Janie, you seem to think exposure to used coffee grounds makes the roaches toxic for the rest of their life. Do you have any evidence for this or is this pure conjecture on your part? And as far as the mortality rate, so far my graph has week one before coffee grounds were given: three dead adults and three dead nymphs; week two, consisting of one week of being fed used coffee grounds: zero deaths.
Sandy, that's a valid point, but I've never dissected one of these roaches and I'm curious how much coffee grounds could even end up in the dragon. Based on the number of roaches I have and the amount of coffee grounds eaten, I don't think in reality it would be very much. I'm giving the roaches just as nutritious a diet as most everyone else: dog food, fish flakes, lettuce, fruits and vegetables (which usually dry out before they finish them), oatmeal, etc., but I'm also adding the coffee grounds. In what little I can find on the usage of used coffee grounds as feed for animals, if fed a high percentage, it can be harmful or even fatal to some animals, but building up the levels also builds up their tolerance. It can actually be beneficial to cows. Fermenting the coffee grounds apparently makes them more nutritious and could that happen inside a roach? Since the used coffee grounds would be such a small percentage of a dragon's diet, I really don't think it will pose any risk to the dragon. And if it makes my roaches so happy, why not?
Sandy, that's a valid point, but I've never dissected one of these roaches and I'm curious how much coffee grounds could even end up in the dragon. Based on the number of roaches I have and the amount of coffee grounds eaten, I don't think in reality it would be very much. I'm giving the roaches just as nutritious a diet as most everyone else: dog food, fish flakes, lettuce, fruits and vegetables (which usually dry out before they finish them), oatmeal, etc., but I'm also adding the coffee grounds. In what little I can find on the usage of used coffee grounds as feed for animals, if fed a high percentage, it can be harmful or even fatal to some animals, but building up the levels also builds up their tolerance. It can actually be beneficial to cows. Fermenting the coffee grounds apparently makes them more nutritious and could that happen inside a roach? Since the used coffee grounds would be such a small percentage of a dragon's diet, I really don't think it will pose any risk to the dragon. And if it makes my roaches so happy, why not?