Feeding Dubia Roaches

Sheac88

Sheac88

Member
Hello all. I have started feeding my 4 month old male veiled Dubia roaches this week because I heard they are better than crickets nutritionally. Plus they are easier to keep. I cup feed so I can better monitor how much he is eating per day. I put 4 in each morning and he will only eat about one or two. He will eat 8-12 crickets a day. But if I get out a mealworm or a wax worm (sparingly and as a treat), He will run over to me to get it. So he is obviously not getting full on the dubias. Should I go back to crickets, or just let some dubias free range during the day?
 
Ok so he is eating these things like crazy now. Out of a cup, free range, or my hand. He doesn't care lol. Now I'm just wondering what a good amount to feed him each day would be. They are gut loaded on roach chow, fruits, and veggies. Today he ate 8 medium sized roaches and could probably eat more if I let him. I don't want to over feed him but I also want to make sure he's eating as much as he should. Any advice here would be much appreciated!!!
 
Hi! I have a 5 month old panther who I've had since he was 1 month old and I just recently started trying to feed him dubias from a cup. I don't know if he's scared of them or what but he won't eat them. He free ranges about 15-20 crickets a day and also a few free hornworms. He also eats super worms from a cup and waxworms from a cup or my hand so I know it's not the cup thing. How did you get yours to start eating them? I know you're concerned with the amount of food to feed him but I've always gone with feed him as much as he wants while he's still a growing boy. I'm not saying throw 100 crickets in there and let him gorge himself but I don't think he'll be over fed with 8 medium dubias. Maybe even a few more if he wants them. Maybe you could do mostly dubias and then throw a few crickets in there too in case he is still hungry. Either way I think you're good.
 
I've never had silkworms but the hornworms are good and they're nice and soft and help with hydration. My panther absolutely loves them. They wouldn't work as a staple feeder but they also don't have to be fed sparingly like waxworms due to the high fat content. I give mine probably 3-4 a day with the other feeders when I have them.
 
I guess I will have to try them. I saw them on Amazon. Are butter worms good for them or should they be treated like candy
 
LindsayG said:
Hi! I have a 5 month old panther who I've had since he was 1 month old and I just recently started trying to feed him dubias from a cup. I don't know if he's scared of them or what but he won't eat them. He free ranges about 15-20 crickets a day and also a few free hornworms. He also eats super worms from a cup and waxworms from a cup or my hand so I know it's not the cup thing. How did you get yours to start eating them? I know you're concerned with the amount of food to feed him but I've always gone with feed him as much as he wants while he's still a growing boy. I'm not saying throw 100 crickets in there and let him gorge himself but I don't think he'll be over fed with 8 medium dubias. Maybe even a few more if he wants them. Maybe you could do mostly dubias and then throw a few crickets in there too in case he is still hungry. Either way I think you're good.
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He was reluctant at first but I put the roaches in the cup with a few wax worms. He runs to the door to get him some wax worms lol! Anyway he ate the worms first, then ate one of the roaches. I then placed one on the screen for him to hunt. He ran right over and ate him. So maybe try mixing with one of his favorite treats? Well now I hardly have them all in the cup before he starts eating them lol.
 
Good idea with the waxworms. Kam Chancellor loves waxworms. That's the first thing I got him to eat out of my hand. I currently just use a short glass at the bottom of the cage but I'm about to make a tall feeder cup out of a milk jug that the roaches will be able to crawl up. When I let them free range they just end up at the bottom of the cage hiding. I'm excited to test your tasty treat theory. Fingers crossed.
 
LindsayG said:
Good idea with the waxworms. Kam Chancellor loves waxworms. That's the first thing I got him to eat out of my hand. I currently just use a short glass at the bottom of the cage but I'm about to make a tall feeder cup out of a milk jug that the roaches will be able to crawl up. When I let them free range they just end up at the bottom of the cage hiding. I'm excited to test your tasty treat theory. Fingers crossed.
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Awesome! Keep me updated on how that works!
 
My guy refuses to eat dubia roaches. Its a shame too because I've grown an amazing colony that's approximately a year old. I guess I'm still hoping one day he'll accept them :rolleyes:
 
Are they really more nutritious as far as a chameleons needs are concerned?


Crickets have less fat, lower protein levels and a higher moisture content by percentage. So they would be better for hydration and arguably better staple for some species who require lower fat and protein levels to prevent gout and other complications.

The roaches have a better calcium to phosphorus ratio but they will still need dusting regardless so to me that is negligible.

We avoid feeding dog food to our feeders to avoid gut loading them with extra levels of protein, why switch to insects with higher levels.

Nothing has really sold me on them over crickets as a staple, plus my chameleon is nice and active hunting for food so why take away that stimulation.
 
From what I have read, they are more nutritious. The intestinal tract of a dubia is longer than that of a cricket. So gut loading is more effective with them as they hold the nutrients longer than a cricket. You obviously don't want to gut load them with high protein items such as dog or cat food. My guy will eat over a dozen crickets a day. He max's out at 8-11 dubias. For me it's more convenient to feed dubia's. They are very easy to breed and can be fed out of a cup easily.
 
Dubia's are absolutely the better overall feeder in comparison to crickets. They are just as easy to gutload, extremely easy to care for (minimal death) and live longer. Once you get a colony going, you'll never have to buy them again. They only challenge is whether your cham likes them.
 
ChamDE86 said:
Dubia's are absolutely the better overall feeder in comparison to crickets. They are just as easy to gutload, extremely easy to care for (minimal death) and live longer. Once you get a colony going, you'll never have to buy them again. They only challenge is whether your cham likes them.
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My feelings exactly! Have you had any luck getting your guy to eat them yet?
 
We avoid gutloading with dog/cat food because of the ANIMAL protein, not because it just has generally higher protein content. Animal protein plus the added vitamins geared toward larger animals and digestive enzymes which are meant to help mammals, just don't bode well for either the insects or the reptiles that eat them. It's not normal food for them at all.

I don't know who deemed it suddenly ok to gutload with dog/cat food. It makes no sense when you look at it logically, it's just a quick and cheap fix to feed a huge colony.
 
Right. Some brands of dog and cat foods aren't even that healthy for dogs and cats lol. Gut loading insects with animal based protein is just lazy. I hear that fish food is ok but I still wouldn't use it. I have read that algae strips (nori) are good to use.
 
Fish food often still has weird preservatives and vitamins/additives.

Regular algae strips made for fish or nori as you called it, is fine as long as it's not salted. I use it in my home made roach chow along with spirulina. I refuse to feed most fish foods to even my fish.
 
Andee said:
Fish food often still has weird preservatives and vitamins/additives.

Regular algae strips made for fish or nori as you called it, is fine as long as it's not salted. I use it in my home made roach chow along with spirulina. I refuse to feed most fish foods to even my fish.
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Any way I could talk you into sending me a PM with your recipe? The chow that I bought came from a breeder. He does't use animal based protein but other than that, wouldn't tell me what's in it, seeing as he sells it lol.
 
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