Repashy SuperFoods Bug Burger

Repashy Bug Burger — Complete Feeder Insect Diet & Gut-Loading Gel

Repashy Bug Burger is a calcium-fortified gel premix designed as a complete diet for crickets, roaches, and other feeder insects — and a genuinely useful supplementary food for isopods, millipedes, and other detritivores. Made in the USA by Repashy Ventures, Bug Burger feeds AND hydrates simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate water sources in cricket and roach colonies. For invertebrate hobbyists keeping cleanup crew species, it's also one of the easiest ways to provide consistent calcium and nutrition without daily fresh food preparation.

3 oz of powder makes approximately 1.25 lbs of finished gel — incredible value for the amount of food produced.

What Bug Burger Does

Bug Burger has two main uses, and it does both well:

1. Complete diet for feeder insects. Crickets, roaches, mealworms, and other commonly-bred feeder insects need both food and water. Traditionally, this meant dry feed in one dish, water gel or a wet sponge in another, and constant maintenance to prevent mould and drowning. Bug Burger replaces both with a single product. The gel is around 75% water once made, so it hydrates and feeds in one step. No more soggy sponges, no more water gel crystals, no more drowning crickets.

2. Gut-loading for nutritionally enhanced feeders. Calcium-fortified at minimum 4%, plus a comprehensive vitamin and mineral package. Insects fed Bug Burger become walking calcium and nutrient delivery systems — when reptiles, amphibians, or other predators eat them, they consume the calcium and vitamins held in the insect's gut. This is gut-loading, and it's how serious herp keepers ensure their reptiles and amphibians get adequate nutrition.

3. (Bonus) Supplementary feeding for isopods and detritivores. While not Bug Burger's primary purpose, it's also a useful supplementary food for detritivorous invertebrates. The plant-based formula, calcium fortification, and balanced vitamins translate well to isopod and millipede care.

Why Repashy Bug Burger?

One product feeds and hydrates. The single biggest practical advantage. For anyone running a cricket or roach colony for feeders, this dramatically simplifies maintenance. Mix once, cut into cubes, drop a cube into the colony, leave for a few days, replace as needed.

Calcium fortified at 4% minimum. Standard cricket food has minimal calcium. Bug Burger has substantial calcium content built in, making the insects you feed to your reptiles or amphibians far more nutritious without needing to dust them with calcium powder before feeding (though dusting is still recommended for serious herp keepers).

Plant-based, wholesome ingredients. Stabilized rice bran, corn meal, alfalfa leaf meal, brewer's dried yeast, dried kelp, ground flaxseed, dried watermelon, rose hips, cinnamon, hibiscus, marigold, paprika, turmeric. Closer to natural insect diets than highly processed feed pellets.

Carotenoid pigments. Beta carotene, paprika, turmeric, marigold and calendula flowers contribute natural carotenoids. These pass through to feeder insects and onwards to the animals consuming them — useful for reptiles where colour expression depends partly on carotenoid intake.

Cost-effective. A 3oz tub makes 1.25lbs of finished gel. For cricket or roach colonies, this lasts a serious feeder operation for weeks. For invertebrate hobbyists using it as a supplement, a single tub can last months.

Long shelf life when prepared. Refrigerator storage for up to 2 weeks, freezer for up to 6 months. Make a large batch, freeze portions individually, and pull out cubes as needed — much easier than daily fresh food preparation.

Which Animals Benefit?

Feeder insect colonies. Bug Burger's primary use case. Anyone breeding crickets, dubia roaches, mealworms, or other feeders for reptiles or amphibians benefits from the simplified maintenance and nutritional consistency.

Cockroaches as pets. Species in our cockroach collection readily consume Bug Burger as their primary food. For ornamental species kept as display animals (rather than as feeders), Bug Burger provides complete nutrition without the variability of fresh vegetables.

Isopods. Hardy and prolific species like Porcellio scaber and Giant Orange (P. laevis) respond well to Bug Burger as a supplementary food. The calcium content is particularly valuable for fast-breeding colonies where regular moulting demands consistent calcium availability. Premium species — Cubaris, Ardentiella, and others — also accept it readily.

Millipedes. Larger species in our millipede collection benefit from occasional Bug Burger as supplementary food, particularly for the calcium content. Place a small piece on the substrate; millipedes will graze on it over a day or two.

Springtails. Springtail cultures respond strongly to Bug Burger. Crumble a small piece on the substrate or sprinkle the dry powder; springtails will swarm to it.

