Dubia Roach Gut Load

Product Details

Our Dubia roach gut load delivers a densely packed, nutrient-rich meal to your animals. It contains vitamins, minerals, and many of the micronutrients, macronutrients, and phytonutrients insectivores tend to lack in captivity but need for good health (external link).

We formulated our gut load with two goals in mind. The primary goal is to provide supplemental servings of nutrients that are often deficient in captive insectivores. The second goal is to mimic the insectivore’s diet as closely as possible by resembling the insect’s natural diet.

Our in-house Dubia roach chow serves as the base for our Dubia Roach Gut Load. It is a thoroughly researched and tested roach chow that we use for our own Dubia roach production. From there, we add ingredients containing vitamins, minerals, and other essential substances that insectivores need for good health. We pay particular attention to the “nutrients of concern” for captive insectivores, using whole foods whenever possible.

For example, instead of adding calcium powder, we boost the calcium in our Gut Load with chia seeds and alfalfa. Rather than just beta-carotene, it contains a mix of natural carotenoids derived from dried carrots and kale. Rather than synthetic vitamin E, it has gamma-tocopherol from walnuts and alpha-tocopherol from almonds. You get the idea. We prefer nutrients in their natural form.

The result is a Gut Load with a range of nutrients as they may occur in the wild, in their natural forms. You’re welcome to add supplemental nutrients such as vitamins or mineral dust if you feel that’s necessary.

We created our Dubia Roach Gut Load for use on our animals. Though we designed it for Dubia roaches, we also use it with other insects.

Nutrition for your animals

This is a true gut load. As such, it’s not meant for raising or sustaining roaches. Always feed Dubia roaches some mix of fruits, vegetables, and a proper roach chow. Do not attempt to raise them on this or any other gut load. Gut loads enhance the nutritional value of the captive insectivore’s diet. For more information, see our article about how to gut load Dubia roaches.

Our Dubia Roach Gut Load is rich in the following nutrients:

• Biotin
• Calcium
• Choline
• Magnesium
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• Sea Salt & Minerals
• Vitamins A, B12, D3, and E
• Zinc

The ideas behind our Dubia Roach Gut Load

The best sources of nutrition for insectivores are wild insects. These almost always have undigested plant matter in their guts. In captivity, some nutrients require supplementation; however, we can apply this principle to create a more effective insect gut load.

This is because insectivores evolved to eat partially digested vegetation along with their insects. They likely require at least some plant matter in their diet for optimal health, even if they don’t consume plants directly. Furthermore, insect digestion enhances nutrient bioavailability, and it seems likely that insectivores evolved to rely on this so-called “second meal effect.”

Regardless of the circumstances, health problems are prevalent among captive insectivores. Experts attribute many of these problems to dietary insufficiency.

Formulation

We chose ingredients for our Dubia Roach Gut Load in part on this theory. We also referenced nutrition data from herpetological and other scientific research. All ingredients survived a rigorous testing regimen involving our roaches and our animals.

Storage and use

Store our Gut Load in the freezer inside an airtight container for maximum freshness. This is especially important for long-term storage. Storing it in the refrigerator usually works fine, but we recommend against storing it at room temperature, as it may attract other insects or mold over time.

Combine the Gut Load with water and serve as a paste to boost uptake. The more the insects pack in, the more nutrition they will provide for your animals.