Roach colony questions

[Monopoly9182]

I'm looking to start a small colony of roaches for my savannah monitor , 2 Jackson's, and 2 leopard geckos these will mostly be a snack for my monitor not to feed him all the time
What would be the best type of roach for them?
What are the differences in lobster and dubia roaches?
Are the adults to big for the jackson chams to eat?

Thanks in advance

 

[Andee]

The main differences between lobster and dubia from what I've heard is that lobster roaches climb extremely well, glass and plastic so they need to have a layer of vaseline or something slick to block it. I don't know if lobsters need heat and humidity, but I know dubias need a little heat to produce well. The lobsters produce faster than dubias supposedly. I would say that the dubia roaches and lobster roach adults probably are too big for your cham to eat and they also tend to prefer the nymphs. But there will be plenty of nymphs to eat. I would be careful feeding roaches to the leos, as they do not chew their food like chams, so only feed very small and possibly freshly molted roaches.

Dubias are nice and easy, I have had great success with feeding them and raising them. I will be moving into a larger container soon and probably start selling them soon because they are doing so well ^^. Plus the dubias I think are adorable. But always keep a two-three female to every male ratio or else they get aggressive.

 

[Monopoly9182]

Hey, thanks for the great info
I think I'm going to get dubia roaches
Do you know of a place to get them cheap?
Maybe I could buy them from you?
I'm not going to feed my leopard geckos all the time because I have a mealworm colony going to

 

[Olimpia]

I think dubias or discoids are the best species for most situations, since they are bigger and don't climb/fly. This gives you a wider range of roach sizes to feed off, from very tiny ones to nearly full grown, and even the adult males. All of my chameleons, including the male Jackson's I used to own, loved the occassional extra male (changing around the size of a feeder also counts as diversity to them, and keeps them more interested in food). My little fat-tail geckos also get my discoid roaches and love them.

Dubias are usually always for sale at good prices. I would check the classifieds at Fauna (here: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=961) or the classifieds on here, people are always selling large numbers of them for relatively little.

 

[Andee]

I'm not quite ready to start selling yet, but will be in a couple weeks I think if you want to wait that long. But there are plenty of other people to get them from really cheap. I agree check faunaclassifieds. And always check on here. Have your container set up before you get them, all they need are a decent amount of egg crates, a large rubbermaid container with ventilation of some sort in the top. I just bored holes in the top, and plenty of food and water. I use water crystals for their source, and vegetables, oranges or other fruits, and a roach diet I have found they like that I buy from LLLreptile when I buy my eggcrates. Nymphs have a 3-5 month life span and then they change into adults, as adults they can live from a year to two.

Hopefully this helped. I hope you have success with them and if you are interested in buying from me in a couple weeks send me a pm. If not and want something sooner good luck and I'm sure you'll find someone selling them for cheap ^^