Size of Dubia roaches?

[Furmeses]

I currently feed my 8 month bearded dragon Crickets and Calci worms however I would like to use roaches as another source of food however the length of the roaches would be between 10-15mm which would go over the rule of only feeding no longer than the width of their eye what should I do?

 

[BrightStar]

The important thing is the width of the roach, not the length. So as long as the roach is no wider than the space between the dragon's eyes, you should be fine.

 

[Rankins]

Roach nymphs come in all sizes.

 

[MIMI510]

The important thing is the width of the roach, not the length. So as long as the roach is no wider than the space between the dragon's eyes, you should be fine.

i just created a new discussion regarding this same thing....i wasn't sure if I was suppose to use the width or length of the roach since they are more long than wide. My baby Ryder is about 3 months and is 7" long and we only adopted him/her a couple of weeks ago. We previously had a another bearded dragon that passed away within a week of getting it due to issues and had bought Dubias for the feeder. Since then they grew and I thought that they were too big to feed Ryder but if this true then there are some in there I can feed to him/her now. I was feeding Ryder crickets but hate having to remove them after. Its way to hard to catch them and I end up killing some of them in the process...lol.

 

[premammalian]

Don't worry too much, just select a size that is about 1/3 of the head or smaller. He isn't still at the size he can eat the adults, but he can eat largish nymphs. Probably the previous animal didn't die from the feeders, don't be afraid.

 

[AHBD]

It's the length. If you used a cricket, the width of an adult cricket's body would fit between a small dragon's eyes but would be much too large. Even though dubias are rounder than crickets, it's the length of the insect that needs to be able to fit between the beardis eyes. It is more important for babies + juveniles than for adult dragons though when it comes to watching that the prey items are not too large.

 

[MIMI510]

It's the length. If you used a cricket, the width of an adult cricket's body would fit between a small dragon's eyes but would be much too large. Even though dubias are rounder than crickets, it's the length of the insect that needs to be able to fit between the beardis eyes. It is more important for babies + juveniles than for adult dragons though when it comes to watching that the prey items are not too large.

The dubias I have are actually longer than they are wide...if I go off of the width of them they fit between his eyes but if i go off of the length they would be too big for him.

My baby Ryder

 

[AHBD]

Those would be too big for him then.

 

[Lazarus16]

Correct it is the length of the roach not width. Dubias are a great feeder, don't smell or make annoying noises. Plus very nutritional and won't bite ur beardie like crickets if left in. But most important is how well ur beardie chews them. Because then unless they are noticeably too big you'll be ok up to width of the mouth, but I'd wait until it's older for that. They grow quick especially when gutloading depending on what stage they are in. We have been breeding dubias for close to a year now so we have the luxury of finding the perfect size and ours chews very well but still will not feed full grown adults.

 

[ruben0311]

Fred has eaten full sized adults for a while now, since he was bout 12 inches. his bite has massive power and he cuts them clean in half with two bites (actually almost took my fingertip off yesterday haha) it comes down to how your individual beardie eats. Fred has always chewed up his food really well so ive given him supers, mealworms, wild caught lizards and baby birds (fallen out of nests). he's never had a problem eating. it comes down to your comfort level, let him have a larger one and see how he eats it, make sure his temperatures are nice and hot so he can digest it well and you should be ok.

 

[AHBD]

I'd agree that once they're over 12" the size of the bug rule can be bent a little. Still you have to be very careful, especially with a small dragon . The poster named MIMI510 has pics of their dragon which appears to be about 8-9" long and the roaches they have could easily choke little Ryder.

I thought that was the O.P's [ Furmeses ] dragon . If Furmeses dragon is an average 8 month old it's probably pretty big and can handle larger prey items. But it's still a risk at 12" of really choking on a large prey item and that could be serious and should be avoided.

 

[MIMI510]

I'd agree that once they're over 12" the size of the bug rule can be bent a little. Still you have to be very careful, especially with a small dragon . The poster named MIMI510 has pics of their dragon which appears to be about 8-9" long and the roaches they have could easily choke little Ryder.

He is only about 7" now. The pic I took of the Dubia looks rather big in the photo but in actuality they are a little longer than the width of his head. I feed him one which he seemed to chew up really well and he went poop this morning which is good. Just to be on the safe side I just ordered some xsmall ones online which is .25″ in length and is expected to be delivered tomorrow. That should be okay right? How many should be be eating?

He absolutely hates the crickets now. I will leave a couple in there for him to hunt down during the day and he just ignores them. They can walk right past him and he just looks at them with the annoyed stare...lol

 

[AHBD]

Quarter inch are pretty small, he'll probably eat 15-20 or so per meal. Sometimes the bugs are bigger than described so then he might get filled up more quickly if they are.

 

[MIMI510]

Quarter inch are pretty small, he'll probably eat 15-20 or so per meal. Sometimes the bugs are bigger than described so then he might get filled up more quickly if they are.

Better that they are smaller than way to big for him...Thanks a bunch!