High-quality dog food for Dubia

I've done my research but people aren't specific on types of dog food.

I know there's garbage dog food (first three ingredients are always a tell), but the stuff I feed my dog is sometimes better than what I eat! It seems a little excessive getting roach chow shipped when a can of ultra-quality wet dog food can be bought for less and contains all kinds of fruits, veggies, etc.

Why do people say not to use it? Is it the meat in the dog food, or what?

Thoughts?
 
I've done my research but people aren't specific on types of dog food.

I know there's garbage dog food (first three ingredients are always a tell), but the stuff I feed my dog is sometimes better than what I eat! It seems a little excessive getting roach chow shipped when a can of ultra-quality wet dog food can be bought for less and contains all kinds of fruits, veggies, etc.

Why do people say not to use it? Is it the meat in the dog food, or what?

Thoughts?

If you feed your roaches meat, you feed it to your chams. Chams are insectorves not carnivores. Feed your roaches fruit and veggies, it is a lot better for your chams. If you look at sandrachameleon you will find lots of info on gut loading feeders for your chameleons.
 
animal protein builds up uric acid in dubias. Excessive consumption of uric crystals can lead to gout in your chameleon. A very painful and easy to avoid condition.

If you go to a local feed store, you should be able to buy giant bags of alfalfa cubes for cheap that will keep your colony growing well (include water crystals or another water source)
 
animal protein builds up uric acid in dubias. Excessive consumption of uric crystals can lead to gout in your chameleon. A very painful and easy to avoid condition.

If you go to a local feed store, you should be able to buy giant bags of alfalfa cubes for cheap that will keep your colony growing well (include water crystals or another water source)

agreed
Further, dog food contains preformed vitamin A and D3 and fat - all of which you need to moderate
 
If you feed your roaches meat, you feed it to your chams. Chams are insectorves not carnivores. Feed your roaches fruit and veggies, it is a lot better for your chams. If you look at sandrachameleon you will find lots of info on gut loading feeders for your chameleons.

animal protein builds up uric acid in dubias. Excessive consumption of uric crystals can lead to gout in your chameleon. A very painful and easy to avoid condition.

If you go to a local feed store, you should be able to buy giant bags of alfalfa cubes for cheap that will keep your colony growing well (include water crystals or another water source)

agreed
Further, dog food contains preformed vitamin A and D3 and fat - all of which you need to moderate

Conclusion... Don't feed your B.dubias DogFood! :D
 
**sigh**

Because we all know that in the wild, roaches eat high quality veggies, fruits and grains....

NOT.

Chameleons eat insects. Yes, we should try to make sure that those insects are well fed, but to suggest readily available food that is nutritionally balanced for a mammal--an animal who's corpse we might expect a roach to eat--is somehow bad or wrong strikes me as silly.

I see no reason dog food cannot be a component of cricket food. I'll agree that it should not be the SOLE thing the crickets eat, but the attitude here seems to be "no dog food ever"...that's silly.

Also, I think there needs to be a distinction between "insect food" and "gutload". I think culling out the "feeders" a day ahead and giving them the "good stuff" is the right way to gutload. But, before that, you need to feed the insects something. Some insects need a substantial amount of protein in their daily life to prevent them from eating each other...and I'm quite sure that feeders who've been eating other feeders are a step down on the "good food for chameleons" scale than feeders who've been eating a diet that includes (but is not limited to) dog food.

Dog food is easy. Dog food is cheap. In a whole lot of houses, dog food is already there...combine that with something a bit greener (alpha pellets like they sell for rodents, oregano, basil, other dried herbs) and you have a pretty good insect food.
 
Dead mammals feasted on by some types of bugs is different than them eating dog food. Further Roaches and other things that typically live on the ground eating their rotting stuff dont typically form a large part of a wild chameleons (living in the bushes and trees) prey choices. Rather, they primarily would eat vegetation and nectar eating bugs. With, granted, potentially the occassional bird or other lizard.

Yes, what you feed the prey in the last few days is more important overall than what was fed prior. But you do still need to think about the fat content, the high protein content (check out info on what happens to roaches given high protein diet, and how that in turn effects chameleons), and the added vitamins like A and D. I doubt small amounts of dog food would hurt, but large amounts very well could.
 
There may be chameleons feasting on things we would consider.unhealthy in the wild.but they also get things that may be more.nutritious for them in the wild that we cant provide such as stressless limitless habitat. They may eat bugs in the wild to whom ate excessive.fat and protein but.not likely only that all day.. and I feel we need to change there diets to something more uniform and "perfected" in order to battle against the ease of problems arising in captivity. In conclusion I'd vote no dog food since it can promote problems such as gout, excess of D3 and performed A and there are healthier choices.. imo
 
No. No uniformity.

