Roach "serving" methods

H

HaikuDan

New member
I'm wondering how people serve (non-climbing) roaches to their geckos and avoid the nymphs being lost to digging in the substrate?

My gecko enclosures have either a coco fiber/cypress mulch blend or a sand/dirt blend that would likely allow digging escapes if I just dumped the nymphs in like I do with crickets.

I have a colony of discoid roaches, of which I forcep-feed larger nymphs to my larger lizards (tegus and acanthurus monitors), but I would like to supplement and ultimately replace crickets as feeders.

If the answer is a feeding dish or bowl, what dimensions of the dish and do the geckos easily find it or learn to eat from it?

Thanks.

[I didn't think this belonged in the "Breeding Feeders" section as it relates to gecko husbandry; I apologize if I should have.]
 
Ken Bartenfeld

Ken Bartenfeld

New member
I am sure its ok, it would be good here I would think because Austrailian geckos are desert species more so...

I personally have to kind of shake the tubs and stir the sand up to find/get them from under the sand. Another kind of roaches are Laterallis, and they DO NOT dig, produce great...and are quick! I noticed my Dubia, Orange Heads and Discoids all tend to try and dig. Its VERY annoying! I am always checking on all my geckos, probably 3 times + day, they get to much attention my girlfriend says :wink:

But I would like to know what other peole say here to BigD, good topic :D

Best Regards,
Ken
 
M

Midwestherps76

New member
The lateralis is a great feeder that eliminates that problem entirely. However, I refuse to give up on my dubias, as far as bang for the buck and nutrition value goes, I think they are unparalleled.

I use the white rubbermaid drawer organizers you can find in places like target or wal-mart.. they measure about 10x6 inches if memory serves. For my smaller enclosures I use small ceramic or porcelein dishes I find at dollar stores that work well, just be sure to pick some of a color that the roaches stand out from, as Ive noticed with darker dishes my geckos don't seem to notice them as easily.
 
Ken Bartenfeld

Ken Bartenfeld

New member
Are you talking about how you keep your roaches, in 10X6 inches, or your geckos? Seems small to me...oic, you said if memory serves ;-)

I am getting some Laterallis soon, just sent out like 1000-2000 orange heads, for trade, I don't like the orange heads to much because when a gecko tries to eat them, some times they miss and they seem to tighten their body up, and then its like they bite gets deflected off there carapace(?). Seems Dubia(personal favorite) have a rougher carapace that the geckos small teeth can grip better.

My 2 cents.
 
M

Midwestherps76

New member
No I was referring to the size of food dishes I use to feed the roache sthere, those white rectangular drawer organizers are my main feeder dishes for anything over ten gallons in size. For terrestrial insectivores though, I can see myself switching them over to the lateralis completely.
 
Ken Bartenfeld

Ken Bartenfeld

New member
Wish Laterallis just got as big as the Dubia, I have some Dubia that weigh 2-3 grams! They weigh as much as pinky mice ;-) (!)
 
W

weswright

New member
Which would you guys recomend for some one looking into starting a small group for feeders, Laterallis or Dubia? I am not to fond of roaches, but am hearing great things about them as feeders. I have so many different animals that I dont know which to go with. Probably the Laterallis as its not a burrower, but are the like lightning fast?
 
M

Midwestherps76

New member
My only complaint about the lateralis is the size as well, luckily I dont have any larger insectivores at this point though.

The lateralis is a good choice if you hate dealing with feeding dishes, they are fast, but not much faster than a cricket.
 
Ken Bartenfeld

Ken Bartenfeld

New member
Dude, they ARE FAST! I remember trying to catch those little...things! Crickets, not to bad, these things move quick. Its also good though, kind of gives your geckos some exercise, and not only that, but keeps them more alert I would presume.

Dubia are fast too, I just feed them so much they tend to move slow, but when you keep them warm, they seem to move much quicker.
 
H

HaikuDan

New member
Hmm, I will have to try the drawer organizer box idea.

I would love to start a blatta lateralis colony, save two reasons. Roach colonies are expensive (Market price seems to be US$70 for a 100 count lateralis starter colony.)

The bigger reason, I suppose, is my wife! :oops: I have her convinced that my tub of roaches is just temporary housing for buying a couple dozen at a time or so and feeding them off. :lol:
 
M

Midwestherps76

New member
They are fast a sheck thats for sure, maybe my frame of reference is skewed because I havent dealt with crickets in almost 8 months.

BigD: when you start saving money on feeders every month, and maybe even making a little money off your extra roaches, that $70 isnt so bad at all... in fact Ive spent alot more than that on my colonies, but with the money Ive saved it has made it more than worth it, in fact, I could never ever switch back to crickets.
 
K

kanopy

New member
"Market price seems to be US$70 for a 100 count lateralis starter colony"

He he, here in europe the cost for 100 B.lateralis is around 5€ (something like 6$ and some cents) :wink:
Fred.
 
Justin

Justin

New member
Can the B. lateralis climb well? My dubia have bad habit of remaining motionless when a gecko approaches.
 
Ken Bartenfeld

Ken Bartenfeld

New member
Mine to Justin, Laterallis can not climb.

Darn Fred, that is cheap!!! Next time maybe I can get someone to bring some roaches back for me, why are they so cheap over there? Thats great! Those things are like cricket prices.
 
Ken Bartenfeld

Ken Bartenfeld

New member
Yeah, guess they just need to get going here in the US, you guys over there have been breeding them alot longer then we have over here from what I have heard.
 
B

blaberus

New member
roaches

It's because the Euro's are not as afraid to try these feeders as Americans and they are now just hitting the market. Give it a few years and the prices will be much lower. I prefer the dubia with my geckos, but the lateralis also work well.
James
www.blaberus.com
 
bugman426

bugman426

New member
Id love to use roaches as it would save me so much money, but being that im school now, and my parents have to deal with the roaches, i dont think its a good idea :D

is is possible to use 1 kind of roach for different sized reptiles? I have a dwarf monitor, leopard gecko, and small aussie geckos that are all diff in size by a good bit, so how would i know where to start at?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top