Lobster Roaches

[Dracos Dragon]

Sorry if this has already been asked.

I am toying with changing my BD Lokis diet to Lobster Roaches as I am not keen on crickets and finding it difficult at times getting hold of Locusts.
I have found a site in the UK that do Lobster/Dubia and Turkish roaches and before I commit to maybe setting up a colony I am going to get maybe 25, is there a way of stopping them from breeding?
Then once the wife has got used to the idea (she hates roaches) how to look after them.
Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance.

 

[augsburg1530]

I raise both lobsters and dubia and can tell you that dubia are by far superior to lobsters. Lobsters are faster than dubia, can climb all surfaces and have a stronger odor. If you are going to breed roaches and can get dubia, I would go with them over lobsters. That said, lobsters breed faster and while not as good as dubia are good feeders. I would say dubia are first and lobsters are a distant second in terms of desireability as feeders.

You can't stop them from breeding, but you can slow them way down by lowering their heat. Tropical roaches, like dubia and lobsters, need their living space to be around 90F to 98F to breed well. If you keep them at room temps, their breeding will slow down but won't stop. If you are getting only 25, it will take you months and months before you start to have any appreciable numbers in your colony.

Hope that helps,

Eric

 

[Paradon]

I hear lobsters have thinner exoskeleton than Dubia hence making it a better feeder, but I hear people reptiles prefer the taste of Dubia over lobsters. And like the other poster has already mentioned, the lobster can climb even glasses, so keeping them are bit more challenging. I hear people use vaseline and smear it all around the top of the of the container about 4 inches wide to prevent the lobster from climbing over, or you can use bug stop from Pro Exotics.

 

[dawnki]

I started out with lobsters and my dragon loved them. They are extremely quick breeders BUT they are very fast movers and I had a number of escapees. This was even after I used barriers such as vasoline, olive oil and veg.oil. I got rid of my colony because I was quite nervy that my apartment would become infested.

I currently have a colony of dubia going and bruno loves them just as much. They are sort of clumsy roaches and VERY cool to raise. Just take a little longer to reproduce but well worth the wait.

 

[Paradon]

You shouldn't have gotten rid of your lobster colony! They do not infest your home. They prefer to live outside in the mulch and dirt where they find food like decaying plant matter. I don't think they could live outside here in the U.S. because it's not tropical environment.... It's too cold and dry for them.

 

[dawnki]

You shouldn't have gotten rid of your lobster colony! They do not infest your home. They prefer to live outside in the mulch and dirt where they find food like decaying plant matter. I don't think they could live outside here in the U.S. because it's not tropical environment.... It's too cold and dry for them.

Well, when I started finding them in various locations in my apartment...I FREAKED! I gave them to a friend who has lots of reptiles and she is keeping the colony going----she also lives in her own house as opposed to an apartment. I'm a wimp, I know. But I really believe a roach is a roach is a roach and they can adjust and thrive if the environment is suitable.

 

[Paradon]

You should have given some to me! :mrgreen: Is there any chance you can ask your friends for some and send some to me? I've been looking all over online for a cheap sources. I'll pay for the shipping of course....

 

[dawnki]

You should have given some to me! :mrgreen: Is there any chance you can ask your friends for some and send some to me? I've been looking all over online for a cheap sources. I'll pay for the shipping of course....

I would've loved to have shipped them off to you but this was about three months ago. Boo. Check out some of the online dealers. Like the roach guy----he's an excellent source or also the best roach.

 

[Paradon]

OK! Thanks for your time anyway! :mrgreen:

 

[Dracos Dragon]

Thanks for the info.
I have found a site in the UK http://www.rickslivefood.co.uk/shop-280.html however he is out of Dubia, does anyone know of any other sites that sell Dubias in the UK??