Butterworm

[ridgebax1]

Hmm...you guys are starting to turn me on to roaches. Can they not breed out if the cage because of heat issues? What's the smallest size bin you can use? I would like to be able to put the cage in a larger bin to prevent any escapes.

I really hope my Cham isn't allergic to butterworms. Once I get them I guess I'm going to have to give him one small one and wait. What am I looking for, swelling, wheezing, etc?

They do need heat to breed, which is another reason they are great to keep as feeders. If you are getting too many you can just reduce the temps. I have a ceramic heat emitter above my bin but some folks will use heat tape underneath the bin or around the sides. Mine sit right near a heat vent so in the winter I just need to add the CHE. They are hardier than crickets as well. When we first experienced the "polar vortex" in PA, it killed my furnace and it took about a week to get a new one in. Most of my crickets died but the roaches were no problem. There have been a couple threads about how to feed off roaches, maybe if you search for them you could find them. I understand your reluctance to free range the roaches. The only lizard I would do that for is my beardie because she is in a glass tank. I was leery about releasing them into a screen cage, especially my four foot cage as I modified the bottom for plants and they could escape from there. Maybe you could create a feeding bin from a storage container and put branches in it for the cham and bugs to crawl on.