Dubia Feeding

[lauraj1055]

I feed my Dubia, Dog Food, some cat food, and a gutload from Rio Reptiles. Also Cricket water gel with calcium.. Do I need to grind up the dog and cat food? Or can I just it in there as is?

 

[Honda99300ex]

I use a blender and blend it up to a fin powder, so it is easier for them to eat. also, do some research, or hopefully someone who knows give some input, but I have heard calcium can be bad for roaches because they will have a harder shell and can have problems molting resulting in death, but that could be wrong, but I have seen it on here before.

 

[Paradon]

I use poultry mash now. They are really cheap!!! I bought mine at a feed store down town and they only cost me $00.50; the price is, I think, $00.15 a pound. Dog and especially cat would be a waste of money because they're really expensive and I don't think they need that much protein. The poultry mash is way more than enough. Roaches and termites are related; they can survive on food that so low on nutrients that most animals can't eat. They actually can thrive on the stuff that would cause other animals to starve. So poultry mash and variety of veggies, that your bearded eats, are much more than adequate; they can get plenty of protein and vitamins from it. :wink:

 

[Paradon]

Plus the veggies and fruits make them come to life.

 

[lauraj1055]

thank you everyone!! I have a feed store only 5 mins from my work so I will go and get some of that.. and will start giving them fruits and veggies too.. LOL, this guys are as much work as my dragons!

 

[techdave]

Roaches and termites are related; they can survive on food that so low on nutrients that most animals can't eat. They actually can thrive on the stuff that would cause other animals to starve.

The "pest" kind of roaches fit into that category, such as the american and german roach, which can survive off wallpaper paste. Dubias are a tropical roach, and cannot survive off of anything they find. They need a high protein diet with fruits and vegetables.

 

[Paradon]

I don't know about that, dude...! :? I mean, cats are carnivores and so are dogs, but dubias are not carnivores. They eat mostly vegetation where they come from...and they are cold blooded. So how much protein do they really need? The poultry mash has plenty of protein, vitamins and minerals. And I find they can even be raised on veggies and fruits exclusively. Who knows what all that fat in the cat and dog food does to them? When I fed them the dog food, I gave them the low-fat kind. Now, I don't own dogs anymore. My last dog died several months back, so I just use poultry mash now. It's super cheap!

 

[techdave]

I've used chicken mash before, and it worked fine. I didn't stick with it for very long, just using up the rest of what.

As far as them being carnivores, you're right, they're not. But when prtoein is a requirment in their diet. If they don't have an external source(i.e. chicken mash, kitten food, politicians) then they are known to eat the wings off the males. In my colony, when they ran out of kitten food, they have eaten the heads off of a couple of them.

 

[Paradon]

I use it and I see nothing wrong with it. My colony is multiplying like crazy, so I have to give some to a breeder, who didn't haven't any before, for free. I have all these dubias with no animals to feed them to...

 

[techdave]

. I have all these dubias with no animals to feed them to...

Haha, good to know it didn't just happen to me. After breeding them for over a year, Tiamat decided he doesn't like them. So I ended up selling the overcrowded colony for $50 to a pet shop I frequent. MY wife couldn't have been any happier. :roll:

For the first question, I ground up the kitty food for a little while, then got tired of doing it and just started putting it in there whole. I didn't see any difference, they ate it just the same.

 

[lauraj1055]

Thanks! I didn't grind up the kitty food either... I just put it in there, and some dog food too. I cut up some yellow squash and some butternut when I was cutting it up for 'the kids' and put that in there too.. I have quite a few in there and keep finding more and more lil babies.. I have a feeling I will be outrun by 'the dubes' as I like to call them.

 

[clear]

Everyone will have their own ideal food of choice for their dubia. I have my own mixture that I believe is great. If you have space, split up a few small amounts and feed them different foods. See which one works best for you! IMHO calcium water gel is a waste, insects have an extremely tough time absorbing calcium from foods and water. Its why we dust our feeders before feeding them off instead of just giving them an extremely high in calcium diet.

 

[techdave]

I agree, no calcium food.

But it's funny about the favorite foods. Mine loves butternut squash, but didn't really like carrots. In another thread similiar to this, someone else's colony loves carrots but didn't like squash. Funny like that. lol

 

[lauraj1055]

I agree, no calcium food.

But it's funny about the favorite foods. Mine loves butternut squash, but didn't really like carrots. In another thread similiar to this, someone else's colony loves carrots but didn't like squash. Funny like that. lol

Great! Now my dubia are going to be as picky as my dragons!!

 

[Denduran87]

I agree, no calcium food.

But it's funny about the favorite foods. Mine loves butternut squash, but didn't really like carrots. In another thread similiar to this, someone else's colony loves carrots but didn't like squash. Funny like that. lol

Great! Now my dubia are going to be as picky as my dragons!!

:lol: