I’m quitting crickets!

[Lindasjackson]

DubiaRoaches is what I use and I had my dubia and some hornworms delivered from them in 15 degree weather not a single one dea

DubiaRoaches is what I use and I had my dubia and some hornworms delivered from them in 15 degree weather not a single one dead

ive used them as well but they don’t have a place on the order form to check so they hold them at the post office like rainbow mealwormsworms does. I’m afraid they’ll get left on my doorstep and freeze!

 

[Carloscruz]

Breeding them is easier and save money that is what I do.

 

[Lindasjackson]

I do have a giant one in there that I’ve had for months. It’s too big to feed to my Cham. There’s actually another one that’s close in size but not as big. I dont know males from females but I don’t think they’d breed for me because I keep them in a clear plastic tub with no substrate, just egg crate and their fresh veggies.

 

[Carloscruz]

I do have a giant one in there that I’ve had for months. It’s too big to feed to my Cham. There’s actually another one that’s close in size but not as big. I dont know males from females but I don’t think they’d breed for me because I keep them in a clear plastic tub with no substrate, just egg crate and their fresh veggies.

Males are longer and females are bigger a round

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

@Lindasjackson. I'm gonna make a separate post about them but try TC Insects . They're in Texas and I'm in FL and have had really good shipping times . ALWAYS healthy bugs and sometimes even extra . Currently they're not doing crickets but if it comes to silk worms or bsf I wouldn't go anywhere else . They have different roaches also but im in FL and we have weird roach laws so I never really look lol.

 

[Lindasjackson]

@Lindasjackson. I'm gonna make a separate post about them but try TC Insects . They're in Texas and I'm in FL and have had really good shipping times . ALWAYS healthy bugs and sometimes even extra . Currently they're not doing crickets but if it comes to silk worms or bsf I wouldn't go anywhere else . They have different roaches also but im in FL and we have weird roach laws so I never really look lol.

Ok thanks

 

[Veiled Lady]

I use TC Insects as well, however, I live about 30 minutes from their location so shipping isn't much of an issue. I order their silks, bsfl, red runners, and dubias. They do hot and cold packs for temps and pick up at post office. Ive had a few dead insects but they pack extra with the order to accommodate for this. I was even refunded the money for a hot pack that I thought was needed based on projected temps and they refunded it. If you order by Wednesday at 12(I believe), you will have it by Saturday.

 

[Kaizen]

Crickets can't "carry" coccidia unless they have eaten or lived in the feces of an infected chameleon. They are not part of the coccidia life cycle. There are many reasons to get rid of crickets but if they are bought from a clean source that doesn't mix loose crickets back in to their bins then coccidia is not a risk.

Here, here!

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

I use TC Insects as well, however, I live about 30 minutes from their location so shipping isn't much of an issue. I order their silks, bsfl, red runners, and dubias. They do hot and cold packs for temps and pick up at post office. Ive had a few dead insects but they pack extra with the order to accommodate for this. I was even refunded the money for a hot pack that I thought was needed based on projected temps and they refunded it. If you order by Wednesday at 12(I believe), you will have it by Saturday.

Yeah they're pretty cool . Had couple size issues they MORE than made right . Never really had dead things yet. I just ordered Tuesday and got my bugs today

 

[Kaizen]

I applaud the in-your-face-ness here!

 

[Kaizen]

After reading about crickets being carriers of coccidia and a member here having their Cham come down with it I’ve decided no more crickets. I’m going to look into another breed of roaches to replace them. I’m currently feeding dubias, Bsfl and occasionally wax and meal worms as treats. In the summer I hope to be able to get a few silk worms. Do discoid roaches climb the sides of bins? Are they too closely related to dubia to serve as another staple?

Linda, also consider grasshoppers.

 

[FloridaChameleonLiving]

Linda, also consider grasshoppers.

@Lindasjackson +1 on the grasshoppers . Just recently starting adding them into the feeder rotation and my Panthers go NUTS for them !! Very cool feeding response! (though I hate how unpredictable they jump when trying to grab one)

Edit: Fair warning they can be kinda pricey but if it's for the better of your baby who cares ) lol .

 

[Mendez]

100% agree with the grasshopper trend! They have to be my favorite insect feeder. They are naturally arboreal and diurnal so they pretty much hang out where you cham hangs out which makes free-ranging feeders a much easier task than runaway crickets or dubias in screen/hybrid cages. My jackson's chameleon loves them. Once I land a job (fresh out of college) I plan to make them one of my staple feeders. As for now, I'm sticking with crickets, dubias, and fruit flies.

Though crickets do have their place. I moved away from buying crickets until I started getting into the smaller species like Furcifer willsii, pygmies, and leaf-tailed geckos. Crickets are the perfect feeders for them: lots of movement and the ability to free-range them in terrariums. Plus, they are very cost-effective and very nutritious when fed right. I personally like crickets more as a feeder than dubia roaches in regards to movement.

