holy shed lol

[camaleonte82]

ok so inigo my baby male veiled. he is about 4 to 5 months old. he is a bit younger then the girls.

he seemed a bit small and i was concerned so i decided every other day im gonna give him mill worms then silk worms then mill worms then silk worms...so monday he got his crickets and mill worms. the tuesday just crickets. then wed he got crickets and silk worms, then thurs. crickets, then friday crickets and mill worms.....you get the point.

since doing that i am pretty sure he was a little small because in the past week and a half he has shed 3 times. and he absolutely loves his new diet. i also sometimes throw in pill bugs. no roaches though those are just gross!

is it normal for them to do that. like shed 3 times in a week and a half. i know i uped his fat intake a bit with the millworms and what not. but is that a little to much or is it ok?

 

[Swayne8998]

no roaches though those are just gross!

Crickets are WAY grosser than roaches. Roaches don't smell, don't make noise, and are relatively clean. They breed like wildfire (didn't know what else to say lol), and you only need to clean the tank once every 3-4 months because the babies will eat the frass. I suggest roaches

 

[camaleonte82]

Crickets are WAY grosser than roaches. Roaches don't smell, don't make noise, and are relatively clean. They breed like wildfire (didn't know what else to say lol), and you only need to clean the tank once every 3-4 months because the babies will eat the frass. I suggest roaches

i live in a place where if a roach got away i would be f****D.. the would breed like wildfire and i would be out of a house. it just scares me because of that. but there so much cheaper and everyone on here seems to love them over crickets. urgh im just to afraid to get infested

 

[Swayne8998]

i live in a place where if a roach got away i would be f****D.. the would breed like wildfire and i would be out of a house. it just scares me because of that. but there so much cheaper and everyone on here seems to love them over crickets. urgh im just to afraid to get infested

Dubias are from tropical environments in Brazil, so unless where you live is rainforest-y then you're covered. ONE that gets away once and a while won't hurt, and they are SUPER slow movers. If someone sees them, they stop moving and pretend they're dead, so they're really pretty easy to catch if they get away... which is still very unlikely to happen, since they can't climb nor fly.

 

[camaleonte82]

Dubias are from tropical environments in Brazil, so unless where you live is rainforest-y then you're covered. ONE that gets away once and a while won't hurt, and they are SUPER slow movers. If someone sees them, they stop moving and pretend they're dead, so they're really pretty easy to catch if they get away... which is still very unlikely to happen, since they can't climb nor fly.

see i was told that anywhere between the temp of 80 to 85 they will breed like crazy. its like that for over half the year here and all year if your me. i keep my place warm lol. i usually keep it at like 77 which is pretty close in the winter.

it freaks me out so much lol.

 

[Slug]

I am starting to think roaches are the way to go myself now. I talked to a really knowledgeable girl at the local PetCo (surprised that they have good reptile people there myself) and she said that she would bring in some of her dubias for me to get an idea of if they will work for me. She even said that if I want more, just let her know and she would help me set up a breeding colony! I told her I would bring in some of my gutload cubes I just made and we would trade for the first batch of dubias, and she was cool with that. I may even pick up a really decent cage they have there that is half off with their Petco pals card (which I got today). It is normally 65, but Pals get it for 30. It is 12x12x12, I think.

 

[camaleonte82]

I am starting to think roaches are the way to go myself now. I talked to a really knowledgeable girl at the local PetCo (surprised that they have good reptile people there myself) and she said that she would bring in some of her dubias for me to get an idea of if they will work for me. She even said that if I want more, just let her know and she would help me set up a breeding colony! I told her I would bring in some of my gutload cubes I just made and we would trade for the first batch of dubias, and she was cool with that. I may even pick up a really decent cage they have there that is half off with their Petco pals card (which I got today). It is normally 65, but Pals get it for 30. It is 12x12x12, I think.

doesnt it freak you out though that you will get infested though. thats my problem

 

[Trillian]

Camaleonte, I'm a similar temp to you, and I would freak if I got infested, and the roaches freak me out a lot, but after 2 years of freaking jumping damned crickets, endless escapees that spend ALL BLOODY NIGHT CHIRPING and the STINK.... I can completely say that the month I've had my dubias is awesome. Not a single one has escaped, they are in a large Rubbermaid tub, and I put the feeder cup in there as I shake out the various TP tubes etc into it to get a few roaches to feed off, they can't jump, so NBD there, and it's awesome. Trouble is my geckos only want food that runs away, and dubias don't move enough to interest them, and my dragon finds them vaguely amusing but not edible, so far. I'm persisting though, I really hate crickets.

 

[Swayne8998]

see i was told that anywhere between the temp of 80 to 85 they will breed like crazy. its like that for over half the year here and all year if your me. i keep my place warm lol. i usually keep it at like 77 which is pretty close in the winter.

it freaks me out so much lol.

I was freaked out at first myself. But really, mid 90's is where they like it. Dubia roaches are not really a "pest" in the United States, unless you live in Florida. Trust me, unless you get 100+ loose in your house, you will not get infested. The reason they breed so quickly in captivity is because they are kept in a small place that is easy to keep humid and warm. Really, nothing to be worried about They are the best feeder in my opinion. I pick them up using tongs, 'cause I don't wanna touch them. LOL

I am starting to think roaches are the way to go myself now. I talked to a really knowledgeable girl at the local PetCo (surprised that they have good reptile people there myself) and she said that she would bring in some of her dubias for me to get an idea of if they will work for me. She even said that if I want more, just let her know and she would help me set up a breeding colony! I told her I would bring in some of my gutload cubes I just made and we would trade for the first batch of dubias, and she was cool with that. I may even pick up a really decent cage they have there that is half off with their Petco pals card (which I got today). It is normally 65, but Pals get it for 30. It is 12x12x12, I think.

