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info on roaches?

bmx3000max

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so quick question.....i was wondering how easy is it to bread dubia roaches since i was at my local reptile shop and one of the guys says he breads his own roaches so im wondering wich is easyer breading or buying....so how easy is it and pros and cons of it
 

james.w

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It is extremely easy to breed dubia. A tub, heat and food/water. They will handle the rest.
 

Thelegendofcharlie

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Location
Southeast Louisiana
Someone feel free to correct me but Dubias are probably the best insect feeder out there.
(with the exception maybe of butterworms..?)

They breed like champions - up to 30 (live) babies every 30 days or so
They have an appropriate calcium to phosphorus ratio (unlike crickets) and this is very important.
A more or less proper nutrient ratio in general
They have very little chitin (undigestable exoskeleton)
Are able to be gutloaded effectively as they have long digestive tracks
live up to two years so you dont really have die off like you would with crickets and other feeders
dont stink
dont bite
cant really escape (cant fly of climb well)
all these guys require is a little heat and youre good to go.
THey are extremely simple to care for, just hit youtube but noting to it really.
get yourself a tupperware, cut out a top section, provide some heat,throw in some egg crates, they eat anything really, water crystals are great for H2o and before you know it youll have more than you know what to do with.
 

james.w

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I got some from roachcafe.com and was very happy with how the transaction went.

They sell the roaches, roach chow, and the egg crates.
 

tommylee22

Member
Messages
302
They are very easy for sure all u need is water crystals so u can make your own gel and ground up cat food to a sandy substance (feed oranges for boosting reproduction once a week). Also a Heat pad on one side of tank and egg crates. Also keep the humidity up, easy to do with just the water crystals if you keep a tight lid with little ventilation. My new extreme loves them.
 

james.w

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I wouldn't feed cat food unless you would feed that to your tegu.
 

Thelegendofcharlie

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Location
Southeast Louisiana
I feed mine a staple of unseasoned ground rabbit and rolled oats
I imagine ground beef or turkey would be well received.
Alot of people use high quality dog food (but not the cheap crap) and I would imagine that works fine.
You dont have to grind it. People do that when they supplement it but its not an ideal way to feed them - they are grazers.
I also give leafy greens and various cereal and the occasional fruit.
If you ever want to see them go nuts for a food try kellogs cracklin' oat bran cereal.
Lmao they love that stuff.
If you care about the quality of your gutload, variety is best.
Buffet style is best as roaches prefer to graze on various foods and will actually gravitate to particular foods to fulfill whatever nutritional need they have at the time.
And one has to remember a nutritionally well balanced roach is good for your herp as well as the roach.
Again if you care, (about gutloading) dont forget to give them access to some calcium.
I just keep powdered eggshells with them all the time - they will eat it as they need it.
 

larissalurid

New Member
Messages
322
I have a colony of 400+ I recently started for feeders, and I've had a colony of Madagascar Roaches going as pets too. I definitely recommend breeding, it's easy and will end up saving you money. I have a "how to" video for setting up a colony, as well as what to feed them and how to care for them. They are VERY healthy feeders, and I used to feed mine vegetables and high quality (Merrick) dry dog food, but now I have replaced the veggies with water crystals to get their hydration. They are only 99 cents for an ounce (which is a gallon wet) so it's cheap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhMmS-4XyQg
 

Diablo

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344
I dont have a Tupperware container but i have an extra 20g long terrarium. Could I keep a colony in that? Maybe a small one since I will only have one tegu?
 

james.w

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Diablo said:
I dont have a Tupperware container but i have an extra 20g long terrarium. Could I keep a colony in that? Maybe a small one since I will only have one tegu?

Cover all four sides and it will work.
 

Vince

New Member
Messages
61
james.w said:
I wouldn't feed cat food unless you would feed that to your tegu.

I can be convinced on this (you've won me over before on things), but I've never understood this argument on roaches. I feed mine dry cat food for the protein and whatever veggies and fruits my beardie doesn't eat during the day. Along with fruits that might be on their way out from the fridge.

It just seems to me I need to feed the roaches what's good for the roaches rather than what's good for whatever I'm feeding the roaches to. This is one of those arguments that I always hear applied to roaches and crickets, but never to turkey or mice or fish. And let's face it, fish eat stuff I'd never feed to ANY pet ;)
 

got10

Member
Messages
603
I spent 17 bucks a number of years ago on roaches. I think i bought cricket for about two months till my crickets started breeding.And once they did I haven't bought another cricket in about 6 years
Its just waiting for the roaches to start breeding but once it happens ... Its ON .
 

got10

Member
Messages
603
Roaches hands down
they are the one feeder that I have seen initiate a feeding response in animals that seem reluctant to feed


And to make it even better they are good from your smallest hatching to you more moderate sized animals
 

Vince

New Member
Messages
61
bmx3000max said:
wich you preffer got10...rochas or crickets for your tegu

If you ever get a whiff of 2 or 3 hundred adult crickets, you'll immediately know why people go with roaches.
 

james.w

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Vince said:
james.w said:
I wouldn't feed cat food unless you would feed that to your tegu.

I can be convinced on this (you've won me over before on things), but I've never understood this argument on roaches. I feed mine dry cat food for the protein and whatever veggies and fruits my beardie doesn't eat during the day. Along with fruits that might be on their way out from the fridge.

It just seems to me I need to feed the roaches what's good for the roaches rather than what's good for whatever I'm feeding the roaches to. This is one of those arguments that I always hear applied to roaches and crickets, but never to turkey or mice or fish. And let's face it, fish eat stuff I'd never feed to ANY pet ;)

Being that your reptile is going to be eating the roaches, they should be gutloaded with something that is good for the reptile. The same thing applies to rats/mice that are bred/raised as feeders, they should not be fed dog/cat food either in my opinion. There are some people who feed there lizards dog/cat food, so in their case feeding their roaches the same would be fine, but I would recommend a better food source if you want the roaches to be as beneficial as possible.

I don't know anyone that breeds turkey or fish for feeders, but the same would go for them if someone was doing so.
 

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