Cheapest place to buy Dubias and Worms??

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

If Kadaj doesn't go back to his normal self, a vet visit is in order. So we will need to be careful how much money we spend on feeders. I found the cheapest place for wax worms. So what is the cheapest yet trustworthy place for Dubias, Phoneix Worms, and Butter worms?

 

[KarenInCA]

I don't have an answer for you on the cheapest places to buy them, however be very careful feeding him wax worms normally. I've heard that wax worms should be only fed as a treat because they are very fatty, and can cause liver damage if fed as a regular food.
With anything that is cautioned "feed as a treat only" I just tend to stay away from completely. I don't want Rin to get used to certain tastes for things if they are to be fed as "treats only", he tends to hold out at times for the things he likes. Butter worms, phoenix worms, and horn worms are all much better than wax worms. Phoenix worms are the best for them, and butter worms and horn worms, Rin goes nuts for, so I use THOSE as treats for him, instead of wax worms.

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

I understand that wax worms are not an every day thing which is why I am buying only 25-50. Kadaj has lost weight during his hunger strike. So the wax worms are to bring up his weight a little. So I am looking into a variety. I plan on his main diet being Phoenix Worms and Dubias. Perhaps a few silk worms if small enough and butter worms as treats too.

 

[Jacqqui]

Hi,

Horn worms can also end a hunger strike! I have a few stores that started selling horn worms so I can go and get the size that is appropriate for them. I started buying my Dubia's on Amazon because you can compare the prices and also see the ratings for the sellers. they also sell horn worms there but just make sure you let them know the size your are looking for as horn worms grow really fast!

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

Hi Jacqqui,

Thank you for your response! Do you think a 3 or 4 month old is old enough for horn worms? If so, do they have really small ones?

 

[Jacqqui]

answered you on your other post about appropriate feeders. Yes you can get them small. You can actually get around the "no bigger than the space between their eyes" rule with the hornworms because they are soft and squishy and I have had my babies eat ones that may be 1 1/2 or 2x the width between their eyes. Just be careful and start out small. You will be able to judge after you feed him for a while. my one baby will take on ones that are about 1 inch but her brother who is about the same age is afraid of ones that long and I have to get the really tiny ones for her. They may take a few times of eating them to like them or take to them right away, but eventually they LOVE them.As worms go mine wont eat butterworms, i don't feed mealworms, or other worms except for phoenix worms. I tried silk worms but they were hard to keep alive and died. Make sure you get the worms tiny as they grow FAST!!!

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

Thank you so much! Since my little man is spooked easily, I will get the tiny ones first

 

[KarenInCA]

Rin's ABSOLUTE favorites are dubia and horn worms. When he sees the green worms in the clear plastic container he jumps out of his viv, same with dubia (I don't know how he knows the difference between a plastic bag of dubia and a plastic bag of crickets, but boy howdy does he!

He did choke on a horn worm once, when he was about 6 months old, because he attacks them from the middle. But then, I started holding them with tweezers and having him pull at it and that way making him ready to swallow it. I still do that sometimes. He will eat two after feeding on crickets or dubia and STILL looks at me as if he wants another, but his chin fills up with those things, and I won't give him more than two. I think because he doesn't chew them and instead squishes them, he swallows them as best he can and they stick in his lower chin somehow till he gets them down his throat.

 

[Sauzo]

Harley loves hornworms and dubia roaches as well. She used to go crazy for butterworms as well but now its kind of meh. Best place I found for butterworms is http://www.elliotsbutterworms.com/. As for dubia roaches, I breed my own but when I did buy them, I used http://dubideli.com/ and http://buydubiaroaches.com/. Both were really good. Hronworms I purchased from a local reptile shop where the owner and I would do trades of my xtra dubia roaches for hornworm cups. He ordered them from http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/ and they were always fine.

 

[KadajsMommynDaddy]

Thanks everyone for the replies, links and advice! You all have helped me so much. I feel bad for slow replies as right now we have been busy with: Nursing a parasite sick beardie, cleaning our apt which flooded a bit, and working for my aunt as well as running Kadaj to the vet. Plus monthly errands *sigh*

 

[Jacqqui]

How is Kadaj?

 

[KarenInCA]

Harley loves hornworms and dubia roaches as well. She used to go crazy for butterworms as well but now its kind of meh. Best place I found for butterworms is http://www.elliotsbutterworms.com/. As for dubia roaches, I breed my own but when I did buy them, I used http://dubideli.com/ and http://buydubiaroaches.com/. Both were really good. Hronworms I purchased from a local reptile shop where the owner and I would do trades of my xtra dubia roaches for hornworm cups. He ordered them from http://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/ and they were always fine.

Saozo-
I have to say that I was VERY excited about your links, and bookmarked them both, for ordering dubia. After comparing the two of them, I decided to go with dubideli.com I was extremely disappointed at the lack of communication exchange that person has. And we could have easily had 250 DOA dubia because we were not expecting them in the mail today, and we often times do not check the mail for 2-3 days at a time. I had communicated that we would appreciate them being delivered on particular days.