I just keep mine in a big plastic tub with holes drilled in the top. And yes, these guys really are the way to go! Easiest to breed, and you can feed them in smaller amounts than crickets, so you don't risk running out.

doesnt it freak you out though that you will get infested though. thats my problem

Like I said, nothing to worry about. In the many months I've had mine, not ONE has gotten loose. As I said earlier, they almost have no sense of direction whatsoever. LOL

Camaleonte, I'm a similar temp to you, and I would freak if I got infested, and the roaches freak me out a lot, but after 2 years of freaking jumping damned crickets, endless escapees that spend ALL BLOODY NIGHT CHIRPING and the STINK.... I can completely say that the month I've had my dubias is awesome. Not a single one has escaped, they are in a large Rubbermaid tub, and I put the feeder cup in there as I shake out the various TP tubes etc into it to get a few roaches to feed off, they can't jump, so NBD there, and it's awesome. Trouble is my geckos only want food that runs away, and dubias don't move enough to interest them, and my dragon finds them vaguely amusing but not edible, so far. I'm persisting though, I really hate crickets.

Haha I know what you mean. I'm more scared of the crickets than roaches, honestly! Because roaches don't jump, climb, chirp, or crap 5 times a day. Fantastic feeder option.

 

[Slug]

I looked into Dubias this weekend at the KC Reptile Show. They had a breeder there who encourage people to smell a cup of crickets versus a cup of Dubias. I refused the crickets, since I am all too familiar with the smell, and got a whiff of the Dubias...there was almost no smell! There were around 200 Dubia in the cup and I smelled next to nothing.

I am going to try out a dozen from a girl at our local PetSmart (she is the reptile specialist and breeds beardies as well as leopard geckos, and feeds Dubias to both.) She told me if I liked them she would help me set up my own breeding colony. So we will see how that goes.

I will keep y'all posted!

 

[Elizadolots]

is it normal for them to do that. like shed 3 times in a week and a half. i know i uped his fat intake a bit with the millworms and what not. but is that a little to much or is it ok?

That's probably on the high end...but he's a baby who's suddenly eating a lot, so he's growing and when they grow, they shed. I would not be overly worried about that. It will probably settle down as he hits his eating rhythm.

 

[Slug]

Update on dubias!

I got about a dozen dubias from the girl at PetCo, and my Senegal loved them! It ate 4 right off the bat. We also fed one to our Blue Dumpy frog, but we lost sight of it in his tank, but we are cleaning his tank later today, so we will see what happened to it and if it got eaten or not. I am a little leery of putting them with our red eyed tree frogs (newly named Henry and Lucy. 5 cool points if you can tell me where we got their names, think movie couples) because i think they may be able to escape from the enclosure before the frogs find them.

Overall, at least one of our animals loves them, which to me, is cause enough to start breeding my own dubias over buying a ridiculous amount of crickets ever week, only to have them die and stink up our house.

 

[Calypso]

My veil had been on a regular feeding schedule of about every two to three days. I started buying different types of worms and wanted to try to interact more by feeding them everyday one or two on top of the regular cricket feedings every couple days. She started shedding a lot more I noticed, and thought I needed to adjust the humidity. The humidity I think may have helped, but in the long run I think she was just having to get used to all the new food as her body's metabolism was changing and she was growing faster.

 

[Swayne8998]

I got about a dozen dubias from the girl at PetCo, and my Senegal loved them! It ate 4 right off the bat. We also fed one to our Blue Dumpy frog, but we lost sight of it in his tank, but we are cleaning his tank later today, so we will see what happened to it and if it got eaten or not. I am a little leery of putting them with our red eyed tree frogs (newly named Henry and Lucy. 5 cool points if you can tell me where we got their names, think movie couples) because i think they may be able to escape from the enclosure before the frogs find them.

Overall, at least one of our animals loves them, which to me, is cause enough to start breeding my own dubias over buying a ridiculous amount of crickets ever week, only to have them die and stink up our house.

Nice to hear you got some! I think you will end up breeding, because it will run you about 50 cents per roach if you don't! They are great feeders, and you can gutload with just about anything. Provide a large tub, a warm and dark place, some slight humidity for molting, oranges, and time! In about 3 months (depends on how many you start with), you will have hundreds of babies!

 

[Slug]

Nice to hear you got some! I think you will end up breeding, because it will run you about 50 cents per roach if you don't! They are great feeders, and you can gutload with just about anything. Provide a large tub, a warm and dark place, some slight humidity for molting, oranges, and time! In about 3 months (depends on how many you start with), you will have hundreds of babies!

The day I got them, 1 molted on me! It freaked me out a bit. I wasn't expecting to have a cup full of dark grey roaches at first, then an hour after I get them home, there is a white one that is bigger than before and slightly see-through! It was weird, but now it is to be expected. It was even stranger seeing it turn the same shade of grey as the others later on.