Gut loading crickets

[Euan]

Is it necessary to gut load the cricket 24hrs before feeding?
I’m new and wanted to check if they need to be dusted in any supplements?
Or are straight out of the box crickets enough for a spiderling?
Getting a Mexican Red Knee and is on small crickets and planning on trying to feed every four days.
Thanks

 

[m0lsx]

I do not & never have, but I do try to look after my crickets. So they get porridge & few raisins. I used to put some vegetables in, but they go mouldy, where raisins, or currants, contain some moisture, but do not normally go mouldy.

Gut loading does no harm, but do not use anything with protein in it. Unlike reptiles, tarantulas have no bones, so do not deal well with protein.

 

[Stan Schultz]

I do not & never have, but I do try to look after my crickets. So they get porridge & few raisins. I used to put some vegetables in, but they go mouldy, where raisins, or currants, contain some moisture, but do not normally go mouldy.

Gut loading does no harm,...

True. Except that it uses up available resources like your time and your money, which could be better spent on other aspects of your hobby.

... but do not use anything with protein in it. Unlike reptiles, tarantulas have no bones, so do not deal well with protein.

What? I think you're confusing calcium with protein. Even then, I think you're still in error. Both are required by all multicellular organisms.

While tarantulas do not utilize excessive amounts of calcium to strengthen their exoskeletons (as do crustaceans for instance), they do require minimal amounts in other aspects of their metabolism such as neuron (a.k.a., nerve cell) function and pH stabilization. Calcium is well understood in vertebrate animals (see Calcium Metabolism for instance), but has been little studied in many invertebrates like spiders. But that doesn't mean it doesn't exist or that calcium is not necessary in these creatures.

As with all other living organisms on this planet (plants, animals, and a whole host of single-celled microorganisms), tarantulas require various kinds of proteins for virtually all of their metabolic processes. And, as with all other multicellular animals (and probably most unicellular organisms s well), proteins are also necessary for a large percentage of their body mass.

And as a matter of fact, it is very difficult to remove contaminating proteins during many manufacturing and pharmaceutical processes. This makes "no protein" foods (even for crickets) more of a fiction than a reality, anyway.

Stan

 

[m0lsx]

And as a matter of fact, it is very difficult to remove contaminating proteins during many manufacturing and pharmaceutical processes. This makes "no protein" foods (even for crickets) more of a fiction than a reality, anyway.

Stan

But the last thing that a tarantula needs is an additive, that is designed to add even more protein than they get within their natural diet. Feed your crickets, look after them. But why waste time & money feeding them something high in protein? Hence, why I feed mine dried fruit & porridge.

Crickets contain high levels of protein, well over 60%. It's why they are seen as such a good food source for humans. Looking online, Crickets contain more protein ounce for ounce, than chicken, beef, pork, or salmon. So, gut loading them with something that is designed to add protein would seem to be much like adding extra water to water. A pointless exercise.

From a human perspective, some species of Crickets contain not just high levels of protein, but also 9, I think it is, amino acids & all the amino acids that our bodies need, but cannot naturally produce. And in ideal levels for us. They really are a super food.

 

[GarField000]

Dusting your crickets is not needed as they don't take the feeder in it's whole like a bearded dragon.

You can gutload them with their foods. I used some gutloader mix out off a box that you can mix in with water so they took it. But that was when I had a bearded dragon and a chameleon. Now I only have spiders that eat insects I don't do it anymore. Just take good care off your feeders. I don't use crickets a lot, but when I get my 2/3 boxes I feed them the same day and i'm out. The red runners I breed myself do very well with an orange once a week. They do get fruits en vegies but nothing special.

 

[Phototoxin]

Mine come with meal but i tend to give them some lettuce for moisture and to add some fresh food. A wee box tends to last me about 2 weeks before the last few tend to die off