How to gut-load feeder insects
The short answer: feed your insects nutritious food for 24-48 hours before offering them to your pet. What the insect eats is what your pet eats — an insect raised on cardboard and potato is mostly empty calories, while one fed dark greens and carrots carries real nutrition into your pet.
What to feed them
Good gut-load foods are the same foods you'd call healthy for people: dark leafy greens (collards, dandelion greens, mustard greens), carrots, sweet potato, squash, and other vegetables. Commercial gut-load diets work too and are convenient for a large bin. Offer a mix rather than a single food — variety in the gut-load means a broader nutrient profile in the insect.
What to avoid
Skip iceberg lettuce (almost all water, almost no nutrition), onions, and junk — dog food, cat food, and bread load insects with the wrong kind of protein and excess vitamin A. Go easy on citrus fruits; some keepers avoid them entirely for feeder insects. And keep the gut-load fresh: replace produce daily so it doesn't mold in a warm insect bin.
Timing: 24-48 hours
Gut-loading is about what's in the insect's digestive tract at feeding time, so timing matters. Start the good food at least 24 hours before you plan to feed, and 48 hours is better. Insects fed well all week are already gut-loaded by default — the keepers who struggle are the ones who buy crickets, leave them unfed for days, and then offer them straight from the shipping box.
Gut-loading vs dusting: do both
Gut-loading fills the insect from the inside; dusting coats it from the outside. They solve different problems. Gut-load for general nutrition (vitamins, carotenoids, hydration), and dust with calcium powder at feeding time for the calcium boost no insect carries on its own. Neither replaces the other, and together they cover far more than either alone.
Water without drowning
Fresh produce doubles as the moisture source, which is the safest setup. If you use a separate water source, use water gel crystals — never an open dish, which drowns crickets and small nymphs.
Order the feeders in this guide
Banded Crickets - 1,000 ct
$37.94 FREE shipping
Additional units only $28.99 each.
The classic staple feeder, bought weekly by reptile keepers everywhere. Banded crickets are hardy, active, and easy for bearded dragons, leo...
Dubia Roaches - Small - 100 ct
$28.94 FREE shipping
Additional units only $19.99 each.
Small dubia roaches are quiet, slow-moving, long-lived, and more nutritious than crickets — the premium staple for bearded dragons, geckos, ...
Mealworms - Large - 1,000 ct
$18.99 FREE shipping
Large mealworms are the cheapest staple in the catalog and fridge-storable, so a bulk box lasts. Great for leopard geckos, birds, and smalle...
You order here; we place your order with the breeder, and the breeder ships direct to you. Live arrival is covered within the supplying breeder's window — see our live arrival policy. General keeper guidance only, not veterinary advice: if your animal is sick, not eating, or losing weight, see a reptile or aquatic vet.