easiest to feeders to breed
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veiledchamguy
Member
roaches roaches roaches (blaptica dubia)
If you use the search feature you can get info on Dubia roaches, silkworms, and Super worms (Zoophobia). That should keep you busy till fall!
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
I echo the roach vote
also superworms, isopods, stick instects.... maybe snails?
also superworms, isopods, stick instects.... maybe snails?
Chameleon Nation
Avid Member
Roaches! Dubia all the way. Feed them well, keep them at about 90F and they will explode.
ColorCham427
Avid Member
Crickets are super easy!!! Buy atleast 1000 3/4 sized guys, in no time you'll have fresh adults. Stick a very shallow container, I use 2 inch deep containers. Cut the container's lid with a huuuge hole, just so it could be put on the container. Staple a metal screen to the lid under the cover. Stick loose soil in the container, and I mean looooose! Spray it with a very fine mist like 20 times, til the soil is moist.
Make 3 of these containers and put them in the bin with the crickets once they've reached adult hood, wings, cherp cherp cherp 24/7 kinda crickets ;]
Containers should be atleast 8 inches wide, length.
One side of the container should have egg crates stacked, with a red light over them.
The middle of the bin should have a container lid to put orange slices on, and another container lid for something dry, like grounded up dog food.
Then you can put the containers at the end of the bin, all 3 in a triangular order. Have pieces of egg crates pinned with one thumb tack to each container on both sides.
I mist the soil through the screen 8 times a day. Four sprays each, of a fine mist.
Make sure to push the crickets that are on the screen off before you spray, really wet crickets stink!
Keep a couple heat pads underneath the bin, where the soil containers are located.
I never keep my soil containers near light, in my epxerienced the soil dries out waaay yo quickly.
Every 10 days put all three of the container's soil in a larger container that can fit all the soil, and have atleast 8 inches in height.
Stab and circle out a few small holes on each side and the top. Keep it warm, don't put a heat pad under it though. Whenever I used a heat pad to keep the incubating container warm, the moist soil would fog up the container. I just keep my containers in a cabinet with a red light/heat lamp in it.
Once you see a few pin heads, next day or two you will notice a few hundred.... than... alot more lol. Place a peice of a paper towel roll in there. They will chill in there, continue to mist this soil, just not too much, keep the soil dark. Don't let it get to that light brown color, that means it's too dry.
Toss in a few dozen tiny pieces of carrot. Like something you could chip off with your nail.
Once these crickets have a darker color, and are noticably larger, like 4 times the size of the pin head size, you can put them in a container without worrying about them escaping.
I always experience pin heads escaping when they'rnt in a tightly closed lid with tiny holes.
The crickets you're feeding your herps, don't let the crickets be in a container with dog food. Dog food = unlucky cham
Silkworms are a waste unless you have a decent supply of mulberry leaves. Mulberry chow is expensive unless you buy alot... enough to get it cheap, like selling some of it to your friends or whatever will allow that... Buying eggs is dirt cheap and normally you will end up with extra or too much, so you could sell some or let them cocoon and feed off the cute little moths.
Dubia are too easy, people only charge the prices they do because of the costs of the food and heat... atleast thats what I do. ;]
Hornworms arent really worth breeding because they're ment as treats.
Superworms are easy too. :]
Buy 1,000 large in bulk. One of our sponsors is selling 1,000 superworms for a killer price from what I remember.
Feed them carrot, sweet potato, apple for a couple weeks, making sure all of them are nice and big. Stick an individual superworm in a little cup, making sure that superworm has nothing to eat, and is by itself. Then waiting for it to morph into a beetle.
Beetles should be coming by in 3-4 weeks, some superworms just won't morph, and they die, make sure you throw them away. Dead superworms smell horrible!!!!!!!
Get a large bin, and make a substrate for your superworm beetles. I would just buy the superworm bedding in bulk.
Fill the tank with the bedding, filling a good 7 inches. Then toss beetles in, they should mate and you will notice tiny worms in a couple months.
Keep thin slices of sweet potato in there with the beetles.
Keep the temperature around 80.
Wax worms are a waste in my opinion.
Mealworms are a waste in my opinion.
Fruit flies I've never tried, but I hear good things, and they're easy to start other cultures with?
Looking online will help you with alot of things, I follow what works best with me, well thats just with the crickets I guess.
Make 3 of these containers and put them in the bin with the crickets once they've reached adult hood, wings, cherp cherp cherp 24/7 kinda crickets ;]
Containers should be atleast 8 inches wide, length.
One side of the container should have egg crates stacked, with a red light over them.
The middle of the bin should have a container lid to put orange slices on, and another container lid for something dry, like grounded up dog food.
Then you can put the containers at the end of the bin, all 3 in a triangular order. Have pieces of egg crates pinned with one thumb tack to each container on both sides.
I mist the soil through the screen 8 times a day. Four sprays each, of a fine mist.
Make sure to push the crickets that are on the screen off before you spray, really wet crickets stink!
Keep a couple heat pads underneath the bin, where the soil containers are located.
I never keep my soil containers near light, in my epxerienced the soil dries out waaay yo quickly.
