What Roaches should I buy?

[Josh48329]

I just purchased an 8-month old male dragon. I'm wondering what roaches I should get to feed him. Dubias sound like the roach of choice, but with him already being 8 months old, he wouldn't be eating too many of them by the time they started breeding to the point of having a stable colony, right? Is there a way to buy more adult females and breed them faster? Or should I just buy Turks instead? If I do go with the Turks, I'm not sure if I should start a colony or not? Any recommendations or suggestions?

Also, if anyone has the time, a bit of an itemized list would help greatly! Thanks!

 

[WAFisherman]

Go with Dubias and ask The Roach Guy your specific questions....

Until your colony is ready, consider supers and\or silkworms.

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

I second the Dubias. You only have one lizard I'm guessing? Knowing herps you'll probably catch the bug (no pun intended) and end up w/ a bunch more if this is the case. Might as well plan for the future!

Blatta Lateralis (Turks, Red Racers etc.) breed like you wouldn't believe! You can start w/ like 2 and end up w/ 6000 of them within weeks... Well maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but you'll have WAY too many of those suckers REAL quick. Plus they are smaller and incredibly fast. And the males tend to flutter around quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, they are a great feeder but you need a lot of animals to feed to keep their numbers under control.

Dubia's are nice cuz they are a slower moving roach, really soft shelled, beefy, and you can breed them for whatever size you need. I mean from pinners for hatchling lizards of all species to full grown adult Males that take care of Adult Beardies and some smaller species of Monitors.

Here's my biggest bit of advice on breeding Dubias... DON'T feed off your females. I repeat DON'T! I just had to slap my friend upside his head when he wondered what was wrong w/ his colony... No females = no babies.. Yeah, you can say he's a bit of a space cadet.

-Ian

 

[Josh48329]

Alright, dubias it is.

Is there any better alternative to crickets or superworms in the short term though? I'm not sure I want to deal with crickets 1000 at a time or pay pet store prices, and superworms seem a bit fatty....

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

Gonna have to suck it up w/ the crickets and mealies for about 8 months bro! Get yourself a good 500 nymphs, keep them well fed and nice and warm 24/7 and you'll have a kickin' colony in no time.

Do yourself a favor and strike a deal w/ whoever you buy them from for some Lg. nymphs. Tell them NO pinners or small nymphs. It may cost you a little more but they'll start maturing into adults A LOT quicker. A good breeder like the Roach Guy should be able to hook you up w/ that order.

BTW I've heard from more than a few people on this board that w/ super worms that you run a health risk of them chewing through your lizards stomach! If I can find the post I'll shoot it to ya and you can contact them for more info.

Just be patient and you'll be rewarded.

-Ian

 

[Josh48329]

Hmm, that's pretty crazy about the superworms -- guess it doesn't shock me though, they just look kinda mean lol.

Guess I'll be ordering some crickets....

 

[patrickb]

Alright, dubias it is.

Is there any better alternative to crickets or superworms in the short term though? I'm not sure I want to deal with crickets 1000 at a time or pay pet store prices, and superworms seem a bit fatty....

Actually a roach like Lobsters or Turks would be a great alternative to those. Lobsters can climb so I always rule them out first, but Turks can't. Both species can be bought online for about the same price as crickets. They also breed quite fast so establishing a colony is quite a bit quicker than the Dubia. Checkout http://thebugpros.com for Turks. Very cheap prices, though they seem to be sold out of the larger sizes a bit here lately.

 

[patrickb]

Blatta Lateralis (Turks, Red Racers etc.) breed like you wouldn't believe! You can start w/ like 2 and end up w/ 6000 of them within weeks... Well maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit but you'll have WAY too many of those suckers REAL quick. Plus they are smaller and incredibly fast. And the males tend to flutter around quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, they are a great feeder but you need a lot of animals to feed to keep their numbers under control.

I put five mature females and three mature males in a bin about 5 months ago. Not sure how many I have in there right now, maybe 600 or so (still need to take stuff out to do an estimate) but that's a lot from only a few roaches! Not to mention, it is a very small bin.

BTW I've heard from more than a few people on this board that w/ super worms that you run a health risk of them chewing through your lizards stomach! If I can find the post I'll shoot it to ya and you can contact them for more info.

This is really just a big ol' myth me thinks. I have never seen any pics or documentation to support these claims and most people seem to agree. With many members on these forums feeding supers, you'd expect to see posts or warnings about them more regularly.

 

[Josh48329]

Actually a roach like Lobsters or Turks would be a great alternative to those. Lobsters can climb so I always rule them out first, but Turks can't. Both species can be bought online for about the same price as crickets. They also breed quite fast so establishing a colony is quite a bit quicker than the Dubia. Checkout http://thebugpros.com for Turks. Very cheap prices, though they seem to be sold out of the larger sizes a bit here lately.

I was initially considering going with Turks for now while the Dubia colony grows. Seems they reproduce almost too quickly though lol. Would I have thousands upon thousands of them to get rid of by the time the Dubia were ready to feed?

Should I keep colonies of both maybe? Seems to be overkill for just one dragon though....

 

[patrickb]

Yes, ultimately you will have way more roaches than you need, even with the Dubia. Turks will be booming by the time the Dubias start going good for you, but that is not a problem really. You can easily control the population by culling the adult females out as needed and lowering temperatures as well. At some point, you will still have way more than you need and you can simply cull a certain amount off to reduce your colony to a level you are comfortable with. Simply take any extras you don't want in a ziploc bag or other container and pop them in the freezer overnight, then dispose of them. Or alternatively, put some dishwashing soap like Dawn in a bucket with some water and drop them in. Of course, the best alternative is to find friends with critters that eat roaches and give them away. Or even sell some online. Never enough roaches! I like to feed the Robins in my backyard with Turks during the summer. Much enjoyment there.

