Feeder Roaches: Care and Breeding

[Elizabeth Freer]

really my adult will eat anything you put infront of her and even more so if it wiggles.


my hatchlings... i'm not so sure i have only had them for about a week so we are still trying to figure what things i can get them to eat...

I often use feeding dishes to contain their prey, amputating the back legs of the crickets at the knees to slow them down and to keep them in the shallow feeding dishes leos require.

Now with the ever-increasing shortage/availability of the Acheta domestica crickets (the soft common brown guys) in the USA it looks as if I will be using feeding dishes/bowls to contain the nasty Gryllus assimilis whenever I feed. Those guys can really damage your geckos. Read here: Attack of the Feeder Crickets | Gecko Time

 

[lola92]

I often use feeding dishes to contain their prey, amputating the back legs of the crickets at the knees to slow them down and to keep them in the shallow feeding dishes leos require.

Now with the ever-increasing shortage/availability of the Acheta domestica crickets (the soft common brown guys) in the USA it looks as if I will be using feeding dishes/bowls to contain the nasty Gryllus assimilis whenever I feed. Those guys can really damage your geckos. Read here: Attack of the Feeder Crickets | Gecko Time

for my leetle ones i am using a feeder dish and i keep about 20 - 30 tiny meal worms in there... i'm waiting on my deliever of Case O' Crickets- 250 count pinhead to 1/4 size crickets...
though i have a feeling after this order of crickets if they don't breed like i need them too then i will be using roaches but not telling my landlords about them lol

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

for my leetle ones i am using a feeder dish and i keep about 20 - 30 tiny meal worms in there... i'm waiting on my deliever of Case O' Crickets- 250 count pinhead to 1/4 size crickets...
though i have a feeling after this order of crickets if they don't breed like i need them too then i will be using roaches but not telling my landlords about them lol

Crickets need pretty high temps in order to breed. It is not nearly as easy as breeding roaches.

 

[lola92]

Crickets need pretty high temps in order to breed. It is not nearly as easy as breeding roaches.

I found that one out after the first fail... the 2nd fail i learned that if you don't have the females lay the eggs and remove them they will eat the eggs...

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I found that one out after the first fail... the 2nd fail i learned that if you don't have the females lay the eggs and remove them they will eat the eggs...

Baby steps...little by little we sometimes get "there"!

 

[Ozymandias]

I am on my last try with crickets i can never seem to get them to live over a month...
next i will be trying Blaptica dubia i heard they are a lot easier to breed and weren't as evil as crickets.. but the idea of roaches are still getting to me

i know some one who calls the dubias beetles so his wife doesn't freak out, so just think of them that way as thay don't look like your traditional roach

 

[Hardknox]

i know some one who calls the dubias beetles so his wife doesn't freak out, so just think of them that way as thay don't look like your traditional roach

That is an excellent idea. What sold my girlfriend and my landlord on dubias are these two facts.

1. Mold kills them.

2. They require high temperatures to breed.

Of course the no flying and poor climbers helps a lot too. However, the disgusting part about regular roaches is they are associated with unclean environments (old rotting food) which dubias will quickly die in. They are also tropical so they need those higher temperatures to breed. A fact I found interesting is they rarely appear in human housing even in the areas they are native to.

For others out there considering. When I first started with them honestly they bothered me a bit too but its undeniable how easy these guys are to breed and what a wonderful feeder they are nutritionally. Also I am really finding them satisfying to care for because they are so prolific and the more I work with them, the less they bother me.

My suggestion is get a small starter colony and work with them for a couple weeks. If they still freak you out you can always feed them off or just toss it without too much loss.

Elizabeth what worked for my stubborn leopard (the others took to them immediately) was I gave him smaller feedings for a couple days (literally 2 day not enough to cause weight loss) and then I got some crickets on the small side for him. By day 3 his was a feeding very eagerly so I tweezer fed him 3 smaller crickets and quickly followed them with a dubia in the tweezers while he was on a roll. He took the dubia and once I got him to eat one, it was never a problem again.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

Unfortunately Elizabeth, if the cricket virus is not resolved there will come a time when the common house cricket will no longer be an option.

If possible, get your critters used to other types of feeders so the seemingly inevitable demise of the regular cricket does not halt feeding for a lengthy time.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[Ozymandias]

just did a update, added some pictures and two new species Byrsotria sp. "Cuba" (Brown Burrowing Roach) and Pycnoscelus nigra

edit: also thinking about adding two more species but not sure yet. the two species would be Blaberus fusca (Dwarf Cave Roach) and Paratemnopteryx couloniana (Red Goblin Roach)

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

lateralis are a fantastic feeder for picky leos. They're a native food item for them. It's one of the things they'd actually eat in the wild. And their high activity level tends to stimulate the prey drive of many geckos as well.