Bug Burger vs Morning Wood — Which to Use?

If you're already using Repashy Morning Wood for your invertebrates, you might wonder whether Bug Burger is worth adding. Here's the difference:

• Morning Wood: Designed specifically for isopods, springtails, and detritivores. Higher fibre (50% max), 20% protein, formulated around cellulose-rich detritivore needs.
• Bug Burger: Designed primarily for feeder insects (crickets, roaches). Lower fibre (10% max), 13% protein, formulated for general insect nutrition with strong calcium fortification.

For pure isopod and millipede keeping, Morning Wood is the more biologically appropriate choice. For cockroach colonies, cricket and roach feeder breeding, or mixed setups where you want one supplement that works for both feeders AND cleanup crew, Bug Burger is more versatile.

Many serious keepers use both — Morning Wood for premium isopod colonies, Bug Burger for cockroach colonies and as a backup all-purpose food.

How to Prepare and Use

Standard gel preparation:

1. Mix 1 part powder with no more than 3 parts boiling water (using more water causes the gel to fail to set)
2. Stir until smooth
3. Pour into mould or container
4. Let cool to room temperature until firm
5. Cut into cubes, slabs, or shredded pieces

Important: Do NOT use more than 3 parts water — overhydration prevents the gel from setting properly. This is one of the few common preparation mistakes with Bug Burger.

Powder feeding: Bug Burger can also be sprinkled as dry powder directly into colonies. Many cricket and roach keepers prefer this method because it's faster than gel preparation, though you'll then need to provide a separate water source.

Storage: Treat finished gel as fresh food. Refrigerator: up to 2 weeks. Freezer: up to 6 months. Many keepers prepare a large batch, freeze in cube-sized portions, and use as needed.

Feeding frequency:

• Feeder colonies: Replace gel cubes every 2–3 days, or as soon as they show signs of drying out or being eaten down
• Pet cockroaches: Once or twice weekly as primary food, supplemented with fresh vegetables and protein
• Isopods and millipedes: Once or twice weekly as a supplementary food, alongside their primary leaf litter and rotting wood diet
• Springtails: Sprinkle small amounts as needed

Composition

Ingredients: Stabilized Rice Bran, Corn Meal, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Cane Molasses, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Seaweed Meal, Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Dried Kelp, Dried Watermelon, Rose Hips, Cinnamon, Hibiscus Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Citric Acid, Potassium Citrate, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (preservatives), plus a comprehensive chelated mineral package and vitamin supplement.

Guaranteed analysis:

• Crude protein: minimum 13%
• Crude fat: minimum 4%
• Crude fibre: maximum 10%
• Moisture: maximum 8%
• Ash: maximum 18%
• Calcium: minimum 4%

Vitamins: A, D3, E, C (as Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate), niacin, beta carotene, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, pyridoxine, thiamine, folic acid, biotin, B-12, menadione.

Trace minerals: Magnesium, zinc, manganese, copper (all in chelated forms for improved bioavailability).

An Important Note on Primary Diet

If you're using Bug Burger as a supplement for isopods or millipedes, remember that these animals still need their primary diet of dried leaf litter and decayed wood. Bug Burger doesn't replace natural detritus — it adds to it. Maintain a substrate-and-leaf-litter setup with proper [magnolia leaves](/products/large-magnolia-leaves-for-isopods), [bamboo leaf litter](/products/bamboo-leaf-litter), [flake soil](/products/flake-soil-1l), and rotting wood, and use Bug Burger as a periodic nutrient boost on top of that foundation.

For dedicated cockroach colonies and feeder insect operations, Bug Burger genuinely can serve as a complete diet — that's what it was designed for. Just remember to replace the gel before it dries out or moulds.

Pairs Well With

For feeder insect colonies and invertebrate cleanup crews:

• Repashy Morning Wood — detritivore-specific gel premix for premium isopod colonies
• Dried Daphnia — high-protein whole organism supplement
• Dried Silkworm Pupae — high-fat whole organism treat
• Ultra Tropical Fish Flakes — formulated insect-based protein
• Cuttlebone — additional calcium supplementation
• Malawi Limestone — passive calcium source
• Flake Soil — fermented hardwood substrate (essential for isopods)
• Magnolia Leaves — primary leaf litter
• Bamboo Leaf Litter — structural leaf cover

For more on building balanced invertebrate diets, see our setting up guide. Browse the full accessories collection for everything else needed to keep your invertebrates thriving.