Dubia Problems

[Yessabub]

Im new to dubias and im having problems first because i have the nymphs in with the colony that i feed crushed dog food i want to make sure there gutloaded well before i feed them. My problem is they wont eat the gutload at all i gutload with collard greens. I take 5 out the night before and put them in a small container with a small egg crate, water, and the gutload and in the morning when i feed spike the gutload is never even touched what do i do? also spike doesnt seem to be eating them as much if i put 5 in he will only eat 2 or 3 SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!

 

[Nosybe]

For some reason my panthers don't like Dubias all that much either, but my veiled loves them. He is anyway - a veiled! Some chams don't like them as much as others.

Stop feeding spike the ones with dog food in their guts. They need to pass all that protein first. Try using oranges, bananas, carrots, and apples as gutload. They really like fruit.
Hope this helps,

 

[renzo0684]

Get a fine cheese grater and grate some carrots... I watched a video and saw some dubias go nuts for the carrots that were shaved..

 

[jannb]

I NEVER use dog food. I use the same thing for all my roaches as I do the crickets. My dubia love sliced apple and steamed butternut squash but they eat all the fruits and veggies that I put in there. I gutload them the night before feeding with a dry gutload that I get from my vet which is very similar to the Cricket Crack that you can buy from Steve here on the forums. Luie hates dubia.....he want touch them, however Camille will eat ANYTHING.

The grated carrot as mentioned above should work great.

 

[SliK JiM]

Banana is always a winner! Any fruits they will pretty much devour! They are scavenegers after all!

My guy has stages of whether he wants them or not. At the moment, he's not interested at all, so it lets me build my colony back up! I found one adult roach the other day that must have survived a feeding months ago (maybe he escaped the pot somehow), and just happily lived in the enclosure with my cham! He was enormous when I found him! I put him back in the colony afterwards though!

 

[DGray]

Shreddin

If you haven't tried shredding the greens really finely, you might find they eat more that way.

The mustard/collard/cabbage group isn't palatable to lots of animals; you might try parsley or dandelion greens in stead. They're much richer in vitamins and have a good Calciumhosphorus ratio compared with fruit.

 

[tkilgour]

I know most places that breed dubias and other roaches feed them dog and cat food. Therefore, before feeding any of these to your chameleons, it is very important to stop feeding the roaches dog/cat food far before feeding off. I have researched and found that is takes as many as 2 molts for roaches to pass all the protein from the dog/cat food. So for the roaches you feed to the chameleons, start feeding them apples and carrots, Let them molt twice then feed them off. My panthers love dubias!!!!!

 

[sandrachameleon]

dont use the cat/dog food to start with, and you'll not have an issue.

wait much longer than overnight to clear what they were eating and have them eat good gutload items

choose gutloads that they are more likely to want to eat, such as dandelion, romaine, softened yam, squash, crushed seeds, bee pollen...

 

[Chameleonboy]

You can feed them dog/cat food it is totally fine. Dubias need a high protein diet to stay strong and multiply. You are going to need to gutload the ones you want to feed for 48-72 hrs.

-Clemonde

 

[sandrachameleon]

You can feed them dog/cat food it is totally fine. Dubias need a high protein diet to stay strong and multiply.

Protein from vegetables and such is sufficient. My colony is growing very well without the benefit of animal protein. The goal is a healthy chameleon, not a happy roach. too much Animal protein and fat WILL harm chameleons.