Any ideas to make Dubias taste better?

[Beelinn]

I gutload my Dubias with Repashy superfood and bug burger. Male Cham can't stand Dubias, female loves them.
I found an old thread suggesting adding oranges. Has anyone else had other kind of luck?
I just don't want to keep crickets anymore. I cannot seem to keep them alive long enough, and over time, I end up losing over half of them. Plus, they smell SO bad.

 

[nightanole]

Sticky tongue farms mineral powder is berry flavored

you can also gut load with pumpkin, avocado,, strawberries. It all squirts out on a good chomp.

 

[Franquixote]

Look into why you are losing crickets- you can't ignore that - it could be a virus in your enclosure or something. Gotta sort that out ASAP.

To create interest in taking them in the first place my suggestion would be to get some Mazuri gut load which is high protein and you will see a LOT of molting in your colony almost overnight. Use the fresh snow-white molts to convince him roaches are yummy. The catch is that you can't use this stuff that regularly because it's too high protein and will risk gout.

 

[JacksJill]

I like mine with ketchup!
Seriously, I have pretty good luck feeding them to my Jackson's and I put mango in my gut load mix. I buy the bruised ones that they sell cheap at the market cus those suckers are pricey.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

It is true that crickets can stink, but if you let their dead bodies just sit in the container and rot, they apparently release a gas that causes other crickets to die as well. Not really sure about this because I forgot where I heard it. I know that dead insects usually spell out something bad. My veiled doesn't really like strawberries that much, which shocked me, but that might have been because they weren't gutloaded. She prefers leafy greens over strawberries or apple or anything. I haven't tried mangos yet, that sounds really smart to buy the bruised ones. I get that the crickets don't care what they are being fed.
The white roaches are definitely a favorite. I haven't heard of a chameleon who doesn't like the white roaches I also have roaches and have been looking for ways to spice it up a little bit, besides different insects.

 

[Beelinn]

Look into why you are losing crickets- you can't ignore that - it could be a virus in your enclosure or something. Gotta sort that out ASAP./QUOTE]

I thought I was doing everything right. I had a large Tupperware tub. I cut out vents on the sides and installed screen over them for good ventilation. I stored the egg crates vertical so the poops would fall. I gutloaded them with the good Repashy stuff, plus additional fruits and vegetables. All to no avail. I would find over a dozen dead per day. After 3 separate orders of this, I gave up. The stupid crickets were taking more care than my chams! I'll do more research and see if I've missed anything, then maybe try again in the spring when shipping is safe again.

 

[nightanole]

It is true that crickets can stink, but if you let their dead bodies just sit in the container and rot, they apparently release a gas that causes other crickets to die as well. Not really sure about this because I forgot where I heard it. I know that dead insects usually spell out something bad. My veiled doesn't really like strawberries that much, which shocked me, but that might have been because they weren't gutloaded. She prefers leafy greens over strawberries or apple or anything. I haven't tried mangos yet, that sounds really smart to buy the bruised ones. I get that the crickets don't care what they are being fed.
The white roaches are definitely a favorite. I haven't heard of a chameleon who doesn't like the white roaches I also have roaches and have been looking for ways to spice it up a little bit, besides different insects.

Without proper ventilation, crickets will literally fart themselves to death from the poop. If they stink, thats a sign of bad air flow.

 

[Kiyomitsu]

the best thing i have found is red runners they are soft body and move a lot so which creates a feeding response but one of mine only wants to eat super worms i guess he is just picky so it may just be that oh and red runners are so easy to care for and multiply super fast

 

[Graves923]

...crickets will literally fart themselves to death from the poop....

I laughed entirely too hard at this...

Keep offering the dubias. I took quite a while to get my veiled to eat them. It doesnt help that as soon as the sense danger, the roaches freeze which doesnt look appetizing to a chameleon.

 

[bigdog100]

I had 1000 Dubai I had to give them away. They just run and hide and my Chameleon will only eat them if i hand feed. The crickets are a pain with the noise and smell. Is there a better solution? my cham loves horn worms however they tough to get and expensive. I feel your pain the ....

 

[Longhorn1234]

I had 1000 Dubai I had to give them away. They just run and hide and my Chameleon will only eat them if i hand feed. The crickets are a pain with the noise and smell. Is there a better solution? my cham loves horn worms however they tough to get and expensive. I feel your pain the ....

Orange heads, red runners, and lobster roaches seem to be preferred than dubias. At least that's what I've seen from previous threads. However, there is always the exception and your chameleon might not like those

 

[Andee]

I am confused... is your chameleon just refusing to even shoot at the roaches? Or once he does, does he spit them out? Or does he eat them and refuse to eat them ever again?

 

[bigdog100]

Orange heads, red runners, and lobster roaches seem to be preferred than dubias. At least that's what I've seen from previous threads. However, there is always the exception and your chameleon might not like those

Out of those what ones don't hide and are active for feeding response?