Frozen (not freeze-dried) roaches as a staple?

[Ophiophilist]

What are your thoughts on feeding frozen (not freeze-dried) roaches as a staple? Mice Direct has started offering bags for $25 and had a nutritional analysis done by the University of Georgia showing they're even better nutritionally than crickets. They posted a video to their site showing lots of animals including beardies eating them.

I would want to add some live crickets and worms for variety but if these would work as a staple, I would be thrilled...but would they be ok for babies/sub adults? I emailed the company for more info.

 

[jewl495]

I dont know, it may be ok. I prefer to feed live prey and I don't think my dragons would touch hem if they aren't moving. I know freezing does cause a loss of nutrients so keep that in mind and make up for it in supplements.

Is there a reason you don't want to feed live roaches?

 

[ashleyelsha]

oh wow this sounds great. I feed all of my snakes frozen/thawed mice and rats so If I could do that for my bearded dragon it would be so much more convenient. If someone can get their bearded dragon to eat pellets, canned and freeze dried foods , then thawing out and dusting some roaches should be doable. Plus I can't get dubia roaches shipped to florida and I know they are healthier than crickets. Right now I am doing phoenix/reptiworms but I would definitely be willing to try frozen roaches.

 

[Jess]

That's interesting, I've never heard of freezing roaches before. I've put crickets in the freezer to slow them down/kill them, but I've never actually used f/t bugs before. I have heard of people freezing silkworms before though.

 

[Ophiophilist]

I already buy frozen rodents in bulk for my reptiles and if I could do the same for a beardie (and my leos) it would be awesome. I just want to make sure nutritionally it's a safe option before considering it, as I've never heard it discussed before. Their beardies ate them no problem the first time, in the video, but I guess every dragon is different.

 

[trinity040400]

Let us know if you try them, looks interesting.

 

[ashleyelsha]

I already buy frozen rodents in bulk for my reptiles and if I could do the same for a beardie (and my leos) it would be awesome. I just want to make sure nutritionally it's a safe option before considering it, as I've never heard it discussed before. Their beardies ate them no problem the first time, in the video, but I guess every dragon is different.

I would like to hear some input on this as well. We are going to repticon in tampa on septemeber 1st, maybe they will have some there and we can give them a try. I would order except shipping is so expensive.

 

[Ophiophilist]

I think maybe to be safe, I will get some and try including them in my future dragon's diet in small amounts first, and see if he will eat them at all, and if so how he does on them. That is, as long as I don't find a specific reason not to try it before I actually get my dragon. I'll share more info when I hear back from the company.

 

[ashleyelsha]

on another note, why couldn't I just freeze my own crickets? Gut load them and stick them in freezer bags. When they thaw they should be just about as nutritional as when they were frozen. I can't get live roaches shipped to florida, the next repticon is in september in Orlando so I won't be able to buy the frozen roaches until then, but I would like to try something cheaper than phoenix/reptiworms.

 

[jewl495]

Is it legal to ship frozen Dubias to Florida then? I really don't see any issues with them being frozen other than loss of nutrients and getting your dragon to eat them. If your dragon would eat them I don't see why you shouldn't feed them. I guess you need to find out if they are being gut loaded prior to being frozen.

 

[kaylorin]

I know freezing veggies causes a vitamin B loss - so you need to use a supplement. I am sure it would be the same for any frozen food - other than that, it should be ok.

On another note, I *think* you can have discoid roaches, just not dubia. If that is the case, the discoids are very similar to dubia and that would be a better option to frozen =)

 

[ashleyelsha]

yeah I looked at discoids, creepy looking things. I don't like roaches to begin with, I thought I might be able to tolerate dubia, but nothing else. I worry about allergies too since me and my son have asthma. I already dust with multivitamine's twice a week so I don't see why there would be a problem dusting f/t roaches. I wouldn't have to worry about feeding or cleaning up after them, just thaw them out, dust, put in a dish. Humans can live off of frozen food, my snakes live off of f/t mice/rats and I don't supplement them. I have a 7 year old cornsnake and a 6 year old ball python that are healthy as can be.

 

[agilitygirl]

that is very interesting. Could you just buy your own roaches and crickets and freeze them yourself?

 

[ashleyelsha]

that is very interesting. Could you just buy your own roaches and crickets and freeze them yourself?

I was thinking this. Buying crickets in bulk is cheaper but keeping them alive for weeks is harder, feeding them is expensive. I was thinking buy in bulk, gutload, and freeze. Why not?

 

[Ophiophilist]

That may be the best idea, because unfortunately the company says they do not gut load prior to freezing. That's a bit of a sticking point with me, so I'll be looking in another direction. The roaches in question were Turkish roaches. I like the idea of freezing your own. It can't be worse for the roaches than being eaten alive, right? And you could gut load before doing it. But I will probably just look into live for now. It is still months before I get a dragon, so I have time to decide.