I'd like to start breeding Dubia but I'm a super duper tight budget so I'd like to know the cheapest places I can get them.
I'm OK with starting out small, since it's better then nothing.
I'd like to start breeding Dubia but I'm a super duper tight budget so I'd like to know the cheapest places I can get them.
I'm OK with starting out small, since it's better then nothing.
If you go to the For Sale section, you'll find someone selling smalls for $25 for 500 smalls shipped. You'll need to wait quite a while (up to 6 months) before you can start feeding from the colony though, but that'll be the cheapest way to go.
I'd like to start breeding Dubia but I'm a super duper tight budget so I'd like to know the cheapest places I can get them.
I'm OK with starting out small, since it's better then nothing.
If you go to the For Sale section, you'll find someone selling smalls for $25 for 500 smalls shipped. You'll need to wait quite a while (up to 6 months) before you can start feeding from the colony though, but that'll be the cheapest way to go.
It's probably a waste of time/money to go that route for building a colony, since you'll need to be feeding your bearded dragons something while you wait. Better to spend a little bit more (~$30) up front and start feeding in one month rather than six.
*EDIT* Even if you are n a tight budget, you should weigh your long-term costs against the higher upfront costs of starting a decent sized colony. You can probably find someone that will sell you 5 cockroaches for under $10 shipped, but your bearded dragons will be adults by the time your colony is producing enough to sate your dragons. Juvenile beardies eat a lot, mine will eat 2 dozen crickets a day. If I buy those from the pet store that's $2.50/day, or $75 a month! I think it's a better plan to spend that $50-$75 on a good dubia colony setup and then never have to buy food again except for variety. You'll be saving money in just 1 or 2 months.
How much are you willing to spend? Roaches in particular are an investment, especially to breed, as they are rather expensive to buy as simply feeders.
If you pay $1/dozen and have 2 beardies, each eating ~15-20 a day, you're spending $75 a month already. It seems cheap while you're doing it, a few dollars here or there for crickets, but it adds up really fast. When I was feeding mine crickets I'd end up with like 20-50% of them dying as well. Are you getting dead ones too?
Cheapest option for you now might be to order large quantities of crickets online until your dragon(s) hits 16" and then slowly switch them to superworms. I normally am able to get 500 supers for under $20 shipped and those might last me half a year since I feed only 7 every other day.
Cheapest option for you now might be to order large quantities of crickets online until your dragon(s) hits 16" and then slowly switch them to superworms. I normally am able to get 500 supers for under $20 shipped and those might last me half a year since I feed only 7 every other day.
Oh I forgot to mention that often, there are members who just want to get rid of their colonies or overages in the For Free section so you should keep a sharp eye out for that. You never know when you might get lucky.
Dont be afraid to check craigslist. There are a number of people who sell starter kits in my metro. And yes, they will sell loose if needed. Both of these for about 50-80% of the price for any of the online venders.