Help Me Out Here, Please!

[jacqui778]

Hi,

So, I walk up to my mother after reading about roach colonies.

"I've been thinking. Can I start a roach colony for--"
"NO!"
"But why?"
"People pay to have roaches exterminated from their house, I'm not inviting them in. End of discussion."

:|

So, I'm coming to you guys for help. We're in a bit of a financial struggle right now-- one that is effected by Reggie. I'm worried that if it gets too serious, they'll make me get rid of him. And Reggie is like the main focal point of my life right now! I'm thinking that if I can start some sort of colony of a feeder insect, then we won't waste money on crickets every 2 days and therefore the cost of Reggie won't be as much.

So roaches are completely out of the picture.

Any ideas on what kind of feeder insect I could breed to get a colony going, and some sort of website or advice on how to care for them?

Crickets are my last resort-- I'll use them if I have to. I'm familiar with caring for them as well, so I guess if I can't breed some type of worm or other bug edible by beardies, I will breed crickets for the sake of keeping Reggie.

Please, help me here!

-- Jacqui

 

[madavies65]

Yoou could try mealworm colony, they are a bit of a pain but they are not 'roaches'... there is also the Fruit Grubs, which come from the sun beetle. These are easy to keep but the grubs have a mean streak to them!

Also locusts though i am not sure you will be able to get them in the US.

Crickets are a stinker!

 

[patrickb]

Mealworms are not good for a beardie. They carry a high risk of causing impaction due to their high chitin:meat ratio and offer very little nutrition on top of all that. Please don't use them as a staple for a beardie ever.

Before you give up entirely on the idea of roaches, checkout this post viewtopic.php?f=76&t=98007 where we recently discussed how to help convince parents to let you try roaches. Lot's of info in there and ideas. Persistence is key.

As far as worms go, Superworms would be your best bet, but they are only suitable for a beardie around 16" in length or more roughly. But they will take time to get going from what I understand so you should consider getting them started now as opposed to later (I am assuming your beardie is a juvie still if you are making trips to buy crickets every two days)

Silkworms can be bred, but they are very sensitive to contamination and are difficult from my understanding. Not to mention they have a very specific diet of either Mulberry leaves or a Mulberry chow that you can buy. It is fairly expensive to buy the chow, so if you don't have a Mulberry tree we could scratch them off as an option.

Most of the other worms I can think of are either impossible to breed, very difficult, or just aren't good staples for a beardie. Locusts aren't legal to sell or breed in the US, so you would have to collect them from the wild to start a colony and breed it out for a few generations before it would be a safe food supply for your beardie, but here again, it would be illegal and I would advise against it even if the odds are you will never get caught. Crickets are probably what you are going to have to settle for at this point, until your beardie can start eating supers. Crickets are evil and suck but if that is all you can breed you just have to do it. I have done it many times in the past and am so glad I discovered roaches. Life is much easier nowadays. It seems like I am missing another one of the popular feeders, but am a bit tired and can't think straight right now. If I figure out what it is, I will post back with info. Search the forums here for info on breeding the supers and potentially any other feeder you might stumble across. Lot's of posts have info on this in these forums already.
Hope that helps some and I really hope that you never have to get rid of your beardie!

 

[AndyAMP88]

then we won't waste money on crickets every 2 days and therefore the cost of Reggie won't be as much.

May I ask where you are getting your supply of crickets? By your comment "every 2 days", it sounds like you get them from a pet shop? If that's the case, THAT can seriously burn a whole in your wallet! Since your parents are against roaches, and you may not be interested in having to breed other worms,crix, etc, I would highly recommend ordering crickets online if you aren't already. There are many sites that sell crickets in 250, 500, 1000+ counts for around $20-$30 max with shipping. Good luck! :wink:

 

[clear]

Get some pictures of dubia, turks, discoids and show them to her, they do not look like the american roach that she is thinking about. That can help convince her, then show her how much money you will start saving when they colony gets a decent size.

 

[jacqui778]

Thanks for the posts, guys! I'm feeling a bit more confident now....

