Crickets or Dubias?

The great debate. Begin.

dubias! I can now tell everyone I meet that I breed roaches in my garage. :lol: Nutritional benefits aside, they are cheaper in the long run if you can successfully breed them and they don't stink and aren't obnoxiously loud!

Yeah not much of a debate. Take the time to start a roach colony.

Hello,

I have to say I prefer crickets. LOL
Roaches are great, but, they are extremely high in protein, too. Crickets are also, but I have
been reading a lot of cases where too much protein is causing renal issues.
Personally, I think balance is the key.

Tracie

I still have to vote dubias!!! They don't stink, don't make noise, and I can just throw them in Loki's bowl instead of feeding him in a separate container. Also, I have WAY more die offs with crickets than dubias.

Every bearded dragon owner I've spoken to recommend Dubias over crickets. That even with gut loaded crickets, dubias are nutritionally worth 5 times that. For every 1 roach is like 5 crickets. I'm just waiting till my bearded dragon comes home. I know my pocket will appreciate not having to break the bank on crickets seeing as they are known to eat so much when they are young.

Drache613":35c900op said:

Hello,

I have to say I prefer crickets. LOL
Roaches are great, but, they are extremely high in protein, too. Crickets are also, but I have
been reading a lot of cases where too much protein is causing renal issues.
Personally, I think balance is the key.

Tracie

Click to expand...

This is a very valid point to consider. Balance is certainly key.

I prefer crickets as well. It seems that even juvenile beardies are turning up with gout from extremely high protein intake, pretty much unheard of years ago when crickets were THE feeder insect. Gout can be serious enough to be a crippler and even a killer of beardies. Having said that, I would still see the value in keeping a dubia colony, dubias are a great feeder insect but must be fed a total veggie diet to keep them from storing high uric acid levels that could potentially affect the beardies that consume them.

Variety is the spice of life indeed, but I do prefer Dubia as a staple because they are so much cleaner. Seriously, I find crickets to be disgustingly messy. Not mention dubia don't make noise, bite, climb and are very hardy. I had a bunch of small crickets escape their container and I'm still finding crickets in my house. My cats have eaten most of them though, haha. My beardie also prefers Dubia, so much so that he doesn't even bother with crickets anymore.

On the subject of Gout and too much protein: dehydration of the body, problems with kidney function and poor living environment are also key factors in an animal getting gout. They can also be genetically predisposed from bad breeding (big chain pet stores especially). With all of that in mind it's still important to not feed roaches a high protein diet, especially since they are already one of the top feeder insects when it comes to protein content.

Yes, dehydration + kidney issues are becoming more common, esp. when some owners read that beardies don't need water because they get all their hydration from their food which is a misconception. Breeding probably has nothing to do with gout, but lack of proper care has a lot to do with it.

Healthy crickets that come in good condition only smell if you have some begin to die [ sometimes get overheated + die during transport to your home or the store ] and are kept in those little useless cricket keepers. They need to be set up in a large plastic storage tote and you need to clean the bin regularly and give them lots of room + cardboard tubes/egg crate to climb on. A small thin layer of oatmeal on the floor helps keep the smell down, too. My crickets only smell when I haven't cleaned them out for a while. As for dubias, I've seen posters here that say they do smell.