 

[DocZ]

I do have a giant one in there that I’ve had for months. It’s too big to feed to my Cham. There’s actually another one that’s close in size but not as big. I dont know males from females but I don’t think they’d breed for me because I keep them in a clear plastic tub with no substrate, just egg crate and their fresh veggies.

Don’t be too sure. I threw about 8 discoids that were too big for my lizards in a ten gallon tank and put a heating pad on one side with a thermostat on it and 6 months later there were babies in there. It can be done better to increase production, but they weren’t hard to breed
Red runners are another good one. Very easy to breed, a bit smaller so they won’t outgrow a medium to large Cham. Small babies for your smaller Chams, soft body, can’t climb glass. They’re a good feeder. They are very “roachy” though. They look like the roaches that will infest a house, they are fast, they jump, the males can’t fly but have wings and can “glide” a bit. Even though they can’t climb glass, make sure they have a tight fitting lid, I did have a few escapes which shouldn’t infest your house if you’re in a temperate area (which you must be with your cold temps), but it’s unnerving to see one of the boogers running around the house

 

[Mountain Dragon]

Oooh yeah sorry I forgot the during our delivery time I’m almost always home or someone in my family is

 

[Persnickety Parson's]

Aren't all cockroaches nocturnal too?

If you find a roach that goes towards the light, let me know.

There are several day active roaches, the pallid sun roach is one example.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

There are several day active roaches, the pallid sun roach is one example.

Mitchell's diurnal cockroach IDK if they're considered a feeder roach.
Forest cockroaches, a.k.a. lesser cockroach ( Ectobius sylvestris )

Also popularly known as the lesser cockroach, forest cockroaches (Ectobius sylvestris) are forest-dwelling insects. This species is diurnal, meaning that the roach is mostly active during the bright daytime, preferring the light more than darkness. These roaches can chiefly be traced in the months of May to September. The adults perish between September and October.
https://kidadl.com/animal-facts/forest-cockroach-facts

Australia has a few diurnal species, but I'm not finding specifics.
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/native-cockroaches/

Out of ~4500 species, there aren't many.

 

[Lindasjackson]

Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

[PlanetRemulak]

Don't get your crickets or any other feeder from a dirty source and your fine... For example. Petco or a local pet store that carries reptiles. I have literally watched them clean out an enclosure and take the crickets and toss them back into the cricket for sale bin..... This is where your risk comes from.

Whole heartedly agree.. that said, I’m trying to figure out how in the hell Beau came down with coccidia in the first place. I have been buying crickets exclusively from Rainbow Mealworms, with the exception of the ONE time I bought pre-packaged crickets from Petco in those plastic containers.

@Lindasjackson, I got a starter colony of pantanal roaches from @jamest0o0 and they’re really easy! I’m not going to lie to you.. They’re big as adults and freaky if you’re not a fan of roaches, but they can be kept in a plastic tote or 10 gal aquarium and you won’t ever have to really even see them. These guys like to burrow in substrate and stay hidden (I‘m currently keeping my colony in coco coir substrate with large hunks of branches for the adults to climb on if they feel like, but they spend a lot of time hiding). They pull food under the substrate like little zombies. You can use a cup or paint scraping spatula to sift out the smaller nymphs If the idea of digging them out with your hand creeps you out. Surinam roaches are also awesome! They stay buried in the same type of substrate. Adult surinams are quite a bit smaller than adult pantanal roaches, and breeding is a girls-only club. They reproduce via parthenogenesis!
**just now seeing you were looking for a diurnal species, I’m not certain that either of the two I mentioned are. Sorry about that!

Needless to say, I am with Linda 100%. As of my and Beau’s recent experience, I am entirely done with crickets. I’ll still be ordering from Rainbow Mealworms, but I’ll only be feeding a variety of roaches, BSFL, fly spikes and silkworms from here on out :/

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Whole heartedly agree.. that said, I’m trying to figure out how in the hell Beau came down with coccidia in the first place. I have been buying crickets exclusively from Rainbow Mealworms, with the exception of the ONE time I bought pre-packaged crickets from Petco in those plastic containers.

With some parasites, it's not always binary, i.e. having them or not having them. It's the load—how many of them do they have, and are they in sufficient numbers to make the host ill.

Some host animals can be carrying low loads of parasites their entire lives with no ill effects.
For example...

The most common clinical sign of coccidiosis is diarrhea, but most dogs that are infected with coccidia do not have any clinical signs. When the coccidial oocysts are found in the stool of a dog without diarrhea, they are generally considered a transient, insignificant finding.
https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/coccidiosis-in-dogs

I can't say it for a fact without further digging, but it wouldn't surprise me if the same applies to reptiles with coccidia.