# Cricket Food



## dino

I have been told a lot that you cannot feed crickets fruit since it is bad for mantids. You can use fruit, but oranges would be recomended since it is high in vitamin C. You can also feed crickets potatoes since it is high in moisture. Or you can just simpily feed it dry dog food that is also healthy for crickets. I personally would use this food for my crickets instead of buying gutloaded food for crickets at the pet shop when I have these healthy food for crickets right in my kicthen. :wink:


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## Ian

all I do, is throw in old vegetable peeling, and use sprigs of spinach and rocket from the garden. Also, brocollii stubs, cabbage stubs, potato, and anoy other cheap veg or green material, lol. I also add the vitamin suplemtn from shops, just sprinkle it in, and it is gone, usually within the hour.

Cheers,

Ian


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## dino

Mmmmm all this fruit and vegatable talk is starting to make me hungry :idea:


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## dino

Every day the potatoes will turn a little brown. Cut that part off until it looks fresh again. Also Ian I'm not saying that your vegatable garden has bugs in it, but when you put the vegatables or old vegatable peelings in the crickets cage make sure no bugs are in it. I dont know, but PROBABLY those bugs will be parasites? Which will probably do some harm to your mantids. :shock: . I can't wait till my fruit, vegatable and flower gardens start to grow. They seem to be growing pretty fast.  Just got to wait a little longer though... ( sigh.)


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## Ian

No dino, you really dont know what you are talking about.

Cheers,

Ian


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## Leah

You are completely and utterly wrong about your gutloading theories. I cannot stress enough, IF YOU DONT KNOW FOR A FACT - DONT POST!!!

Here is a very well researched article about gutloading content basics:

http://www.chameleonnews.com/gutload.html

Variety is very important, you cant call one or two items a "gutload" and you must keep in mind, that crickets will eat anything, so just because they eat somehting and dont die, doesnt mean it is good for them. I could eat motor oil and probably not die - doesnt mean its good!


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## Ian

well, that was what I have been told by many people at herp shop, and other people online :? . Works for me anyway.

Cheers.

Ian


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## PseudoDave

A little bit of extra-anything in a cricket is a bonus as I see it. My crickets get the same treatment as Ians, works a treat, well, there are no negative results to suggest otherwise.

Dave


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## Rick

I feed my crickets 'spring mix' which is a mixture of different kinds of baby greens. I alternate between that and flake fish food and ground up dry cat food.


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## dino

Well you do what you want to do with your crickets. A woman told me this info at a pet shop because she owns it and I know what she is talking about Leah. Lets keep this on topic please. Please Leah dont get stressed over the way I care for my crickets. We have our own ways... dont we? like Rick, like Ian, like you Leah, and my self included. Also a lot of other people too. I just want to know Leah, how come you think I'm wrong about this. Potatoes is really high in moisture and oranges are high in vitamin C. This is actually healthy for a cricket. I dont see how you think I'm lying about this... I have no reason to lie about this. Also it is like I never said that gutloaded food is bad. All I said was I would use these type of food for my crickets since it is right here in my kitchen. I know I would kinda get tired of buying cricket food from the pet shop when I have healthy food for crickets in my own kicthen. Also with all due respect Leah, you dont eat motor oil. You drink it. And if you ever did do this, than I would think that was really crazy to do.


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## Rick

My cricket food is right in my kitchen too. IMO I think your choice in cricket food is bad. I agree you don' t really need to buy cricket specific food. I know I don't. I use those mixed greens, cat food, and fish food for the really small ones. Potatoes are good for providing moisture for crickets but that's about it. If you only feed them potatoes and oranges you are not providing proper nutrition at all. It's not much different than nutrition for people. I can tell that you don't know anything about nutrition. And just because somebody at a pet store tells you something does not make it true. Some of the biggest idiots I have met were people running pet stores. But you don't have to listen to me. Do whatever you want.


