gut loading locusts

[clive 82]

I neglected the "?"---> pesticide?

No I believe on said website they were swaying towards saying you don't need to or shouldn't gut load locusts because they cant digest the food which in turn turns toxic in the stomach. Like I said sounds strange. If this is true ( doubtful ) then would it affect a pet if it were to be fed? They didn't mention pesticides.

 

[Ranitomeya]

The only way I'd imagine gutloading would kill a feeder is if you were forcing it to eat an excess of vitamins and minerals or giving it some unnatural diet in an attempt to drastically change its nutritional value. If you just keep feeders with a normal, balanced, and healthy diet, there should be no need to gutload to such extremes that you end up with dead feeders. I know that gutloading means different things to different people. Some people consider gutloading as providing the feeders with ample nutrition before feeding while others consider gutloading as forcing a feeder to ingest foods with such an excess amount of vitamins and minerals that they cannot naturally purge what they are unable to handle before dying. This would be done by starving said feeder and then providing it with only the gutloading diet.

 

[Marijan2]

Potentially found something interesting about this topic: http://aem.asm.org/content/80/17/5254.full

Bacterial mutualists in insect guts play an important role in regulating the host's metabolism, and they also promote efficient digestion for extraction of maximum energy from ingested foods (2) and protect the host from other, potentially harmful microbes (3). In addition to beneficial functions, the insect gut microbiota may also engage in opportunistically harmful interactions with the host (4–6). Our previous study on Drosophila flies revealed that alterations in the gut microbiota induced by the host's deregulated immune genotype led to host mortality (7).

From what i understood insects in captivity have obviously different food than in wild, and that in turn can become harmful because it propagates harmful gut bacteria that is usually supressed in the wild. Making gut loading not so safe.

 

[clive 82]

Potentially found something interesting about this topic: http://aem.asm.org/content/80/17/5254.full

Bacterial mutualists in insect guts play an important role in regulating the host's metabolism, and they also promote efficient digestion for extraction of maximum energy from ingested foods (2) and protect the host from other, potentially harmful microbes (3). In addition to beneficial functions, the insect gut microbiota may also engage in opportunistically harmful interactions with the host (4–6). Our previous study on Drosophila flies revealed that alterations in the gut microbiota induced by the host's deregulated immune genotype led to host mortality (7).

From what i understood insects in captivity have obviously different food than in wild, and that in turn can become harmful because it propagates harmful gut bacteria that is usually supressed in the wild. Making gut loading not so safe.

Well that's quite interesting. All I can say is that when I feed my feeders regulary they seem healthier & live longer than if I don't, which obviously makes sense.

 

[clive 82]

The only way I'd imagine gutloading would kill a feeder is if you were forcing it to eat an excess of vitamins and minerals or giving it some unnatural diet in an attempt to drastically change its nutritional value. If you just keep feeders with a normal, balanced, and healthy diet, there should be no need to gutload to such extremes that you end up with dead feeders. I know that gutloading means different things to different people. Some people consider gutloading as providing the feeders with ample nutrition before feeding while others consider gutloading as forcing a feeder to ingest foods with such an excess amount of vitamins and minerals that they cannot naturally purge what they are unable to handle before dying. This would be done by starving said feeder and then providing it with only the gutloading diet.

So how do you guys feed all of your feeders? Interesting to hear what other people do as you say gut loading means different things to different people.

 

[Marijan2]

So how do you guys feed all of your feeders?

I feed all my feeders with constant variable food sources, they always have something to eat. Never gutloaded and probably never will.

For me, gutloading means starving them for few days and feeding them right before they themselves become food. Purpose of that is filling their front gut(insects have 3 separate guts by the way) to give boost to their nutritional value with semi-processed food.

 

[EulersK]

So how do you guys feed all of your feeders? Interesting to hear what other people do as you say gut loading means different things to different people.

I feed them them for the sake of keeping them alive, that's all. I have a thriving dubia colony that survives entirely off of chick feed and the occasional orange.

 

[clive 82]

I feed all my feeders with constant variable food sources, they always have something to eat. Never gutloaded and probably never will.

For me, gutloading means starving them for few days and feeding them right before they themselves become food. Purpose of that is filling their front gut(insects have 3 separate guts by the way) to give boost to their nutritional value with semi-processed food.

