[JDub]

Well, I realize this has probably been posted before, but I am looking for an alternative to crickets, and mealworms. I can not stand crickets, and through all the research I have conducted, I would like to use dubia roaches, but I live in Florida, and they're illegal here. So there's my problem, what would be a good alternative? I'm looking into getting other geckos soon, so anything that would be possible to breed would be nice, something that will last, and not die off as fast as crickets, but provide good nutrition to my geckos.

[Yoshi'smom]

I'd say that if you can't do roaches, stick with crickets. They're the next best feeder, nutritionally.
Some roaches may not be illegal in florida. Look up different kinds that are used as feeders and do some research.

[badkelpie]

I think you can have discoid roaches in florida. They're a little bigger than dubia, but you just feed the nymphs anyway.

[Riverside Reptiles]

There's definitely some other species of roaches that ARE legal to own in florida. But I'm not sure which species. I'm going to move this thread to the feeders section of the forums where it belongs. Hopefully someone will chime in that knows the state laws better than I do.

[Ozymandias]

discoids are legal in Florida so thay are probably your best bet, though Blaberus craniifer (True Death Head Roach) are legal also.

Edit: it also look like Panchlora nivea is allowed but thay are a flying species (pretty thought) and i believe Pycnoscelus surinamensis is also legal. the one species i cant find a defiant answer on whether thay are restricted or not are Blatta Lateralis which is a bit strange considering thay are a big feeder.

[Riverside Reptiles]

Lateralis are definitely not legal in Florida! Which is too bad because they're a great feeder IMO.

[ericcantonaxp]

look like Panchlora nivea is allowed but thay are a flying species

[Ozymandias]

Originally Posted by Riverside Reptiles

Lateralis are definitely not legal in Florida! Which is too bad because they're a great feeder IMO.

good to know although i think thay are already in Florida so it's sort of a mute point lol

[Crocodidlian]

I hear that phoenix worms are a good feeder. You can order them for fairly cheap from some sites, and you don't have to feed or refrigerate them. They are supposed to be nutritionally superior to both crickets and meal worms.

[Riverside Reptiles]

One of the big downsides to phoenix worms is that many geckos don't find them very palatable. I bought a huge thing of them and then couldn't get a single one of my geckos of any species to eat them. I would also imagine tha one of the issues with them would be, like mealworms, they likely have a very short intestinal tract which means they hold gut load for only a very short time (like 15 mins) before it gets pooped out. Roaches on the other hand have very long intestinal tracts which means they retain their gut load for a much longer time frame.