I have both Dubia and Turks along with a couple of other species. I plan on keeping the Turks even when my Dubia colony starts cranking out the babies full force. Each of the species has its benefits and offers some variety to your critters at the same time. If for nothing else, knowing I have a backup feeder in case something happens to one colony is a great thing!

 

[Josh48329]

Yes, ultimately you will have way more roaches than you need, even with the Dubia. Turks will be booming by the time the Dubias start going good for you, but that is not a problem really. You can easily control the population by culling the adult females out as needed and lowering temperatures as well. At some point, you will still have way more than you need and you can simply cull a certain amount off to reduce your colony to a level you are comfortable with. Simply take any extras you don't want in a ziploc bag or other container and pop them in the freezer overnight, then dispose of them. Or alternatively, put some dishwashing soap like Dawn in a bucket with some water and drop them in. Of course, the best alternative is to find friends with critters that eat roaches and give them away. Or even sell some online. Never enough roaches! I like to feed the Robins in my backyard with Turks during the summer. Much enjoyment there.

I have both Dubia and Turks along with a couple of other species. I plan on keeping the Turks even when my Dubia colony starts cranking out the babies full force. Each of the species has its benefits and offers some variety to your critters at the same time. If for nothing else, knowing I have a backup feeder in case something happens to one colony is a great thing!

You certainly raise some interesting points. Think I might be sold lol. Now the only problem is that it seems nobody has them in stock or isn't shipping till after the new year - which even then I live in Michigan so I'm paying more for shipping and still taking chances with the weather. Crickets from the local store at $0.12/each are going to add up if even for the week. Hopefully the weather and stock will be good enough to ship early next week!

 

[gregorydragon]

BTW I've heard from more than a few people on this board that w/ super worms that you run a health risk of them chewing through your lizards stomach! If I can find the post I'll shoot it to ya and you can contact them for more info.

Just be patient and you'll be rewarded.

-Ian

I can't remember the title of the discussion, but during the past week I read (from someone who said they worked in a vet's office) that a bearded dragon was brought in with a superworm hanging out of it belly. :shock:

That same thread reminded people to crush the heads before feeding the supers. It seems like a myth to me too though.

 

[patrickb]

I can't remember the title of the discussion, but during the past week I read (from someone who said they worked in a vet's office) that a bearded dragon was brought in with a superworm hanging out of it belly. :shock:

That same thread reminded people to crush the heads before feeding the supers. It seems like a myth to me too though.

I read that thread and refrained from commenting on it for numerous reasons. More of a my cousins best friends uncles type of experience that really never happened probably. I am not saying it is impossible, but until I see case documentation or photos I shall remain skeptical. Stomach acid is very nasty stuff and those worms would have to be chewing very fast. The big thing in that thread I remember thinking about was that the worm was hanging out of the belly supposedly. I would suspect that if it managed to get halfway out, it should have been able to wiggle free completely. Just my two cents :?

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

I read that thread and refrained from commenting on it for numerous reasons. More of a my cousins best friends uncles type of experience that really never happened probably. I am not saying it is impossible, but until I see case documentation or photos I shall remain skeptical. Stomach acid is very nasty stuff and those worms would have to be chewing very fast. The big thing in that thread I remember thinking about was that the worm was hanging out of the belly supposedly. I would suspect that if it managed to get halfway out, it should have been able to wiggle free completely. Just my two cents :?

I agree w/ you Patrick. I have never heard of a meal worm or Super Worm chewing out of an animal before that thread. BTW this thread we are talking about is the one I was refering to in my previous post. Though I dislike crix, meal worms and supers very much, before I got into roaches I was feeding my animals that very diet of the list above for years w/o problems. I've been a subscriber to reptile magazine since I was a kid and I truly believe that if something that drastic happened they would put the word out and warn against anything that we may be feeding our herps. I love that rag and it's chalk full of knowledgeable people that look out for us and our reptiles.

Actually a roach like Lobsters or Turks would be a great alternative to those. Lobsters can climb so I always rule them out first, but Turks can't. Both species can be bought online for about the same price as crickets. They also breed quite fast so establishing a colony is quite a bit quicker than the Dubia. Checkout http://thebugpros.com for Turks. Very cheap prices, though they seem to be sold out of the larger sizes a bit here lately.

Another well written response here by Patrick. The more posts I read from him the more I appreciate cuz he brings up great points and is dead on w/ his advice. Both species of Roach are great feeders. I put together a website a while back because I thought I was going to go into internet sales w/ my roaches. In the sites FAQ's section I wrote this that may help you.

Q: Can roaches climb/Fly?
A: YES and NO! When keeping roaches you need to do your homework and research on them before you consider a purchase. Find the correct species that suits your wants and needs.

That last statement is the question you need to answer. Every choice you make in life has pros and cons. You experienced this when you bought your dragon. Why did you go w/ a Dragon over a Gecko, or any other Lizard you may like? So apply this to what you want to get out of a feeder.

Turks are fast and multiply quick. Dubias are slower, bigger, and take longer to grow. Lobsters breed quicker than Turks, climb and are a size between Turks and Dubias. Either way they are ALL great choices. You just gotta make the choice that's right for you. Take the advice that everyone is giving you for what it is. Good advice. Now it's up to you to make the decision as to what species you want.

-Ian