Varied is what seems to work best for everyone.

We cant replicate their wild diet at all, and their wild diet is not necessarily "nutritious" its just that the chams, and feeders, and plants, have all evolved along side each other, so that they all fit together.

Since we cant replicate it, we vary what we give, sort of a "shotgun" approach.

I dont think any dogfood is going to get us closer to healthier chameleon though, just farther away in general.
 
**sigh**

Because we all know that in the wild, roaches eat high quality veggies, fruits and grains....

NOT.

Chameleons eat insects. Yes, we should try to make sure that those insects are well fed, but to suggest readily available food that is nutritionally balanced for a mammal--an animal who's corpse we might expect a roach to eat--is somehow bad or wrong strikes me as silly.

I see no reason dog food cannot be a component of cricket food. I'll agree that it should not be the SOLE thing the crickets eat, but the attitude here seems to be "no dog food ever"...that's silly.

Also, I think there needs to be a distinction between "insect food" and "gutload". I think culling out the "feeders" a day ahead and giving them the "good stuff" is the right way to gutload. But, before that, you need to feed the insects something. Some insects need a substantial amount of protein in their daily life to prevent them from eating each other...and I'm quite sure that feeders who've been eating other feeders are a step down on the "good food for chameleons" scale than feeders who've been eating a diet that includes (but is not limited to) dog food.

Dog food is easy. Dog food is cheap. In a whole lot of houses, dog food is already there...combine that with something a bit greener (alpha pellets like they sell for rodents, oregano, basil, other dried herbs) and you have a pretty good insect food.

Dog food may be cheap and easy, but you have that whole uric acid thing we were talking about... which on occasion has actually been known to kill off colonies of dubia.

so.. yes. you could just shrug off what we said and go "well, in the wild i'm sure they eat whatever"

but they aren't going to come across a pile of dog food for months straight. Also, just because a roach lives on it, doesn't mean that its good for your cham. Your advice is fine for insect breeders, not cham keepers.

Should you go the route of dog food, you may have to keep your roaches in a separate container without feeding them for a week+ to make sure they are breaking down all the uric acid. Seems like an unnecessary risk to me
 
No. No uniformity.

Varied is what seems to work best for everyone.

We cant replicate their wild diet at all, and their wild diet is not necessarily "nutritious" its just that the chams, and feeders, and plants, have all evolved along side each other, so that they all fit together.

Since we cant replicate it, we vary what we give, sort of a "shotgun" approach.

I dont think any dogfood is going to get us closer to healthier chameleon though, just farther away in general.

By uniform I was more directing that at gutloading, feeding time/amount and supp. Schedule. I fully agree with a variety of insects and greens/fruit all delivered in an unpredictable mannor. To offer an aray of of interest taste and nutrition
 
Perfect staple gut load is oranges. It provides them vitamins, water, and keeps the cages smelling fresh. Just throw in what ever fruits and veggies you have left at the end of the week on top of it.
 
Perfect staple gut load is oranges. It provides them vitamins, water, and keeps the cages smelling fresh. Just throw in what ever fruits and veggies you have left at the end of the week on top of it.

You must live somewhere that oranges grow / are inexpensive :)
For where I live, more common choices would perhaps be dandelion leaves, arugula, mustard greens, carrot, and squash
 
Interesting discussion topic! I only have a small colony and give them dry dog biscuits that have plenty of protein. I would just like to ask how often do you give fruit and veg to your dubia? Mine seem to be breeding well and I hope they grow and grow.

A roach company in the Uk have recently conducted an experiment with dubia and oranges. They found that the dubia fed oranges produced less young than the ones that was not fed oranges at all.
 
I use quality dog food regularly along with vegetables and beans. The additional Proteins and fortified elements seems to help in every way for my insects, but I usually do what most don't here.

Balance of the diet is critical for quality feeders, if you want to take it to that level. Quality dog food is a great additional food for crickets as well. Ive used it as part of the menu for years with out issue.
 
I wouldn't use roaches that have been fed dog food in the last month to be honest. While it can keep a colony alive, it isn't so great for chameleons. High protein foods can also kill off an entire colony (as was shown by early trials of bug burger when it was beta tested and had a lot of protein.) I've also read that the roaches can store the protein for quite a while, even months (in the wild it would help them survive.)
 
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