B. Dubia vs. Crickets

[Tyler33]

I searched the forums for a discussion about this topic, and did not find a thread. If someone knows of one let me know and i will delete this thread.

Anyhow, I was wondering what feeder you all prefer. I know that chams like variety, and it is important to feed them more than one type of feeder. But i just wanted to know, based on personal experience, which feeder you like best and why.

I'm looking for reasons concerning housing, supplementing, price, which feeder your cham prefers, and anything else you can think of.

thought this would make for an interesting and informative discussion.

 

[robmd1]

I searched the forums for a discussion about this topic, and did not find a thread. If someone knows of one let me know and i will delete this thread.

Anyhow, I was wondering what feeder you all prefer. I know that chams like variety, and it is important to feed them more than one type of feeder. But i just wanted to know, based on personal experience, which feeder you like best and why.

I'm looking for reasons concerning housing, supplementing, price, which feeder your cham prefers, and anything else you can think of.

thought this would make for an interesting and informative discussion.

i have both of them and other feeders but as to these i like dubia alot better hard to believe i like a roach better but they dont stink like crickets do, heat em they breed like crazy, but still haveta use crickets chams love em and there great for lil chams-pinheads,1/8,1/4"... i cant bring myself to use other roaches though just dubia.. so to sum it up i use more crickets then dubia but i use both along with silks, supers, fruitflys again for smaller ones and nextweek gettin some house flys chams love those... anyways hope that helps alil..

 

[Tyler33]

i have both of them and other feeders but as to these i like dubia alot better hard to believe i like a roach better but they dont stink like crickets do, heat em they breed like crazy, but still haveta use crickets chams love em and there great for lil chams-pinheads,1/8,1/4"... i cant bring myself to use other roaches though just dubia.. so to sum it up i use more crickets then dubia but i use both along with silks, supers, fruitflys again for smaller ones and nextweek gettin some house flys chams love those... anyways hope that helps alil..

Cricket size is a plus! i just hate that they chirp so much.

thank you for your comments

P.S. Crickets do stink! pretty bad sometimes

 

[pssh]

Dubia alllll the way, they don't stink, jump, chirp, climb glass, fly, or run so fast you can't catch them. Plus they are a larger feeder for bigger chams, and they breed like crazy. Easy to gutload as well.

 

[Olimpia]

I like dubia for all the reasons above, except they just don't move as much! It drives me crazy, because if I set them free in the cages, they find the first little dark hiding place and never come out. I can only feed them in a bowl, and even then I have to keep poking them with tweezers so my chams stop "seeing" them.

Crickets will just wander around the open areas of a cage, and most of mine end up right at the top, where the heat spot is. So it's easy for my chams to just pick them off from their favorite warm perch.

But it's very true: Dubias don't smell, they don't make noise, they come in lots of sizes, they don't fly or climb smooth surfaces, eat like pigs, and breed without you having to do anything. But I'm always going to like that crickets are too dumb to stop jumping all over the place, calling attention to themselves.

 

[Monkeykungphu]

I hear the meat to exoskeleton ratio is higher on the dubia vs crickets as well.

My bearded dragon is a fiend for dubias.

 

[candyflip]

thanks for posting this thread b/c i was thinking about switching to dubias too, i really have had it with the crickets & the chriping.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I like both for difference reasons.

I perfer dubia in terms of my breeding them; I hate breeding crickets to raise them anything past the first week or two.

But the crickets are an easier feeder choice for me. Dubia dont move enough. And they hide. Crickets are almost on the move, and tend to thus be noticed faster by the chameleons. Also I can free-range crickets if I want, and if one escapes its no big deal. I will never free-ranges any type of roach, as I do not want any chance of roaches wandering my home.

 

[ktravelet]

so dubias can replace crickets?

 

[Tyler33]

Thank you all for your input! very informative!!!

 

[Tyler33]

so dubias can replace crickets?

I don't think it is wise to replace crickets with dubia, it is good for chams to have variety in their diet. But, as it appears, dubia are easier to house and breed.

So, with that said, i ask you all this question. would it be better to make dubia more of a staple than crickets?

 

[Monkeykungphu]

so dubias can replace crickets?

You pretty much have to weigh the pros & cons (which most are listed above in this thread) of each & decide for yourself.

Nutritional wise, it mostly comes down to how you gutload either. However, it it came down to pound for pound (or grams to grams!), ungutloaded, I'd be willing to bet the roaches fair better. When you see a lizard bite into one, and all of that gooey roach goodness comes squishing out the sides of his mouth, you know there's something special there!

As said before, the biggest drawback in my opinion is the roaches will often not move much so it may take a little more involvement to get you cham to eat them. I don't own a chameleon at the moment, but to get my bearded dragon to eat them is pretty easy. He usually won't go after them unless their moving too.

The few methods I use are I either hand feed them which always works, because the little feet wiggle. If I can manage put them upside down in front of him, the roach will freak out, wiggle his little legs like crazy & Louie always snatches him up. Or, if the roach is just standing right side up & not moving like they often do, poke him with something to get him to move, he gets eaten.

As Sandra said I would advise against "free ranging" your roaches as they're also really good at hiding in cracks & staying there for long periods of time. Cup or hand feed them if you can. I can't really cup feed too well with Louie since he doesn't have a 6" tongue, so I just keep an eye on them until they get eaten in his tank to make sure they don't get away.

Also, as said many times before, it's best to change it up by offering a variety of feeders. However, with a little work I think dubias would make a great staple feeder.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I don't think it is wise to replace crickets with dubia, it is good for chams to have variety in their diet. But, as it appears, dubia are easier to house and breed.
So, with that said, i ask you all this question. would it be better to make dubia more of a staple than crickets?

It is better not to have a "staple" at all.

 

[Tyler33]

It is better not to have a "staple" at all.

good point. i see what you mean.