Cricket alternatives

[The3rdMan]

Im a fairly new veiled owner - have a four month old. I am feeding him waxworms and crickets. My question is are there any alternatives out there to crickets as a main staple in his diet? Something easier to breed and keep? Am very tired of cricket escapes, ordering crickets, cricket deaths - crickets everything. Any cockroaches out there i could use instead that are easily available?

 

[kenya]

Silkworms and dubia roaches are great staples. I have good luck with lobster and turkistan roaches but others will suggest dubias. They are more nutritional than crickets and the roaches are easier to keep.

 

[AndrewH]

yea, you can find lots of threads letting you know how easy it is to breed and keep dubias, there poor climbers, they can only glide short distances, and breed and mate on their own, just keep it dark and warm for them. 80-90 degrees.

 

[The3rdMan]

Awesome thanks - how many do you think I need to start a colony that will feed a single growing young veiled here on out?

 

[dodolah]

Awesome thanks - how many do you think I need to start a colony that will feed a single growing young veiled here on out?

i say 50 adult pairs for breeders and some small nymphs will get you on the way.
Off course, the more adult the merrier.

 

[jessgrab]

roach feeding

just wondering how many mid size roaches are best a day?

 

[cotes1999]

Dubia roaches

I started out with a colony of 150 and soon bought 150 more. They are multiplying pretty well. I currently have 4 veiled chams......wanting to have some panthers and pygmy's as well. I also feed them mealworms, crickets, superworms, and the occasional wax worm as a treat. I like to give them a variety. I saw someone giving their veiled a pinky.....is this ok to do? If so, I would like to give it a try.

 

[sttines]

Hello thirdman!!! So you want to keep chameleons? Bugs loose in the house are part of the game. As long as you are keeping a chameleon, either one or one hundred, you will always have a bug or 2 or 10 get loose and you will always have some dead in the bug bins( very important to keep bug bins extremely clean). If you don't like bugs in the house, you'd be best with dubias and blatta lateralis as feeders but blattas WILL get out. Anything can get loose. Non climbing roaches in a feeding dish can get out, somehow nature takes control of itself. Flies are great chameleon food and cheap but they will get out also. A chameleon can knock a feeding dish over and there go the roaches. Something to prepare for. And the vaseline trick, some roaches can crawl right through it. If you put your chameleons outside for the summer, it's a good way to give your house a break for spring cleaning. But you will have escapees in the winter, make no mistake.