How to Prep Locusts and Crickets for Optimal Nutrition

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Steps to Follow

Getting Ready for Gut Loading

Gut Loading Insects

Helpful Tips

Reptiles like bearded dragons, chameleons, and geckos are gaining popularity as pets. However, ensuring their well-being requires an informed owner who has researched the ideal vivarium temperature, safe substrates, and proper reptile diet. Providing a nutritious diet entails more than just offering the right insects; it involves gut loading locusts and crickets to maximize their nutritional value for the reptile.

Steps to Follow

Getting Ready for Gut Loading

Pre-purchase insects in advance. Gut loading entails filling the insect's gut with nutritious foods. When the reptile consumes these healthy, well-fed insects, it receives ample minerals and vitamins. Since gut loading takes time, it's crucial to acquire the insects several days before feeding them to your reptile.

If you order live food online, the stress of transit can leave the insects in poor condition upon arrival. Plan ahead to allow at least 48 hours of feeding before offering them to your reptile. This recovery time ensures they regain health and become more nutritionally beneficial.

Select a Suitable Container. It's essential to choose an appropriate container to house the locusts and crickets. The small plastic tubs they're transported in aren't suitable for gut loading or long-term housing. Faunariums, also known as terrariums or reptile tanks, are ideal for this purpose. These clear tanks or boxes come with plastic lids equipped with multiple ventilation holes.

Opt for a larger faunarium to provide ample space for the insects to move around.
Commercial faunariums are readily available online or at reptile stores. They feature an access hatch for easy removal of individual insects with tweezers, facilitating good ventilation and easy cleaning between batches.
If you don't have a faunarium, you can use a plastic container like a 2-liter ice cream tub. Ensure to puncture multiple holes in the lid for proper ventilation.

Prepare the Faunarium. Line the bottom with layers of disposable paper towels. Create hiding spots for the insects by adding egg cartons from the travel packs.

If there's bran in the travel pack, you can add it to the faunarium as well.

Gut Loading Insects

Introduce the Insects into the Faunarium. Avoid mixing different species in the same container, as they have different requirements and may compete for resources.

Maintain a Comfortable Temperature in the Faunarium. Insects require warm temperatures for proper digestion to prevent fermentation in their gut, which could be harmful to the reptile consuming them.

Crickets prefer temperatures between 80 - 85°F, while locusts prefer slightly warmer temperatures, around 95 - 105°F.
Avoid excessive humidity in the faunarium, as it may promote the growth of harmful bacteria.

Provide Daily Meals for the Insects. Place a supply of nutritious food in the faunarium, ensuring not to exceed their daily consumption. Wash all food items before placing them inside, as the residual moisture on the food serves as the insects' water source.

Avoid leaving spoiled food in the faunarium. Replace any uneaten food at the end of each day with fresh supplies.

Offer a Nutrient-Rich Diet to the Insects. The aim of gut loading is to ensure the insects are healthy, providing your reptile with nutritious meals. Suitable foods for the insects include cabbage, spring greens, romaine lettuce, apples, half green grapes, butternut squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other safe fruits or vegetables for your reptile.

Note that avocado is toxic to many reptiles and should not be fed to live prey.
You can also opt for commercial 'gut loading' foods or gels available at reptile shops, which are rich in vitamins and minerals. While these products may contain added calcium, they offer no significant advantage over feeding fresh, high-quality foods.

Enhance the Insects' Diet with Calcium. Providing additional calcium is advisable, as pet reptiles are often prone to developing metabolic bone disease due to insufficient dietary calcium or inadequate UVB lighting (essential for calcium metabolism). An easy way to ensure the reptile receives enough calcium is to sprinkle a calcium supplement (like Nutrobal, obtainable from reptile shops) onto the fruits and vegetables fed to the insects.

Opinions vary regarding the effectiveness of this method in supplementing the reptile's calcium intake, as some argue that the calcium remains within the gut of the locusts or crickets. However, there is no harm in doing so. To be cautious, also dust the live food with calcium powder just before feeding it to the reptile.

Feed Gut-Loaded Insects Selectively to Your Reptile. Only offer healthy-looking insects to your reptile. Remove any deceased insects from the faunarium and refrain from feeding them to your reptile.

Helpful Tips

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Frequently Asked Questions

What steps should I take to prepare for gut loading insects for my reptile?

To prepare for gut loading, first, purchase insects several days in advance to ensure they are healthy. Use a suitable container, such as a faunarium, lined with paper towels, and create hiding spots with egg cartons. Maintain appropriate temperatures for the insects and provide nutritious food daily.

How can I ensure my gut-loaded insects are nutritionally beneficial for my reptile?

To ensure nutritional benefits, gut load the insects with healthy foods like cabbage, sweet potatoes, and commercial gut-loading products. It's important to maintain proper temperatures and avoid overcrowding to optimize the insects' health before feeding them to your reptile.

What is the ideal temperature range for gut loading crickets and locusts?

Crickets thrive at temperatures between 80 - 85°F, while locusts prefer slightly warmer conditions of 95 - 105°F. Maintaining these temperatures is crucial for digestion and preventing harmful fermentation in their guts.

Should I use commercial gut loading foods or fresh produce for insects?

While commercial gut loading foods are available, fresh produce is often more beneficial. Fresh fruits and vegetables provide essential nutrients, and adding calcium supplements can further enhance the insects' nutritional value for your reptile.

What precautions should I take when feeding gut-loaded insects to my reptile?

Before feeding gut-loaded insects to your reptile, ensure only healthy, active insects are selected. Remove any dead insects from their housing, and consider dusting live food with calcium powder to promote your reptile's health.