How often do you feed?

 

[clive 82]

I feed them them for the sake of keeping them alive, that's all. I have a thriving dubia colony that survives entirely off of chick feed and the occasional orange.

Sounds like a good way to go. Makes sense to me lol!

 

[Marijan2]

How often do you feed?

There is no fixed schedule in my feeding. When i see food in roach bit is getting thin, i add some more, so they always have something in to munch on

 

[viper69]

I read this on a livefood suppliers website here in the UK.

Please provide the site, I'd like to read this.

my feeders have access to food 24/7, same w/water. In my reptile world it's recommended to give the crix 24 hr before feeding to your pets so they can eat. I do the same for the Ts.

 

[clive 82]

Please provide the site, I'd like to read this.

my feeders have access to food 24/7, same w/water. In my reptile world it's recommended to give the crix 24 hr before feeding to your pets so they can eat. I do the same for the Ts.

its on a website livefoods.co.uk. Its noted in the livefood caresheet section.

 

[viper69]

its on a website livefoods.co.uk. Its noted in the livefood caresheet section.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure you are wrong and have been misunderstanding or misrepresenting what's actually on that site.

This is the only reference to locusts' stomach on their care sheet which is VERY, VERY different than what you previously conveyed to us.

"If you are keeping locusts at room temperature DO NOT feed them at all, any food they eat will not be digested properly and will decompose inside their stomachs, the locusts will then become ill and die."

Their website also read the following below

"It is much better to keep locusts quite hot (35 to 38 degrees C)"

 

[clive 82]

Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure you are wrong and have been misunderstanding or misrepresenting what's actually on that site.

This is the only reference to locusts' stomach on their care sheet which is VERY, VERY different than what you previously conveyed to us.

"If you are keeping locusts at room temperature DO NOT feed them at all, any food they eat will not be digested properly and will decompose inside their stomachs, the locusts will then become ill and die."

Their website also read the following below

"It is much better to keep locusts quite hot (35 to 38 degrees C)"

yeah true my bad I missed that sorry folks. I guess the higher temperatures have something to do with speeding up metabolism & digestion?

 

[Ellenantula]

"If you are keeping locusts at room temperature DO NOT feed them at all, any food they eat will not be digested properly and will decompose inside their stomachs, the locusts will then become ill and die."
"It is much better to keep locusts quite hot (35 to 38 degrees C)"

Ah -- well that's probably true for many things. I doubt my ball python could digest his food well either if I suddenly dropped his temps down to 75 degrees.

Perhaps, when speaking of feeding regimens, we should add that the feeder is being kept at its proper temp, humidity, etc., as well as receiving its normal diet.

Anyway, I don't 'gut load' I just feed mine a normal healthy diet.

 

[viper69]

Anyway, I don't 'gut load' I just feed mine a normal healthy diet.

That's gut loading.

 

[Trenor]

That's gut loading.

YMaybe. The term gutloading like so many terms we come up with are about as subjective as the term juvenile or sub adult. You ask a dozen people what any of those terms mean and you get a dozen answers. I don't consider feeding my feeders their normal food gutloading. If I feed them extra calcium in their food before I feed them to my bearded dragon then to me that's gutloading. I rarely do anything other than feeding their normal food.

 

[viper69]

YMaybe. The term gutloading like so many terms we come up with are about as subjective as the term juvenile or sub adult. You ask a dozen people what any of those terms mean and you get a dozen answers. I don't consider feeding my feeders their normal food gutloading. If I feed them extra calcium in their food before I feed them to my bearded dragon then to me that's gutloading. I rarely do anything other than feeding their normal food.

I don't think gutloading is one of those terms.

Extra calcium, tha's just "dusting" crix j/k, there are ways to do that w/food too, not just powders as you and I both know.

 

[Trenor]

Extra calcium, tha's just "dusting" crix j/k

Well gut loading it's on the inside. Dusting is on the outside.

You can gutload a lot of things besides calcium that was an example. I've seen a lot of different websites and people that list how one gutloads prey and they are often very different.

IMO as long as you feed the prey the right food for them then they are healthy and provide good food for the pets.