Staple other than Dubia and crickets?

Tkkaplan

Tkkaplan

Member
Anyone have any recommendations for staple bugs other than dubia and crickets for my young veiled? Idk why but he doesn't always accept dubias and I am sick of crickets because the smell horrible and are very fragile and seem to die more than I would like. Honestly I don't really care what kind of bugs they are as long as they are relatively hardy, they don't break the bank and you cannot smell them unless you're right near their enclosure. I know that the crickets dying probably have something to do with my care for them but I still don't like them. Recommendations are appreciated.
 
You could go with orange head roaches, silkworms, hornworms, superworms, if you can get grasshoppers they are great, but you can't buy them in the US.

It sounds like you could use some help with your cricket care, I would be happy to give some pointers if you are interested. When I get crickets it's 1000 at a time, and I have no problems with smell or heavy die off.

Offering a verity of feeders is definitely key!
 
Update: Im strongly considering red runner roaches and green banana roaches. If anyone has anything positive or negative about these roaches they'd like to share it is appreciated.
 
First you need a good size smooth plastic bin (clear or opaque from Walmart work great!) Then you cut 3 large holes (1 in the top, and 1 in each side). Heat the blade to make it easier to cut through (I ended up with 3 stitches before I found that tip). Cover the holes with aluminum screening (they can chew through plastic or fiberglass) I used hot glue to secure my screening after I had an epic fail with duct tape, then I was told that they can chew through that to. I have not personality had a problem with the glue, but I am super attentive to it checking almost every day just in case. Tada, now you have a cricket keeper that will allow air flow so it will not stink!

There are 2 things you need to do to prevent major die off. 1 give them a lot of space by adding paper towel/toilet paper rolls (I cut tp rolls in half and pt rolls in 3rd's if I'm running short), add egg crates if you have them (you can also buy them off e-bay) that way they will not be so crowded. And 2 always make sure they have food, if they are hungry they will eat each other! I personally use a frozen gutload that I make myself. It makes life super easy! I can tell you how I do that as well if you want.

Oh I should mention about the stink issue, I clean out my keeper at least once a week (more if needed), that helps a lot also!

Did I forget anything???... I don't think so, but if you have questions please ask!!
 
Have you tried purchasing crickets from other suppliers? I buy more than 1,000 at a time and if they die I go to another supplier.
I have a few suppliers that always sell wonderful crickets, Ghann's and Top Hat. I have a tub right now that was purchased 6/25/17 and still very few have died.

Anyone else have reliable cricket suppliers?
 
I've been putting my crickets in 10 gallon aquarium. I've been getting them from rainbow mealworms and the first few times they lasted a long time and now they keep dying off. If I decide to give crickets another try I will keep them in a large tub and I will make sure to give more food. They always had access to some as I needed to gutload obviously but thinking back on it I probably should've provided more. Anyone have any suggestions on roaches that breed fast and can be used as a staple? Other than dubia and orange head.
 
Can someone catch me up, why not dubia or OH? I'm no expert on roaches but know a decent bit, @Andee is my insect go to usually. Sorry I can read through this in a little, just got home and gf will kill me if I spend 1 more minute on this site right now. Then I'll never be able to grace you guys with my presence again;)
 
:eek: omg @Andee I would have totally named you to, but for some reason I had it in my head you only did dubia's and maybe OH's... You know your my go-to-gal for insects :love:
 
technically discoids are a very good roach to replace both of those. Do you have a size preference? Specific look you want? Temp preferences? Any legal issues with you state? I can name a bunch and specific genuses you want to look within so you can find something that fits just perfectly ^^

@Katacara I technically only raise Dubias and Surinams currently, but I have had many roach species in my past, most for fun but plenty made great feeders as well, and also have plenty more I will get in the future. There are some specific species I will never use as feeders considering how endangered they are out in the wild since they are now only available in captivity ^^
 
Honestly just something that is easy to breed doesn't smell bad and my juvenile veiled can swallow it. he's not a baby anymore, I don't know his exact age but I'd guess he's around 7 months.
 
Tkkaplan said:
Update: Im strongly considering red runner roaches and green banana roaches. If anyone has anything positive or negative about these roaches they'd like to share it is appreciated.
Click to expand...

I don't know about red runner roaches but green banana roaches can be a challenge to feed because they are so fast at hiding. They are difficult to keep contained--you need a box with a gasket seal on it. They fly at night. The plus is that they are incredibly attractive to a chameleon because they are such a bright green. Green is a very attractive color for chameleons. They are a very pretty bug, too. I use them to give my wild caughts Vitamin A--a drop on a bug that I hand feed to them.
 
I actually recommend taking a look at pallid roaches. I have been considering them for a species for a while now after researching them.
 
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