Feeding roaches

[Vince]

Ok, so i got my dubia roaches colony in the mail today. I am so frickin thrilled to get away from crickets. My girlfriend on the other hand hates the roaches and would probably rather listen to the crickets chirp. lol I just wanted to ask how do most people feed these to their chameleons? Twitch dont like the cup feeding idea. I put one on a branch today and pushed it toward him I worry if i leave one in the cage at a time, eventually there are going to be escapes. Then leading to an infestation are dubias like a cock roach in that way?

 

[itsaPink]

I just started using dubias as my staple feeder. My pink is eating one a day, but sometimes he doesn't show interest in them, freaks out and runs haha. They are quiet! Though the buggers can run and jump. I have been putting them on the screen and my guy will snatch em off after watching them for a bit. Sometimes I have to get the dubia and replace him, or else they would just hide, so dont let it go in there and walk away. They dont bite or anything, im a girl n dont mind at all, so tell your girl its ok, that its not like a real roach. ha. You can put them in a cup too if your cham cup feeds. Hope this helps

 

[Syn]

Like dodolah always says: they're really a papaya beetle.

 

[Vince]

I guess my biggest concern is will they infest or just die if not fed there high protein diet?

 

[kenya]

I guess my biggest concern is will they infest or just die if not fed there high protein diet?

They are roaches and roaches don't die

I don't know if dubia will infest, honestly. I have read they won't, but people say that about lobster roaches, too. Just be super cautious and don't let any escape. I know they live for months once they get out and though they may not be breeding without the extra heat of the bin, there are still lose roaches running around in your house

As for feeding them, you have a lot more leniency with dubia. They won't cannibalize each other as swiftly and gruesomely as some other roach species if they are off their protein. I personally feed my colony high quality dog kibble along with water crystals and whatever random veggie/fruit scraps I have. I take out the ones I want to feed off a few days in advance and gutload them a high nutrition mix without protein before feeding them off. Keep in mind that I feed roaches off rarely (my colony is still kind of small so I use them as a treat), so if you are using them as a daily staple, you probably should let them gutload without high protein for over a week to be safe on the protein bit (no gout here!) You should be okay with the whole colony on less protein (compared to what you need to provide to colonies of other species) because dubia seem much more forgiving of low protein diets.

 

[royden]

dubias are one of the main purposes for cup feeding. I'd start training your cham now (especially if he's young). He may go hungry for a few days but he'll get the hang of it eventually. With veileds it can take months to train.

There are over 4000 species of cockroaches on the planet. Less then 1% are considered to be pests. (dubia's are not one of them)

If you have an incredibly messy house that you keep above 80F, you're in trouble. Otherwise, they're about as harmful as a loose cricket.

I talked to 3 entomologists before I bought mine.

 

[Vince]

dubias are one of the main purposes for cup feeding. I'd start training your cham now (especially if he's young). He may go hungry for a few days but he'll get the hang of it eventually. With veileds it can take months to train.

There are over 4000 species of cockroaches on the planet. Less then 1% are considered to be pests. (dubia's are not one of them)

If you have an incredibly messy house that you keep above 80F, you're in trouble. Otherwise, they're about as harmful as a loose cricket.

I talked to 3 entomologists before I bought mine.

Nice to know. I do keep a pretty clean place below 80 so i should be good there. As far as the cup feeding goes he use to eat crickets out of cup one after another. He soon got bored with the cricket cup So i gave up with that method and let the crix free roam in his cage. Now i have roaches and would like to say good bye to the crix, but am afraid to let them free range in his cage.
I think for now i will hand feed. If i dont have time for the hand feed i will hang a cup and put a few in, i figure if he gets hungry enough he will take them that way. The roaches just dont seem to move around in the cup much

 

[royden]

You literally can't free range roaches. It's not possible. They'll head straight for the bottom of the cage and hide under something until they die.

My cham also prefers roaches hand fed and crix in the cup, but if he's hungry enough, he'll go for the roach in the cup.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I put non-climbing roaches in a feeder cup. If not put in a cup, the Turks will run FAST and end up on the floor with me in a panic trying to catch them. This happened twice, and I learned my lesson. CUP FEED ONLY.

But for my hissers, which can walk right on out of the cup, I just put them one at a time on a vine or branch right near the chameleon and WATCH to ensure it gets Eaten right away. I've also been known to remove a hisser's head, if I cant stick around to watch, so that in case it gets away it will die within a few days. Hissers move slower and dont see to be in such a hurry to get out of the light, so they will wander on the branches and vines for awhile if not eaten. Especially if head-less

 

[renzo0684]

I wantd to bump this and ask another question.

How fast do roaches grow? I want to move away from the crix also but I dont want to start a colony where I have to see some die and not use them I know this will happen with any feeder if you breed but I dont want it to happen a lot, if that makes any sense at all.

 

[pssh]

Dubias take four or so months to become mature. I have a about 60-80 adults and a couple hundred nymphs running around and I've seen one dead one so far in the three months I've had them. Crickets should still be used, they just don't have to be used all the time.

 

[Vince]

I wantd to bump this and ask another question.

How fast do roaches grow? I want to move away from the crix also but I dont want to start a colony where I have to see some die and not use them I know this will happen with any feeder if you breed but I dont want it to happen a lot, if that makes any sense at all.

They can grow pretty quick if you feed them lots of fruits and veggies and keep there tank heated.

Honestly, I have had to flush one maybe two roaches only, and i have had a colony for over a year. They will cannibalize as well but only if one dies off and you don't take it out. Minimal deaths compared to crickets. And the smell, roaches do not stink. Crickets on the other hand can be horrible if your not constantly cleaning the bin.

I recommend the roaches over crickets for a staple feeder any day. They are much more filling and nutritious than a cricket.