Feeder insects are what I call the insects that I feed to the geckos. I have been using crickets and mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) mostly, But recently I tried some waxworms (Galleria mellonella) and superworms (Zphobas morio).
Before feeding the feeder insects to the geckos, it is important to feed the feeders. This is called gut loading. The idea is to get the feeders full ofnutrietiosus food before giving them to the geckos. This way you improve the nutrition value of the feeders.
You can buy gut load for crickets but I have not seen a gut load marketed for mealworms specifically. Some people make their own gut load from grains and vegetables. I attempted to make some gut load for the meal worms the other day. Here is how I did it:
0.5 cups of raw unsalted almonds
0.5 cups of bread crumbs
0.5 cups of oatmeal (rolled quick oats)
0.5 cups of whole wheat flour
0.5 cups of wheat bran
0.25 cups millet flour
0.25 cups oat flour
0.25 cups bulgur whole wheat
First I added the almonds to a food processor and blended until finely chopped.
next, added the other ingredients and processed until it was a consistent powder.
To use I added about 1:1 with the wheat bran mix that the meal worms came in. Added a couple small slices of carrot for moister and added a couple days worth ofmealworms.
I have also read that you can add non-fat dried milk powder, baby cereal, dried alfalfa, brewers yeast. The idea is to have a variety grains, nuts veggies to increase the nutrition of the the gut load.
If you don’t have all these ingredients, you can mix some dried grains and cereals you have around your kitchen. Just avoid the high sugar cereals.
Your gut-loading recipe is awesome…Thanks! I wanted to add that to provide water for your crickets you should use water crystals. They are the cleanest and safest way.