NeosMom
Juvie Member
I have been hearing for years about dubia roaches. They have been advertised as practically a miracle. I've heard that they are more nutritious, more filling, easier to keep, quieter, lower in odor... One guy at a pet store in Florida claimed to have a roach colony (hello - in Florida?) and told me about how they were the easiest things in the world. Basically, you toss them into a rubbermaid tote, throw food scraps in there (they are roaches and will eat anything), and clean the bin out every couple of weeks. In no time flat, I was promised infinite and perfect food for my dragons.
First of all, I lived in Florida, so it wasn't even legal. Secondly... EEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!
So, now I have moved to North Carolina. I had totally forgotten about dubias until I saw that the local pet store sells them. Hmmmmm... I started thinking. We have a new dragon in the house and he needs more live food. I should start breeding feeders again. Crickets are obnoxious. Hornworms are expensive and really hard work. Superworms are useless for a baby. That's when I decided to investigate dubias. All I have to do is toss them in a bin with whatever food scraps are lying around, right? Yeah. Nothing is that simple.
Now, my head is about to explode. There are temperature considerations. Well, the storage closet under my stairs would be a good choice - except it's 72 degrees. Could I keep them on the back porch? We get no sun there at all. Not a clue. Oh, and I have to sort them. I'm still getting over the gross out factor of touching these things. You want me to paw through a bin and sort them out by sizes? Again, I say... EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!! So, I checked out YouTube. The easy way to sort from what I'm seeing seems to be 5 gallon buckets from the hardware store with progressively smaller holes drilled in the bottoms and stacked together. Uh-huh... 4 buckets at $5 each, plus drilling, plus a place to store those too? Basically this is just getting way too big, way too fast. And that is without pondering the water, egg crates, dry food and how many bins I actually need to store these things.
Can some people with some experience here please give me an honest answer regarding what I need to do. I would appreciate some genuine feedback that doesn't make me feel like I am establishing Dr. Frankenstein's lab under my stairs, but also is truly honest about what I'm facing without the outrageous "just throw them in a box and there will magically be eternal food with no effort on your part" answer.
Thanks for any helpful feedback here. Oh... and for the record... I am feeding two adult female dragons (3-4 years old) and a male that we have estimated to be 5-6 months old based on what we know from the pet store. Poor thing was starved and very small when he came home, so I can't estimate feeding him like other babies I have raised. He only seems to want 20-30 crickets per day whereas my older dragons were eating at least twice that. So... any help figuring out what I really need would be great, too.
Mindi
First of all, I lived in Florida, so it wasn't even legal. Secondly... EEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!
So, now I have moved to North Carolina. I had totally forgotten about dubias until I saw that the local pet store sells them. Hmmmmm... I started thinking. We have a new dragon in the house and he needs more live food. I should start breeding feeders again. Crickets are obnoxious. Hornworms are expensive and really hard work. Superworms are useless for a baby. That's when I decided to investigate dubias. All I have to do is toss them in a bin with whatever food scraps are lying around, right? Yeah. Nothing is that simple.
Now, my head is about to explode. There are temperature considerations. Well, the storage closet under my stairs would be a good choice - except it's 72 degrees. Could I keep them on the back porch? We get no sun there at all. Not a clue. Oh, and I have to sort them. I'm still getting over the gross out factor of touching these things. You want me to paw through a bin and sort them out by sizes? Again, I say... EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!! So, I checked out YouTube. The easy way to sort from what I'm seeing seems to be 5 gallon buckets from the hardware store with progressively smaller holes drilled in the bottoms and stacked together. Uh-huh... 4 buckets at $5 each, plus drilling, plus a place to store those too? Basically this is just getting way too big, way too fast. And that is without pondering the water, egg crates, dry food and how many bins I actually need to store these things.
Can some people with some experience here please give me an honest answer regarding what I need to do. I would appreciate some genuine feedback that doesn't make me feel like I am establishing Dr. Frankenstein's lab under my stairs, but also is truly honest about what I'm facing without the outrageous "just throw them in a box and there will magically be eternal food with no effort on your part" answer.
Thanks for any helpful feedback here. Oh... and for the record... I am feeding two adult female dragons (3-4 years old) and a male that we have estimated to be 5-6 months old based on what we know from the pet store. Poor thing was starved and very small when he came home, so I can't estimate feeding him like other babies I have raised. He only seems to want 20-30 crickets per day whereas my older dragons were eating at least twice that. So... any help figuring out what I really need would be great, too.
Mindi