


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## pperrotta03 (Oct 3, 2013)

I just feed my crickets potatoes but when I gut load I use flukers. Thats not too oftrn though

tappy tappa taparoo


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## Poec54 (Oct 3, 2013)

Romaine, spinach, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables that aren't too mushy (otherwise they decompose and draw flies).  I always give my crickets food and water before I feed them to my spiders.


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## Kazaam (Oct 4, 2013)

Love........

Reactions: Like 5


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## BobGrill (Oct 4, 2013)

I use mostly carrots and sometimes lettuce. I also give them fluker's cricket feed and cricket quencher. Not that they really need those, but I have had some jars of it laying around for a while, so just figured I'd use it up.


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## melijoc (Oct 4, 2013)

I give them fruits that have been sitting on my fridge and are about to rot . Its pretty cost efficient this way


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## PeaceBee (Oct 4, 2013)

Whatever I have around at the time, which is usually lettuce and/or potatoes.  And Fluker's orange cube.  When I get them home and put the orange cube in there they're all over that stuff (for the moisture, but it is supposedly a food source as well).


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## reunsch (Oct 4, 2013)

I feed the crickets fish food, dog biscuits, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, potatoes, mielies (corn) and generally any other fruit or vegetables that I come across. I feed the mealworms oats and carrots.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Bongo Fury (Oct 4, 2013)

Ground flax seed, rolled oats, wheat bran, nutritional yeast and dried coconut flakes. Grind all of that up in a blender, store in the freezer. Dubia love it and it makes your roach container smell like cookies.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Smokehound714 (Oct 4, 2013)

fish flakes alone are generally good enough.  Cheap and nutritious.


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## Kazaam (Oct 4, 2013)

They also contain pesticides.

What I use is a wide arrangement of fruits/greens and natural dry dog food that doesn't contain anything I don't want to have in it.

Edit: And love, as I mentioned before.


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## catfishrod69 (Oct 4, 2013)

I use nothing but Dumor chick starter/grower, and water gel crystals. They roaches go nuts on this feed. Its like Big Macs to a Hobo!


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## Kazaam (Oct 4, 2013)

A hobo would sell the big mac to buy booze.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Poec54 (Oct 4, 2013)

Kazaam said:


> Edit: And love, as I mentioned before.


Where can I buy that, and what does it run these days?


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## Thistles (Oct 4, 2013)

Poec54 said:


> Where can I buy that, and what does it run these days?


 Don't you have dogs?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Kazaam (Oct 5, 2013)

Poec54 said:


> Where can I buy that, and what does it run these days?


You can't buy love, you'll have to earn it.


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## Poec54 (Oct 5, 2013)

Kazaam said:


> You can't buy love, you'll have to earn it.


I knew there was a catch.


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## nicodimus22 (Oct 5, 2013)

I use that all-in-one orange cube. It's food, water, and vitamins in one.


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## prairiepanda (Oct 5, 2013)

nicodimus22 said:


> I use that all-in-one orange cube. It's food, water, and vitamins in one.


I find that those get to be too expensive. And my crickets die pretty quick living on just that alone.

I give potatoes, carrots, fish flakes, and sometimes cat kibble. Usually the potatoes provide enough moisture. If they're drying out really fast, then I provide more moisture with bits of cucumber or water gel.


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## Kazaam (Oct 5, 2013)

Crickets die pretty quickly on any food.


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## Mike41793 (Oct 5, 2013)

Ive tried feeding my roaches just about anything. They haven't not eaten anything so i try and mix it up for them. I've tried: bread, lettuce, carrots, crackers, cookies, granola bars, cereal, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash and a few other things i cant remember at the moment. I also feed them powdered roach food that 3skulls makes. I bought a gallon bag from him and supplement it in as i see fit. The roaches go NUTS for it. I cant remember what he puts in it but just pm him and he'd sell you a small baggy to try, i guarantee your feeders would love it. I usually cut up fruits or veggies and coat them in the powdered food just because its fun to watch them eat it like that and sometimes i have too much time on my hands haha.


