Phoenix worms?
- Thread starter gizmo143
- Start date
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
No insect/worm comparison chart I have ever seen, accurate or not, has ever listed crickets as containing 44% fat! In fact, crickets are the healthiest feeder around as long as they are nutritiously fed! Feeding variety is best.
Click: http://www.geckosunlimited.com/comm...-feeding-issues/68574-cricket-guidelines.html
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Cymmie
New member
Yes I agree feeding variety is best, but I do not agree that crickets are the healthiest feeder around, just in my opinion. Not because of what I said earlier, but because I believe dubias are better. They have a better meat to shell ratio, are higher in protein, and don't chew on your animal. But that's just my opinion. I was may have been wrong with the fat content, it's just what I have read before.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Ya gotta be careful with dubia. IMO dubia are not a "thumbs up" feeder as a staple. Some charts suggest that dubia are higher in protein than crickets. Too much protein can lead to serious problems.
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Depends on species. Obligate carnivores might disagree with those statements.
Omnivores and herbivores could suffer from too much, or even any, animal protein, but carnivores require animal protein. The same applies to leopards. In this case the protein is from an insect, but it's still animal protein.
You can't go by human diet guidelines for gout when it comes to leopard geckos (or any other species) because we're not true carnivores. Leopards don't get plants in their diet, other than what's still in the insect's digestive tract, which really isn't much.
Check out the entry on gout here:
Nutrition in Reptiles: Nutrition: Exotic and Zoo Animals: Merck Veterinary Manual
"Feeding diets low in protein to carnivorous reptiles is unwise because they are adapted to feeding on high-protein prey."