 

[norea]

im glad im seeing LOTS of nymphs of my B lateralis ... by next year i should be feeding all my pets mostly roaches.

 

[billewicz]

Hello,

Great thread! Like all feeders, they are really delivery systems for the gut loaded nutrition you give them that day.

My dubia will eat almost anything I throw in there but when it comes to gut loading I've had great success with Rapeshy's Insect Gut Load powder. The roaches actually come running out as soon as I drop some in.

My Hissing Roaches like carrots and dark greens better. Here's a photo of a male just out of his shed, enjoy.

Michael

 

[cricket4u]

I guess your not aware, roaches have been known to cause gout in reptiles due to the high protein and ability to store uric acid. I know a few people's leo who got gout from feeding mainly roaches. Feeding roaches dog or cat food is a terrible idea. I feed roaches as well, but only about 4 roaches a week. I would hate to see more leo's with gout.

I don't want you guys to think I am just spreading false info around:lol:. Here is one person who then took her to the vet and it was comfirmed it was gout and all that she was fed was roaches. He mentions it in another thread. The others were associates of mine.

Calcium deopsite? - GeckoForums.net

http://www.physorg.com/news177261249.html

 

[norea]

So what else do u feed them other than roaches?

 

[cricket4u]

Crickets, silkworms ,phoenix worms, and hornworms.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

So what else do u feed them other than roaches?

Norea ~

Superworms (Zophobas morio) are also reported to be good feeders. These are not to be confused with giant mealworms.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

I guess your not aware, roaches have been known to cause gout in reptiles due to the high protein and ability to store uric acid. I know a few people's leo who got gout from feeding mainly roaches. Feeding roaches dog or cat food is a terrible idea. I feed roaches as well, but only about 4 roaches a week. I would hate to see more leo's with gout.

I don't want you guys to think I am just spreading false info around:lol:. Here is one person who then took her to the vet and it was comfirmed it was gout and all that she was fed was roaches. He mentions it in another thread. The others were associates of mine.

Calcium deopsite? - GeckoForums.net

In your experiences, how much has the leo's gout depended upon feeding the roaches dog or cat food? Do you know what the person who took her leo's body to the vet and did receive a confirmation of gout fed her roaches? If one fed the roaches much differently (say no more than 20% protein and no more than say 5% fat so that other nutrients would be transferred to the leo), would you still advise the same caution?

 

[Ozymandias]

ya as Elizabeth mentioned as long as you don't feed roaches food that is more than 20% and 5% fat (ie don't feed them cat or dog food) you really shouldn't need to worry about gout with them. also not all roaches store uric acid some actually expel it in there fras, though in the case of most feeders this doesn't apply so it's even more important to not feed dog or cat food.

 

[cricket4u]

In your experiences, how much has the leo's gout depended upon feeding the roaches dog or cat food? Do you know what the person who took her leo's body to the vet and did receive a confirmation of gout fed her roaches? If one fed the roaches much differently (say no more than 20% protein and no more than say 5% fat so that other nutrients would be transferred to the leo), would you still advise the same caution?

They were all taken to the vet and gout was diagnosed. The reason it was linked to the roaches was due to the fact roaches were at least 75% of their diet. 2 of them had to be euthanized to avoid prolonged suffering. 3 where fed cat food loaded crickets, however 2 were not. The problem is roaches are high in protein without the gutload according to a biology teacher I had asked. The main contributors to kidney disease and gout are:

Dehydration, High protein diet, Hypervitaminosis D

Most geckos suffer from mild dehydration that goes unnoticed by keepers. Dehydration in reptiles that are uricoletic leads to increase of uric acid, soft tissue-calcification and kidney disease or failure. Diet high in protein and dehydration is a deadly duo.

Some people have the perception that because they are insectivore/ carnivore high protein is a must. However the recommended % for a carnivore is between 18-20%. Roaches are over 30% making them high. High protein requires a large amount of water in the body in order to digest and filter out waste. Keep in mind that geckos have the tendancy to be mildly dehydrated.

Compare:

Roach- 61% moisture 36% protein
Crickets- 74% moisture 18% protein (Falls withing protein % recommended)

More meat to shell, but less water

Most geckos's rely on food for water and rarely drink on their own unless it's too hot in the enclosure, GI infection or too many supplements are given.
I hope I explained it well

 

[Ozymandias]

Just one question but what roaches where testing because not all reaches are created equal. I imagine that the moisture to protein ratio would be different in say a lateralis compared to a dubia.