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## Ian

lol, I agree, pet shop advice can be awful, and most of the time, it is. But as I said, I have been told by a lot of people, shop keepers, private breeders, and also on reptile forums that that diet will suffice. I mean, I am sure there could be a better diet for them, but from my experience, the diet I am keeping them on is a successful one. But yeah, I will give cat food a try, never taken that inot consideration before, cheers rick  

Cheers,

Ian


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## dino

> My cricket food is right in my kitchen too. IMO I think your choice in cricket food is bad. I agree you don' t really need to buy cricket specific food. I know I don't. I use those mixed greens, cat food, and fish food for the really small ones. Potatoes are good for providing moisture for crickets but that's about it. If you only feed them potatoes and oranges you are not providing proper nutrition at all. It's not much different than nutrition for people. I can tell that you don't know anything about nutrition. And just because somebody at a pet store tells you something does not make it true. Some of the biggest idiots I have met were people running pet stores. But you don't have to listen to me. Do whatever you want.


Oh I assure you I know what I doing. I know about nutrition. Just because I said something you don't agree with doesn't mean I don't know anything about nutrition. Explain to me why it is bad only you Rick explain to me why it is bad?


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## gotmantids

What I like to do when I feed my crickets cat food is soak the cat food in water so that it'll get bigger and sponge up the water. That way they get both water and food at the same time.  

This post is kinda getting off topic as to who's right and who's wrong.


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## worldofmantis

I just give them potatoes and thats it. Mine do fine they live long enough for the mantis to eat them. Ive never had one die by itself normally the mantis gets to it. I agree that you should feed them a good healthy diet but i jsut dont care about the crickets all there for is to fill my mantids stomach. Not that its bad or anything to make your crickets healthy but what are you raising the mantises or the crickets?


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## PseudoDave

worldofmantis,

I think the logic here is the old 'you are what you eat' thing. If you feed healthy crickets that have been fed healthy food, to a mantis, the mantis should in turn benefit. Personally, i just put whatever i feel like feeding my crickets at the time in with them and let them get on with. Be it fruit, veg, meat, whatever. Normally though, the crickets have a wonderful plate each of cucumber and tomato salad, seems to do them just fine.

Dave


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## Peekaboo

> I just give them potatoes and thats it. Mine do fine they live long enough for the mantis to eat them. Ive never had one die by itself normally the mantis gets to it. I agree that you should feed them a good healthy diet but i jsut dont care about the crickets all there for is to fill my mantids stomach. Not that its bad or anything to make your crickets healthy but what are you raising the mantises or the crickets?


The reason why so many of us find it important to feed our feeder crickets healthy diets, is so that the mantids will obtain the nutrition they need from the crickets. The longer a cricket goes without out food, the more nutrients it uses up to support its own life. Feeding a cricket that's been starved for a few days, is essentially feeding a mantid a husk.

It's no necessarily bad for the mantid right off, but think of it this way ... if you ate nothing but crackers, you wouldn't be receiving the proper nutrition you'd need for your body to function. It wouldn't matter how many crackers you ate, you'd be missing out on numerous vitamins, protiens, and acids. Eventually you'd become malnourished. The same thing applies with crickets and mantids. If you fed them nothing but malnoursihed crickets, you will end up with malnourished mantids.


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## Ian

I have to say, I have notcied a difference with the way I gut load my circkets. What I am currently feeding them, may not be the correct thing, but as I said, it works for me. However, when I first started collecting mantids, I only like, a tub of crickets a week, and feeding them on lettuce, and that was about it. And the oothecae that the female produced had a MUCH lower hatch rate, than the ooths that are being produced now. And the idea of it being down to the crix ha only just entered my mind...but I think it could be a possibility.

(rick, if you can get dino to change his tone, I will paypal you a 3 figure sum :lol: )

Cheers,

Ian


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## summerland

I feed my crix fish flakes and minced scraps from the veggies I prepare for dinner (minus carrots)... I can't use my cat or dog food because I use holistic foods that contain CARROTS... has anyone else heard of avoiding carrots?


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## micheleinvirginia

Yeah I read that somewhere too.. think it said carrots act as a natural insect repellant.


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## Oneida

Come on guys, stop picking on Dino, its not his fault he is close minded and stubborn

He will grow out of that, we all did, he just need realize that the world is not out to get him!

as for the Nutrients for good health, it is said you are what you eat, and since crickets are mantid food, isnt it logical that the healthier the cricket the better off the mantid??

and Potatos and Orenges alone do not a healthy cricket make!

