Feeding discussion: Clark's vs. T-Rex

[whtwulf]

This looks like it might become the best forum out there.
Anywho, I've been reading the posts regarding the "new and improved" CGD, and here are my questions.
I started feeding T-Rex and crickets.  My six were not impressed and ate it sparingly.  Then I bought some Clark's and they went on a binge eating frenzy for about two months. They seemed to be unimpressed with the last batch of Clark's I purchased.  I then picked up a small jar of T-Rex and starting mixing it 1.1.1 T-Rex, peach, and mango baby food.  This they are eating, but I don't like mixing it with that much baby food.

Having said all that, how do I tell if I have the new CGD?

What do you guys think about the two products?

Could I be feeding too often?  All six are over 31g in weight, and most are around 37+.  There exact ages are all unknown, so I am wondering if I should stop feeding every day(alternating crickets and diet) now that they seem to be at or close to adult age?

[greenmonkey51]

New or Old the CGD is all good. It is reccomended not to mix the CGD with anything else as the full nutrional value maybe compramised. At that size you could probably fast them for 2 seperate days a week. The real difference between Clark and CGD is that the CGD is a fully meal replacement powder where Clarks is just a supplement to be used with insects.

[sciteacher]

Well, I've fed both Clarks and CGD and since I also feed crickets, probably either one would do the job just fine to balance the diet. Either would be much more nutritious than feeding baby food. Usually when I do use Clarks, I mix it 50 /50 with CGD to encourage a couple of picky eaters that were fed baby food before I got them. I've only fed the Clarks pure a couple of times. It smells really appealing and I can see why it would be attractive to the geckos. I've got a couple of reasons why I lean strongly towards the CGD mix.

1.) I trust it. It's been on the market long enough and tested on generations of animals. I think the Clarks diet is probably also nutritionally sound when used as directed... offering dusted crickets as well, but it hasn't been around as long, and therefore is still in the "testing and improving" stage. Based upon recent changes to the CGD mix, that's somewhat true of the T-rex diet as well, but perhaps a little further along in the process.

2.) If I sell an animal, it's really nice to be able to tell the buyer that the gecko eats the T-Rex CGD that they can probably find at their neighborhood pet store. Don't have to worry about going online and trying to have some shipped.

3.) I trust that the CGD will continue to be available for the foreseeable future. Clarks very well may be also, but I would hate to try to switch a lot of geckos over to a new product if my usual product suddenly was no longer available. I hope Clarks diet continues to be offered as an alternative, but since it's still relatively new to the market, I'd think there's a greater risk of it disappearing from the market than the CGD.

So, basically I have both products in my refrigerator, but I use a lot more of the CGD.

Gary

[Anthony Caponetto]

I think both diets are fine.? The upside to CGD is that it has a more complete nutritional profile, whereas Clark's is missing the good dietary fats found in CGD.? If you're feeding Clark's, I believe crickets (specifically the dietary fat found in them) are a must for the long term well-being of your geckos.? With CGD, you don't necessarily need to feed crickets (or anything else), but crickets never hurt.

Mixing baby food into the diet will certainly sweeten the CGD up and fatten your geckos up, but that's because baby food is primarily sugar.? ?Too much sugar will make your geckos fat, so the added weight gain you see from giving them baby food is not necessarily a good thing.? ?Conversely, if you switch from a baby food misture to straight CGD, your geckos probably will lose some weight...but that's because they'll be in better shape, not because they're starving to death.? In fact, fat geckos generally tend to have lower hatch rates and are less productive all the way around.? My most productive females are relatively normal sized, 35-45 gram geckos, with the larger ones being older (2-3+ years old) geckos.?

There's no way to tell for sure which version of the diet you have, but if you're buying the little bottle of CGD (as opposed to the 2.5lb), you probably still have the old batch.? ?If you don't want to get the big bulk container, I would just start feeding straight CGD now and then when you do get ahold of the new formula, your geckos will already be familiar with the taste of CGD...and don't worry if your geckos drop a little weight at first.? You'd be surprised how productive a breeding female can be, even if she loses 5 grams or so.

To be honest, I don't worry so much about how much they eat if they appear to have good bodyweight (i.e. a good shape, no sunken in head, etc.).? I really don't dwell on their actual weight either...many of my geckos' weight will fluctuate throughout the year.? I just make sure they have food and water available on a regular basis and everyone seems to do just fine.

[whtwulf]

Thanks for the info.
I am going to start feeding straight CGD again.  I will also keep feeding crickets since they are always in the house for the leopards.  I like the idea of keeping them hunting.

[firecrested]

Anthony,
Where can I buy the big bottle of cgd?  i"ve been going through the small one way too fast.

[whtwulf]

LLLReptile.com carries the 2.5 lb. container for 29.95.

[MdngtRain]

is there an intermediate size, somewhere between the 6oz & the 2.5lbs?  I go through the little ones too qickly, but the 2.5lbs would go to waste...  Also, if I use the feeders merely as mental stimulation & not really as a dietary staple, what's the best gut-load?  I'm looking for something easy and in small quantities.
Thanks!

[whtwulf]

Unfortunately there is only those two sizes available.  I feel your pain though.  As far as the crickets, if you are going to use them, they will get eaten.  Having said that, the crickets need to be adequately gut loaded, because they will "fill up" your animal.  If they are full they may or may not eat enough CGD for good nutrition.  I gut load my crickets with ordinary adult dog food kibble.  Now before you all freak out, I am a biologist and conducted a research project on cricket reproduction which involved me raising virgin crickets from nymph to adult.  I raised them all, 1000's of them, on dog food.  If you read the nutrition label on the kibble you will notice that it contains all that the crickets and reptiles need in terms of protein and fat, and its incredibly economical.

[MdngtRain]

hmm, dog food?  Quality kind or cheap-old-purina? I can muster purina, but it's all my one dog's stomach can handle, so if it's the quality kind they need i think I am out of luck.
Also, I only feed crix maybe once or twice a month, any more than that & it's too much work to buy them & gut-load & such.  My staple Crestie diet is CGD.

[whtwulf]

El Cheapo.  6.99/20lbs.  Remember, the government quality standards for all dog foods is stricter than those for human consumption.  Politics at work, and "food for thought."

[Raquel]

...Having said all that, how do I tell if I have the new CGD?

I still have a small bottle of 'old' CGD and I bought the CGD 2.5 lbs. in bulk last month at LLL Reptile. It's a 40 minute drive from where I live, but it was worth it (since no other local pet shop in San Diego has CGD in bulk).

When I put the 'new' CGD in my cresteds tanks, they immediately went right to it.? They avoided the CGD that was in the small bottle, which I still have a little of it. Whatever was put in the new 'CGD' to make it more attractive to the geckos, it worked! I think I read somewhere in this forum that there was more honey powder added to the 'new' CGD formula.

...What do you guys think about the two products?

I have not tried Clarks diet. It's not available where I live. I haven't seen them in any of the pet shops/stores. CGD is readily available and I don't like to order items on-line if don't have to.

[Amanda]

I've fed my guys both the clark's and T-rex.  I prefer the T-Rex since it is more nutritionally complete and it saves me from having to buy a million crickets.  I do have a lot of the clarks left so I will occasionally put a bowl of it in along with a bowl of T-Rex.  I have one tank of six juvies that consume a ton of food so I'll give them clarks too just to get rid of it before it goes bad.  I honestly can't believe how much those six eat.  When I've given them baby food (another extra that I have a ton of from the early days) between the six of them they eat close to a whole jar every night.  Pretty soon they'll be eating me out of house and home

[firecrested]

I used Clark's one time and that was the last time I used it.  I like the cgd much better.