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## Erebus (Oct 5, 2013)

I feed my dubia roaches a variety of fruits. I think they have grapes right now.


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## Kazaam (Oct 5, 2013)

The only thing my roaches don't want to eat is potato.

I'm not sure why.


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## Mike41793 (Oct 5, 2013)

Kazaam said:


> The only thing my roaches don't want to eat is potato.
> 
> I'm not sure why.


I gotta try this now with mine just to see if they'll eat it or not lol!


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## PlaidJaguar (Oct 6, 2013)

Are we talking about raw or cooked potatoes?


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## Yentlequible (Oct 6, 2013)

I have two dogs so I just throw some dog food into the cricket keeper. They get carrots for their hydration.


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## freedumbdclxvi (Oct 6, 2013)

Poec54 said:


> Where can I buy that, and what does it run these days?


If you contact the bunny ranch you'll get the going rates...


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## kacodemon (Oct 6, 2013)

I'm useing whole grain oats they like but what won't they eat lol


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## Kazaam (Oct 6, 2013)

PlaidJaguar said:


> Are we talking about raw or cooked potatoes?


They won't eat either.

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freedumbdclxvi said:


> If you contact the bunny ranch you'll get the going rates...


You'll get a free STD with every purchase.


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## Mike41793 (Oct 12, 2013)

I brought home some cooked sweet potatoes from work yesterday. Cant wait to try and see if the roaches will eat them or not lol


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## Bugmom (Oct 12, 2013)

I fed my dubias oatmeal and organic sweet potato and duck dog biscuits that I put in the food processor to make into almost a powder. They also got raw zucchini, squash, and tomatoes.

Now I just buy as many crickets as I anticipate needing, on feeding day. They go from store to fangs in an hour. "Leftovers" go to the geckos. Never had a problem with this method.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 2


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## Surly (Oct 12, 2013)

Bug burger...


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## cerialkiller (Oct 13, 2013)

I usually buy about 6$ worth of crickets come home feed them to my t's and repeat every week.


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## BLinKin (Oct 14, 2013)

I had a big bag of leftover dry cat food that I had put in with 2000, 3/4 inch crickets, and they have been growing quick and haven't had many die.. but I usually use leftover veggies..


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## hurley0816 (Oct 15, 2013)

Dubias and mealworns get grapes, carrots, dog food and spinach


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## Jones0911 (Oct 15, 2013)

I use bananas/carrots for crickets.


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## Poec54 (Oct 15, 2013)

Jones0911 said:


> I use bananas/carrots for crickets.


You have to be careful with using fruit that you don't start a colony of fruit flies in your house.


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## Jones0911 (Oct 16, 2013)

Poec54 said:


> You have to be careful with using fruit that you don't start a colony of fruit flies in your house.


the bananas get tossed the next morning


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## Mike41793 (Oct 18, 2013)

My dubias ate the sweet potatoes up!


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## Stan Schultz (Oct 18, 2013)

Emotionlessness said:


> Anyone have any winning combinations? Anything you shouldn't feed them for your Ts?


The practice of gut loading is a carryover from the herptile hobby. But here we have a huge problem. Tarantulas *ARE NOT* reptiles or amphibians. And where anybody ever got the idea that gut loading a tarantula's food was a good idea, or did any good at all, or was a bad idea is a complete mystery.

The facts are that no one has ever done a controlled study to examine whether the practice does any good or not. And, the anecdotal evidence is muddled and contradictory at best. And, we can't use other animals to draw conclusions from because tarantulas have proven time and again that they're so different and break all the rules.

This reminds me of a fish farmer's story. (Yup! You really wanted to hear about fish farming on a tarantula forum, didn't you?)

Several decades ago Marguerite and I spent some time in  Florida (on our honeymoon it turns out), and we took the time to visit several fish farmers that we'd been buying fish from for our pet shop.