Every 10 days put all three of the container's soil in a larger container that can fit all the soil, and have atleast 8 inches in height.
Stab and circle out a few small holes on each side and the top. Keep it warm, don't put a heat pad under it though. Whenever I used a heat pad to keep the incubating container warm, the moist soil would fog up the container. I just keep my containers in a cabinet with a red light/heat lamp in it.
Once you see a few pin heads, next day or two you will notice a few hundred.... than... alot more lol. Place a peice of a paper towel roll in there. They will chill in there, continue to mist this soil, just not too much, keep the soil dark. Don't let it get to that light brown color, that means it's too dry.
Toss in a few dozen tiny pieces of carrot. Like something you could chip off with your nail.
Once these crickets have a darker color, and are noticably larger, like 4 times the size of the pin head size, you can put them in a container without worrying about them escaping.
I always experience pin heads escaping when they'rnt in a tightly closed lid with tiny holes.
The crickets you're feeding your herps, don't let the crickets be in a container with dog food. Dog food = unlucky cham
Silkworms are a waste unless you have a decent supply of mulberry leaves. Mulberry chow is expensive unless you buy alot... enough to get it cheap, like selling some of it to your friends or whatever will allow that... Buying eggs is dirt cheap and normally you will end up with extra or too much, so you could sell some or let them cocoon and feed off the cute little moths.
Dubia are too easy, people only charge the prices they do because of the costs of the food and heat... atleast thats what I do. ;]
Hornworms arent really worth breeding because they're ment as treats.
Superworms are easy too. :]
Buy 1,000 large in bulk. One of our sponsors is selling 1,000 superworms for a killer price from what I remember.
Feed them carrot, sweet potato, apple for a couple weeks, making sure all of them are nice and big. Stick an individual superworm in a little cup, making sure that superworm has nothing to eat, and is by itself. Then waiting for it to morph into a beetle.
Beetles should be coming by in 3-4 weeks, some superworms just won't morph, and they die, make sure you throw them away. Dead superworms smell horrible!!!!!!!
Get a large bin, and make a substrate for your superworm beetles. I would just buy the superworm bedding in bulk.
Fill the tank with the bedding, filling a good 7 inches. Then toss beetles in, they should mate and you will notice tiny worms in a couple months.
Keep thin slices of sweet potato in there with the beetles.
Keep the temperature around 80.
Wax worms are a waste in my opinion.
Mealworms are a waste in my opinion.
Fruit flies I've never tried, but I hear good things, and they're easy to start other cultures with?
Looking online will help you with alot of things, I follow what works best with me, well thats just with the crickets I guess.
critterguy
New Member
Lobster roaches if you are wanting an easy to breed feeder. Though they have other traits that make them unpractical/unloved. My folks sure didn't appreciate that they continued showing up months after I had sold the colony.
Red runners(Blatta lateralis) are also a great, easy to breed feeder. They are an ideal cricket replacement, easier to breed them crickets. The eggcases do need to be kept moist but they are nowhere near as sensitive as crickets in this regard and some will still hatch even in rather dry cages. Easiest thing to do is to scoop them all out for incubation.
Red runners(Blatta lateralis) are also a great, easy to breed feeder. They are an ideal cricket replacement, easier to breed them crickets. The eggcases do need to be kept moist but they are nowhere near as sensitive as crickets in this regard and some will still hatch even in rather dry cages. Easiest thing to do is to scoop them all out for incubation.
ColorCham427
Avid Member
People normally buy roaches off line anyways. Petstores tend to sell them waaayyyy over priced. You can get them safely shipped to your door. :]
In comparison to Hornworms,silkworms, and crickets, no they do not grow fast. It is best to get more females than males, and get some various sizes in addition so you can begin to feed right away. If you just start with adults, it will be weeks before you get babies large enough to feed off.I actually found a supplier of Dubia's online that kinda may of shipped to Florida
My question is, yes they are easy to breed, but do they grow fast?
desultadox
Established Member
It seems I have every different size of Dubia available at any given time, so their growth rate seems great for me, it allows me to pick and choose what I want to feed off.
crablady
New Member
another question.... Will a full grown veiled eat full grown dubias? i couldn't believe how big they are. i know i have nothing else that would eat them. maybe the hermies will once their dead. of course.... could be the perfect excuse to get that bearded dragon i've always wanted. A full grown beardy would eat full grown roaches.
A full grown beardy would eat full grown roaches.
martyllian
New Member
Dubia are more like Beetles than roaches. I jsut got 100 mixed sized Dubia and 3 breeding pair yesterday. The lobster roaches.. ICK.
These, are kinda cool
These, are kinda cool
GooglezNvincent
New Member
another question.... Will a full grown veiled eat full grown dubias? i couldn't believe how big they are. i know i have nothing else that would eat them. maybe the hermies will once their dead. of course.... could be the perfect excuse to get that bearded dragon i've always wanted.
Would would be making a very awesome choice in my opinion, beardies are awesome! they are like miniature garbage disposals, my freidns eat lettuce(romaine) mealworms, silkies, fruit, veggies, crickets, hornworms, and basically whatever is can stick his tongue to on a daily basis! hes soooo fun and has a great personality. Basically hes like a dog.
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