Feeders getting too expensive, need info on breeding

[Aznrainbowdime]

Ok I havent been on here for awhile.. sorry fam ! But now something is TERRIBLY bugging me. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ on feeders !!!! Now that I have 3 lovely babies, I find my self going to the pet store alot more and it's hurting me money ! Blanket, my savannah monitor, only eats pinkies, so Im gonna start buying bulk , and which I am gonna start breeding mice for when he gets bigger. So he's not an issue.

My issue is for Prince & MJ. I don't want to buy bulk online, just too much drama.. I mean I must live in an area where they either can't find me because they always seem to send my shipment back .

I need to know for those of you who has 10000000000000 beardies,.. lol.. what feeders are you breeding ? I HATE crickets and REFUSE to breed crickets ! I read online to breed silk worms but they seem pretty hard and complicated. So let me know so I can have some ideas

 

[beardieluv]

Dubia roaches, duh. :lol: seriously though, dubias.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

you know Ive heard everywhere on here that dubias are the easiest. But i'm terrified of roaches !!! What if they escape ???!! Maybe I should order some online and see how I feel... but ehh.. just the thought of touching one creeps me out ! I can't even do worms but at least I use a tweezer to pick them up lol!

 

[beardieluv]

Trust me, so was I. If you set it up right, there's like a .001% chance of one escaping. and even one does, it will probably die with in a week or so. they can't live/breed in room temps. I don't pick up roaches with my hand that much, i'll try to scoop them up in a little dixie cup or i have a dog food bowl and i'll shake an egg crate to get a few to drop in there and set it in Charlie's tank. this thread has good info viewtopic.php?f=76&t=116131&st=0&sk=t&sd=a. but yeah if you want you could order a few to see if you can handle it/if your dragons will like them (which they will)

 

[Gail]

Yep. roaches are they way to go. Dubia aren't anything like the wild roaches you find in America, try to think of them as beetles to try and get away from the stigma that goes with the name roach.

I haven't bought feeders in a few years except for the occasional super or butter worm. Silkies are nice but expensive to breed. The price of eggs and food has gone up in the last year plus you would need a incubator and some large petri dishes.

 

[diggerdrake]

Dubia are the way to go. Look through the forums and you will find lots of good info into keeping and raising a colony. Another good feeder to raise is superworms. Caution though is that your beardies should be big enough so as to not cause impaction. Again a search on here will give you great info into their care and breeding. Both are rather easy and hassle free

 

[jortiz9758]

Dubias are easy and I have gone that route before..BUt honestly they gross me the hell out..dont know what it is about them. I now breed my own supers....super easy to do. I get thousands from just a few bettles and the worms last forever.

 

[reptilianboy831]

Dubias are top notch. When i first got them i was kinda wary of touching em. but youll get used to it eventually, and even if you dont, just use some tweezers. Once you get the colony running, youll be good to go.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Thanks guys ! seems that dubias are the number one choice ! I will buy a few from this pet store close by to see how I can deal with them lol! Although now i need to do major homework on researching how to keep them alive ! lol. I heard theyre pretty fast and like to hide, so how do you guys take em out to feed ??

Dubias are easy and I have gone that route before..BUt honestly they gross me the hell out..dont know what it is about them. I now breed my own supers....super easy to do. I get thousands from just a few bettles and the worms last forever.

Supers even freak me out, but I use tweezers. I might do both, supers & dubias. What do you feed your supers though ? I usually buy about 200 each time and don't feed them anything, they last within a week or so.

 

[reptilianboy831]

dubias are the easiest thing to care for, once you get it down. I would recommend either Ian, or jason, both are awsome to deal with, especially to get a dubia colony started up. and as for them to be hard to catch, there actually very slow compared to most roaches. some people use a plastic container, like a cottage cheese container with an orange or other fruit that the dubias love, and then poke a hole in the top, to the size of the nymph that they need. Taking care of dubias is really reallly easy.

 

[pudden318]

from someone who has 13 beardies i breed and grow all my dragons nom noms, yes my dubias are multiplying but if you want a cheaper version but nutrionally the same breed turks you can get 1000 large for 13.99 but them in a bin keep them warm and with plenty of orange pooff never have to worry about feeders again, im also doing supers to they just take a while. but id deff do some type of roach i do both but im having better sucess with my turks and upside they are cheaper to start a colony

 

[AaronPauling]

Roaches are the way to go. If you spend a little bit up front and wait long enough, you will NEVER buy feeders again. and if things get really bad moneywise. you could probably feed your roaches off of your kitchen scraps to get you through the rough times. Also , your savannah needs alot of bugs to.... feeding him/her nothig but mice is a sure way to lower Blanket's lifespan...mice are too fattening for a staple feed. That being said you get a big enough roach colony going and your monitor will thank you by living longer.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Ok so I went to the pet store to try out some roaches. All they had was Madagascar hissing roaches, so I bought 2 lol.. to try it for blanket. They didnt have small enough sizes for Prince & Mj. He chased it like there was no tomorrow ! So YAYY ! Im definately gonna try some for the babies ! Thanks alot guys !

 

[ajkry2]

a couple threads that helped me start up my dubia colony:

viewtopic.php?f=76&t=116131&e=0

viewtopic.php?f=76&t=115386&e=0

 

[Phoenix17June2009]

I vote for the roaches too hun, i'll be honest i'm terrified of them, but i have a pair of long nose tweezers and they make it so i dont ahve to touch them... or whats even better that i've started doing is i grab the papertowel roll with the tweezers of course, knock a few out and then knock a few out for my baby!! so easy. i never have to touch them! you will really be amazed at how much money you will save doing it this way...

lets see.... phoenix worms was my staple so i spent AT LEAST 150 a month probably more b/c they are tiny, whereas with the roaches, i started out with 200 a month ago and i've alreayd replenished what phoenix has eaten... not to mention he only eats like 5-7 at a time...
good luck!!