The owner of the first fish farm (near St. Petersburg, if memory serves) eventually took us aside and explained that he never told anyone else this because it was such an important family secret. But, whenever they set up a new pond for raising tropical fish, they sterilized it with calcium chloride beforehand to kill off all the parasites and disease organisms. That's why his fish were so much larger, more brightly colored, and  healthier than any of his neighbors. Marguerite and I both sagely nodded at this piece of wisdom.

A few days later we visited another fish farm near Tampa. Much the same thing happened, except that this time the farmer told us that he was always careful to throw in two or three scoop shovels of rotted cow manure to "sweeten" the pond and promote the growth of wild food items for the fish he was raising. That's why his fish were so much larger, more brightly colored, and  healthier than any of his neighbors. Marguerite and I both had to work hard to keep from grinning broadly, but we did nod sagely and agree with his wisdom.

Gut loading crickets is about the same. It doesn't seem to matter if you do or do not. The tarantulas still manage to grow and become obese in our care, regardless. If it's any consolation to you, however, the dealers you're paying so much money to for the gut loading formula, or the gut loaded crickets are quite happy for your business!

Now, don't you like a story with a good ending?

:roflmao:


I know I'll never understand women.

I'll never understand how they can take boiling hot wax,
pour it onto their upper thigh,
rip the hair out by the roots,
and still be afraid of a spider!

Reactions: Like 2


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## Poec54 (Oct 19, 2013)

I think the term 'gut loading' is confusing and misused (as is 'power feeding').  Crickets need to eat or they start to die off, so you feed them; how is that 'gut loading'?  If you feed your spiders more than once a week, it somehow becomes 'powerfeeding.'  This hobby has some terminology that gets tossed around where it doesn't apply.    

BTW, I used to live in Ruskin, a small rural area SE of Tampa, known for it's tomatoes and tropical fish farms.  They were all over my neighborhood, even right across the street.  The majority of tropical fish produced in the US come from Ruskin.  No doubt you were there in your travels, Stan, in walking distance from my old house.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Formerphobe (Oct 19, 2013)

I 'gut load' my feeder insects because I usually buy in bulk, and they need to eat to live and I like to feed my inverts live food....
I do keep an inexpensive pre-prepared nutritional bug gel on hand for days that I'm too lazy or busy to slice/dice/grind vegies, fruits, dog/cat food for them.  Definitely do regular clean up to avoid spoilage and unwanted pests.


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## Big B (Oct 19, 2013)

I feed my cricks oranges and dry dog food. Cheap/ easy...and old school.lol


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## Truffs1178 (Oct 19, 2013)

Gut loading is making sure they have food inside their digestive tracks...that's all it is.

By eating a cricket with the food in its gut the spider or whatever you are feeding it to not only gets the nutrition from the insect but also the food inside the insect.

If you feed your insects say 2 days before you feed them to the your pet it won't benefit because the insect will have already digested and excreted the food. Gut load a few hours before feeding to your pet.


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## Monza geckos (Oct 19, 2013)

I feed mine tarantulas lol jk I feed mine everything really meat veggies etc


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## Poec54 (Oct 19, 2013)

Truffs1178 said:


> Gut loading is making sure they have food inside their digestive tracks...that's all it is.


Which basically means feeding prey animals on a normal basis.


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## CakeLore (Oct 20, 2013)

I have concerns about pesticides on food being transmitted to the spider. Although crickets from the pet store are often already gut loaded. Is it totally necessary to do it?


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## Poec54 (Oct 20, 2013)

CakeLore said:


> I have concerns about pesticides on food being transmitted to the spider. Although crickets from the pet store are often already gut loaded. Is it totally necessary to do it?


It's never a bad idea to feed and water crickets when you get them.  Pet stores may feed their crickets to keep them alive longer; since when is that 'gut loading'?  Do you 'gut load' when you go out to dinner?


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