In the order (and it was a lot of money and a larger order), I asked that the person contacts me with a date he sends the order, because I was requesting delivery THIS Friday or NEXT Monday since I would be home this coming Friday, and my husband is normally home on Mondays, and I told him that we did not mind that we had already paid him a week in advance of the expected delivery, I just wanted to ensure they were delivered when we could pick them up out of the heat. (it's been around 106-113 lately). I received NO email response. Then I emailed him directly from the site, advising who I was, that I had just placed an order, and even noticed that he was local and asked if we could meet up somewhere so that the dubia do not have to sit in the hot sun on a mail truck....NOTHING again...nada...not even a "sorry, no can do. NOTHING.

Today, my husband HAPPENED to check the mail (Which we do not do every day) and there was the box of dubia, shoved in the metal package delivery slot, which happens to face west, so it was probably like sitting in a hot car. The package did say "perishable" on it (I'll give him that), and he did mail it with a very small yet melted ice pack-For 250 roaches, I seriously doubt that palm sized paper icepack would have made any difference anyway. But he apparently avoids ALL communication whatsoever with his clients-or simply does not care to look at it, which, IMO is just as bad.

We were actually very lucky they did not arrive DOA, even living locally. There were a handful of them that did not make it across town, but out of 250 I would expect that. But next time, Im checking out the competition.

Just an FYI to anyone who also bookmarked those sites, if you have expectations of the guy honoring a request, go with the other one suggested here instead. I know we will. He just lost what could have been a loyal customer, without him having to ship very far at all.

 

[Sauzo]

Sorry to hear that. I'm up here in Washington state where it gets pretty warm in the summer but no where near 100+ degrees. My mailman actually brings boxes up to the door and knocks on the door for delivery and also I generally track the order online through USPS tracking number that the vendors email you. I'm really surprised you didn't get a USPS tracking number from Dubideli. I have gotten numbers from every reptile insect food vendor as well as cage manufacturers that I've used. Next time I would advise put a note on the order that says "hold at post office". Usually that works especially on hot days but again sometimes the post office flakes out and puts it in the truck anyways. What I have learned is keep it simple. I generally only place my orders on a sunday night so that it ships on Monday and USPS priority is 2-3 days so I know it will be here Wednesday or Thursday but again I just use the track number and can see when it's on the truck being delivered locally. I feel bad now though like I gave you a bad company Another thing to keep in mind is to check local Craigslist. You can find some really good deals for dubias. Like me for example, I got so many dubias at the moment, I am selling 100 of any size for $10 and I got probably 2000 extras since they breed like roaches!! :lol: I only do local delivery/meeting though as I don't want the hassle of shipping and stuff.

 

[KarenInCA]

Sorry to hear that. I'm up here in Washington state where it gets pretty warm in the summer but no where near 100+ degrees. My mailman actually brings boxes up to the door and knocks on the door for delivery and also I generally track the order online through USPS tracking number that the vendors email you. I'm really surprised you didn't get a USPS tracking number from Dubideli. I have gotten numbers from every reptile insect food vendor as well as cage manufacturers that I've used. Next time I would advise put a note on the order that says "hold at post office". Usually that works especially on hot days but again sometimes the post office flakes out and puts it in the truck anyways. What I have learned is keep it simple. I generally only place my orders on a sunday night so that it ships on Monday and USPS priority is 2-3 days so I know it will be here Wednesday or Thursday but again I just use the track number and can see when it's on the truck being delivered locally. I feel bad now though like I gave you a bad company Another thing to keep in mind is to check local Craigslist. You can find some really good deals for dubias. Like me for example, I got so many dubias at the moment, I am selling 100 of any size for $10 and I got probably 2000 extras since they breed like roaches!! :lol: I only do local delivery/meeting though as I don't want the hassle of shipping and stuff.

They arrived 2 days later, because we are in the same town. I did get a tracking number in my email, but that was after not getting a response email from the guy, with two sent emails sent to the "have questions, please email me here" place, referencing my order. Along with a detailed request on the shipping page.
He never responded to any of the emails or the request to deliver the next week so my husband could be home to get the package, so apparently it wouldn't have mattered WHAT I would have requested from him. Just very poor communication, which cost him future orders and $$$.
Craigslist sounds good, but how would I know if it was a fake listing or not? Do you pay in advance on craigslist? I went through dubideli because they have a web page and seem legitimate. You have nothing to do with the guy not communicating. He sent the dubia as promised, and if he would have taken the time to look at my request to send the following week instead of next day, all would have been fine. He saw my address and he saw that it was over 100 degrees, he had to have seen my request and emails. He simply ignored them.

 

[Sauzo]

Craigslist is just where you find people selling whatever and you email them and arrange meeting or delivery etc. Like for me, I sell there so I just meet the customer at some public place at a specified time and date we agree on. Usually its infront of a pet shop since most people who buy dubias know where pet shops are. Then I give them the roaches and they give me cash and we chat alittle and that's it. And no, I would never pay in advance or ask someone to.