Nutritional Guide on Invertebrate Feeders for Reptiles, Amphibians & Other Species

Introductory Guide Towards Providing the Best Animal Nutrition

 

What Are Live Foods?

Live Foods, commonly referred to as feeders, are a form of live prey offered to many captive exotic reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, and other species as an important part of their diet.

Live foods offer stimulating opportunities for food enrichment that requires a captive animal to forage, hunt, and capture their food while enforcing the use of natural behaviors. Each type/species of live food has its own nutritional value and can be boosted through gut-loading prior to being offered.

It is also the animal owner's responsibility to know the different types of live foods and how often to offer them to their animals.

What is Gut-Loading?

Gut-loading/gutloading is a crucial part of ensuring that your live insect feeders are nutrient dense for the animals you feed them to. Gut-loading is obtained by offering your live feeders nutrient dense food. That is so your animals that consume your live feeders, also obtain the additional nutrients within the feeders as well. Gut-loading also helps ensure that your feeders have optimal ratios of minerals and nutrients such as calcium and phosphorus, that support strong bone and muscle development.

We strongly recommend using this premium gut-load that can be prepared and fed to your live feeders.

What Are Common Live Invertebrate Foods Often Used to Feed Other Animals?

Crickets:

Crickets are an incredibly common insect used to feed a wide variety of species and are often available in small, medium, and large sizes. Their movement is very stimulating for faster or young reptiles and have a high protein and moisture content.

Crickets are very inexpensive, however require special care and housing to remain alive. In addition, Crickets also do not have a balanced Ca:P (Calcium to Phosphorus) ratio and may require additional supplementation and calcium dusting before feeding.

Because crickets are sensitive and messy, waste plus deceased crickets can produce an unpleasant odor.

Flightless Fruit Flies:

Flightless Fruit Fly species are invaluable for smaller animals such as Mourning Geckos, Poison Dart Frogs, Jumping Spiders, and Mantises.

Fruit Flies are able to be cultured in closed cups with proper ventilation using a culture medium that promotes growth and breeding. With proper management, someone with a fruit fly colony can repeatedly create multiple fly cultures from a few and will ensure they have an ample supply of flies. There are many recipes or pre-made fruit fly mediums available that guarantee fast culture growth.

Despite being a protein rich food source, fruit flies lack essential vitamins and minerals such as Calcium and Vitamin D3. Because of this, they must be dusted or gut loaded before being fed to specific species.

Dubia Roaches:

Dubia Roaches are one of the most nutrient dense and favored feeders on this list. They're naturally rich in calcium and protein content, which is ideal for many carnivorous species. However, they should not be fed in excess to some species due to their fat content.

Dubia Roaches are a popular live food that many keep as a breeding colony. With adequate heating, feeding, and space, keeping a breeding colony is very cost effective!

Despite their popularity, these roaches also do not encompass a complete diet and will require additional gut-loading.

Mealworms:

Mealworms are a super popular feeder and have an excellent nutrient composition including Vitamins A & B, and 12 essential amino acids. This larvae of the darkling beetle should be fed with caution to smaller animals due to their chitinous exoskeleton. Excessive consumption of mealworms in affected animals may result in impactions. Mealworms also have a higher fat content than other feeder insects and should be fed with moderation.

Mealworms are a commonly cultured live feeder or can be kept refrigerated to stop development into adult beetles. Mealworms should be gut-loaded prior to being offered to animals. 

Superworms:

Superworms are another popular feeder that is well known for their high protein and fat content. Similarly to mealworms, they can be refrigerated to slow their metabolism and growth. Because of their fat content, they should be fed occasionally to prevent obesity and other issues in your animals. Their chitinous exoskeleton can also potentially lead to impactions if overfed to your animals as well.

Superworms are a less common feeder that is privately cultured due to the fact that individual larvae must be kept alone in order to successfully pupate into adult beetles

 

Hornworms:

Hornworms are a popular feeder choice for larger reptiles such as Chameleons and Tokay Geckos. Despite not being as high in protein as other feeders on this list, they have an excellent moisture content, low fat content, and have a good Ca:P ratio (around 1.8:1). Hornworms should be fed according to the species-specific needs of your animal.

Hornworms are one of the least cost-effective feeders to culture on this list. You will need a very ample food supply for the larvae (hornworms) and have space put aside for their metamorphosis into adult Hawk Moths.

If a hornworm is bluish in color (as seen below) it is safe to feed to your animal. Do not feed any hornworm that is another color for the safety of your animal. Hornworms that have also eaten nightshade plants such as tomatoes can contain compounds that are harmful to your animals and should never be offered as food.

 

Red Runner Roaches:

Red Runner Roaches are an active and nutritious feeder option for many animals. These roaches are high in protein and have an excellent Ca:P ratio when gut loaded. Red Runners are a very resilient species and can be cultured for cost-effectiveness. Unlike Dubias, Red Runners do not give birth to live offspring, they lay what is known as oothecas, and they will hatch out numerous offspring once fully developed.

Red Runners can be cultured similarly to dubias, meaning with adequate space, heat, and nutrition, you can have a bustling colony.

 

Conclusions:

Thank you for reading this introductory article to live invertebrate feeders for animal nutrition. If you have any questions, please contact us at our email address: scholarlyexotics@gmail.com; we will respond back as soon as possible!

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