Gutloading Frenzy Again And Again
19/10/2020
I am sorry to not be enthusiastic about gutloading, and this comment is made not to offend anyone but itnis finally time to face the FACTS and NOT continue with the gutloading nonsense that has spread as a fashion accross internet...
You get recommendations how to feed apples, papaya, orange, lettuce, collard greens and spirulina and rosted almonds, granola and dried blackberries etc. etc.
The cyberspace is overloaded with gutloading recommendations... And debates are vivid and sort of "fact-based", pseudospecialists dare to produce gutloading sheets with totally weird recommendations in bad FB groups (no wonder),
On web-pages and in Youtube. Even otherwise serious communities like e.g.
Chameleon Forums fell into this trap and spreads questionable non-verified info.
These all recommendations have absolutely no scientific basis, they are repeated and parotted imaginations and formulations of people that dare to introduce to the community things that absolutely do not make sense and are not backed with any measurable experience and no science.
The good news is:
Almost all what is shown is GREAT AS FOOD FOR FEEDERS
BUT, if speaking for GUTLOADING, it almost all DOES NOT MAKE SENSE:
1. IT IS UNNATURAL - most of the shown ingredients you will never ever find in the stomachs of insects that are eaten by a Chameleons in the wild,
with few exceptions like maybe the juices of some fruits but definitely not apple... The reason is very simple, the insects living in areas that chameleons live in, have no access to this type of food and even if they would have, they would not eat it. So again, it is not natural.
2. CHAMELEONS CAN NOT DIGEST PLANT
MATTER
Therefore, to force them to swallow an insect which is fully gutloaded with something that they cannot digest is absolutely meaningless and can be even harmful. It is the same as if you would gutload with sand. Chameleons cannot digest sand so why would you give them?
All the concept of gut-loading, If it would be to increase the nutritional value of the feeder, is false. Because to increase the nutritional value the major part of the food inevitably must be digestible. And it is NOT.
So, what to do?
DO: FEED FEEDERS HIGH QUALITY FOOD so that they become more nutritional
DO: GUTLOAD FEEDERS WITH SOMETHING THEY CAN DIGEST: BEE POLLEN AND VITAMINS AND MINERAL MIXTURES
Author: Petr Nečas