Yes, we're getting them from a pet shop. Reggie is-- as it says on my sig-- 6 months old. He's 13'' long, give a little maybe. I haven't measured him since I got him, and that was 12/21/08. He's been eating like a pig since then, 3 dozen crickets every 2 days, more if I would let him. It does burn a hole in our wallets, actually. I've started looking around for spare change everywhere I go and I pay the guy with a lot of change with some bills so we save a dollar or two. That dollar or two is going towards Reggie's next meal.

Okay, so locusts and silkworms are off then? Would supers be okay to start breeding now, then, with Reggie's length? I'm going to talk to my mother again about the roaches, and show her that post. What about those grubs the first post talked about? I didn't hear anything else about them.

Thanks a lot, guys, you're saving my butt and Reggie's here....

-- Jacqui

 

[AndyAMP88]

Okay, so locusts and silkworms are off then? Would supers be okay to start breeding now, then, with Reggie's length?

In terms of breeding tips/instructional views rather than reading pages and pages of online sources, check out youtube. Search "breeding superworms" or any other kind of insect for that matter. You'd be surprised how many people post videos of how they run their colonies. You get lots of ideas and when you see someone else succeed rather than being hesitent while reading caresheets, it's a boost in confidence :mrgreen:

 

[Anglwngss]

First, when talking to a parent, they are NOT roaches..

They are beetles... lol

 

[jacqui778]

First, when talking to a parent, they are NOT roaches..

They are beetles... lol

Hmmmm that is a good idea.... lol. I'm seriously gonna try it. Mom might like the term beetles better.... Dubia Beetles LOL

 

[jacqui778]

OMG LOL

The beetle thing worked! :lol:

"Hey, Mom, I found a species of beetles they can eat! Can I make a colony of those?"
"I guess.... but on Friday, when I get paid."

I did not expect that to work. I really didn't! But it did, I suppose!

I should've tried that ages ago.

-- Jacqui

 

[clear]

OMG LOL

The beetle thing worked! :lol:

"Hey, Mom, I found a species of beetles they can eat! Can I make a colony of those?"
"I guess.... but on Friday, when I get paid."

I did not expect that to work. I really didn't! But it did, I suppose!

I should've tried that ages ago.

-- Jacqui

I hope you showed pictures of the said beetle, she might get smart and do a search for them

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

Either you yourself and you go into that pet store to buy em' or she's gonna be pissed! Or if you order them from Jason The Roach Guy, remember to tell him to write "The Beetle Guy" on the box. Oh man you are asking for it! Hopefully your mom isn't too up on wildlife.


-Ian

 

[jacqui778]

lol "The Beetle Guy". Nah, my mum doesn't even like my beardie, she's not looking up pics of a beetle. She'd rather see if the neighbors got a DUI lately. :lol:

I'm not going to the pet store, cause they don't carry dubias and that's what I'm thinking. Anyone suggest otherwise?

Three years later I'll let her know they're really roaches. She'll have a heart attack. Hehe.

Would Jason really write 'The Beetle Guy' on there?! LOL!!

-- Jacqui

 

[patrickb]

lol "The Beetle Guy". Nah, my mum doesn't even like my beardie, she's not looking up pics of a beetle. She'd rather see if the neighbors got a DUI lately. :lol:

I'm not going to the pet store, cause they don't carry dubias and that's what I'm thinking. Anyone suggest otherwise?

Three years later I'll let her know they're really roaches. She'll have a heart attack. Hehe.

Would Jason really write 'The Beetle Guy' on there?! LOL!!

-- Jacqui

Yep, he probably would. He's a great guy like that. I wish I had seen this post before, I strongly advise against anyone telling their parents they are getting beetles. That is deception and usually the end result is not good, possibly even being forced to get rid of your dragon.

Once the Dubia males mature, they look like a big freaggin roach. If your mom sees one of those, she's gonna give birth to a live cow.

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

You know I usually would play devils advocate w/ Patrick... But when the man's got a point, the man's got a point. I think I'll shut my mouth now and leave the decision up to you.

-Ian