Suffice, sure i dont think thats what Ian was trying to say, thought i could be wrong

I just dont understand why every topic *almost* Dino is on, he there is an arguement, oh well, my two sense!


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## Andrew

> And just because somebody at a pet store tells you something does not make it true.


I agree! Most pet stores have no idea what they are doing. They just try to keep the animals alive until they are sold. To go by what a pet store says and not listen to what experienced hobbyists say is almost idiotic. The people here know what they are doing Dino(and worldofmantis), and you should really listen to what they are saying. Variety = a healthy animal. Sure, potatoes provide moisture, the oranges provide vitamin C, but what about everything else?

Thanks,

Andrew


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## Peekaboo

> And just because somebody at a pet store tells you something does not make it true. Some of the biggest idiots I have met were people running pet stores.


I'll second this. When I first got into the hobby, a looong time ago, I learned the hard way that pet shop people, owners and workers alike, give you great instructions for disasters. Most notably, never once was I told about a mantid's general life cycle ... such as molting, ootheca laying despite mating, and so forth. What seems like common sense and/or knowledge was entirely foreign to me.

Also, when I started the hobby, there weren't a lot of online resources to go to for reliable information. A forum like this, and information made available by experienced hobbyists are complete blessings for new hobbyists.

Because I had no clue about molting, and neither did the Pet Store, I wasn't aware of important things like keeping humidity at a constant level. When my sub-adult African attempted to molt, it ended up incredibly mangled. You can imagine my surprise when I one saw it hanging there, and two learned that mantids shed their skin.

Not long after, I got another pretty African, and this time, I spoke to the in-store "insect expert", who instructed me to mist the living heck out of the insect and maintain dripping wet, steaming, jungle-like conditions. That mantis didn't even make it through the night.

Just goes to show that not every pet place has owners and employees that are knowledgable about the animals they sell. After these two incidents, I quit the trade for a short while, until I found reliable sources of information.


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## PseudoDave

Keep in mind that not all us pet-shop lot are bad...


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## Peekaboo

lol Sorry! I didn't mean to imply that all Petshops could double as little shops of horror.

There are certainly many good shops to go along with the bad. One of my favorites is the East Bay Vivarium in Berkley. Of the staff I have met, they are all experienced reptile hobbyists.


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## Andrew

Yeah, sorry lol. Of course not all pet shops are bad.

I agree, EBV is a very nice pet shop. They take very good care of their animals and their staff is very knowledgeable.

Thanks,

Andrew


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## dino

> And just because somebody at a pet store tells you something does not make it true.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree! Most pet stores have no idea what they are doing. They just try to keep the animals alive until they are sold. To go by what a pet store says and not listen to what experienced hobbyists say is almost idiotic. The people here know what they are doing Dino(and worldofmantis), and you should really listen to what they are saying. Variety = a healthy animal. Sure, potatoes provide moisture, the oranges provide vitamin C, but what about everything else?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Andrew
Click to expand...

Andrew,

I know what they are talking about, Andrew, but I'am goin' to continue feeding my crickets oranges and potatoes... I know that they know what they are talking about, ANdrew, but I dont really have to listen. They are my crickets. :lol:


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## worldofmantis

ill second that we can feed them what we want and you guys might think well this is better and that is better. We have absolutley no way of proving that unless we would do alot of tests. but are we really going to fight over freaking crickets?lets use self control and not pick evrebodys ideas apart.


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## Jesse

> ill second that we can feed them what we want and you guys might think well this is better and that is better. We have absolutley no way of proving that unless we would do alot of tests. but are we really going to fight over freaking crickets?lets use self control and not pick evrebodys ideas apart.


Actually, there have been many tests involving gutloading crickets and its benefit(s), this method is very popular and widely used in the herp hobby because of its added benefits. It may or may not be as beneficial for mantids and other inverts, but there is no reason to believe that it doesn't benefit them more than if fed crickets which were fed a less complete diet.


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