# DIY Bug jelly?



## samnsteve (Aug 20, 2013)

Ive been using bug jelly pots to gutload my livefood as I find them convenient, but at £1 a pot I'm looking to explore other avenues.
Would it be possible for me to make my own on a larger scale but still provide adequate nutrition?
Any suggestions would be very welcome :notworthy:


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## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

£1 per jelly and people said I was over priced:lol2: well not anymore Thanks prorep:2thumb:
I was selling 50 for £10 until a few weeks when my stocks ran low im now selling them in smaller numbers until I import more:no1:

Right Making jelly well I have the ingredients list as customs needs that sort of information when importing a food item even if its for pets.
I have tried to make it a few times and it just doesn't work because you need to make large amounts all at once. It just don't last as long unless you have got a company to air pack them. In the end it costs more money to produce unless you bulk buy the ingredients from china and with all the import fees taxes it would work out not much less then if you were buying them.


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## samnsteve (Aug 20, 2013)

They're £1.50 in the other shop :lol2:

How much are you selling them currently? The livefood are costing me more to keep than the leos :lol2:


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## Patto96 (Apr 18, 2013)

Perhaps you can do what I do with feeding my fish.

I get the ingredients, get them to an appropriate size. Add gelatine. wait for them to set. Then I freeze them. This keeps them in good condition, and when they thaw out they are still like jelly.


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## samnsteve (Aug 20, 2013)

Thats kind of what I was thinking, buy some gelatine sheets, take advantage of the blackberry season for example or blend up whatever fruit/veg I have and perhaps add vitamin/dusting powder to the mix. My only concern is that i couldnt provide adequate nutritional value. However saying that, Id only be providing the fruit veg and dusting powder if I wasnt using jelly anyway I just like it because it doesnt go off :lol2:


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## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

samnsteve said:


> They're £1.50 in the other shop :lol2:
> 
> How much are you selling them currently? The livefood are costing me more to keep than the leos :lol2:


Equipment & Breeding Material



samnsteve said:


> Thats kind of what I was thinking, buy some gelatine sheets, take advantage of the blackberry season for example or blend up whatever fruit/veg I have and perhaps add vitamin/dusting powder to the mix. My only concern is that i couldnt provide adequate nutritional value. However saying that, Id only be providing the fruit veg and dusting powder if I wasnt using jelly anyway I just like it because it doesnt go off :lol2:


If you make it your self like this it will go off much quicker and attract flys


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

ExoticInsectsUK said:


> Equipment & Breeding Material
> 
> 
> 
> If you make it your self like this it will go off much quicker and attract flys


 I understand you are trying to protect your income but really. If home made gel attracts flies then so with the shop bought stuff. After all, it's MADE to be attractive to insects isn't it? I don't see a person who is buying one or two pots at a time,wanting to bother making their own, but for someone like me who keeps various roaches and beetles and is currently spending £10 a week on jelly pots, making my own is a viable option. My pet shop will be no worse off as I am not going to buy any more because it costs so much. They can eat fruit and pond pellets and be thankful.
if these pots don't go off after several days in a heated cockroach or flower beetle set up, which is all it takes for them to be eaten I can't see my own stuff going off in the same time.


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## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

No not really as I don't charge £1 to £1.50 a pot my prices have been £9.99 for 50 and £39.99 for 370 jellys for the past 4 years I think.
So I was not trying to make that much from them as you can tell prorep use the same supplier as me and charge much much more.
I only sold out because 99% of pet shops bought all my stock when prorep started selling them.

Beetle /reptile jelly is made not to attract flies as any beetle keeper will know flies are a larvae killer which is why most beetle breeders use it. Fruit has a smell which attracts flies beetle jelly does not.

If your cockroaches are not eating them within a day then you don't have many and I would stick to veg/fruit your leftovers. I only use jelly as a treat for roaches once a month but put 5+ in a colony. if you get a jelly splitter the jelly lasts longer and there is no waste its saved me a tonne of cash over the years feeding so many beetles.

Im not saying don't make your own im just saying its not the same and wont last as long. I have tried it so many times now to try and make it cheaper.

To make the jelly pots it will cost you more then just feeding what ever fruit and veg you have in the house. and less hassle.


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## vukic (Apr 9, 2010)

Here's a question.. Why use jelly pots in the first place?? 

I don't mean to be rude, just only seen these in relation to cresties, which I don't keep.. But I do keep a selection of roaches.. 

Sent from my ST26i using Tapatalk


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## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

This jelly has been used for decades but primarily as beetle jelly.
It was very hard to get in the uk 5 years ago until I started importing it and since then two reptile company's have started selling it as reptile food at the much higher prices.

These are good if you want to give your roaches a boost or as a backup when your out of fruit. 
There is A real need to feed them Insect jelly if you don't feed them much fruit or supplement them. They still need a balanced roach diet of Insect feeder, fruit and veg.
I do use it with my colonies once a month and also with adult female dubias to boost production because of the vitamins and minerals in it. I find using it helps the females produce more nymphs.

I know a few people who used it for there livefoods but when I was selling 370 pots for £40

Im now not importing anymore until late next year Because I now need a new supplier (I wonder why) 

If you make your own remember it will only last as long as your shop jelly cube stuff does.


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