# To people who feed their roaches dog food



## CT9A (Oct 10, 2008)

What specific name brand dog food do you use? I've been researching and looking up on most dog food brands and they all end up with a sort of insecticdes such as garlic oil or rosemary. etc, I've also researched plenty on AB and have no clear anwser as to what brand to use. Ive seen to use Cheap brands, and if so give me a few examples. Also if there are other cheap alternatives to dog food, feel free to share your ideas and experiances with feeding. I'm feeding dubia btw. Thanks.


----------



## Galapoheros (Oct 11, 2008)

I feed them a brand called "Organix".  It may not the best, I just grab it at a health food store.  I checked the ingredients and it doesn't have any of that stuff you mentioned.


----------



## pinkfoot (Oct 11, 2008)

I use Pedigree Chum int. al. but avoid all imported foods


----------



## alupihan (Oct 11, 2008)

i buy them from the dollar store. can't remember what brand it is.


----------



## jerseygirl (Oct 11, 2008)

CT9A said:


> What specific name brand dog food do you use? I've been researching and looking up on most dog food brands and they all end up with a sort of insecticdes such as garlic oil or rosemary. etc, I've also researched plenty on AB and have no clear anwser as to what brand to use. Ive seen to use Cheap brands, and if so give me a few examples. Also if there are other cheap alternatives to dog food, feel free to share your ideas and experiances with feeding. I'm feeding dubia btw. Thanks.


Have you tried dried fish food flakes?  Saw this on-line somewhere and my hissers LOVE it, along with fresh carrots, etc.


----------



## CT9A (Oct 11, 2008)

fish flakes are a bit expensive so id rather go with dog food, or another cheaper alternative. Im asking this question because i fed my roaches some dog food i thought was ok, and then the next week they all were found dead. Im getting some new ones sent in.


----------



## Cirith Ungol (Oct 11, 2008)

I go with a brand that has the least amount of protein in it, as it is said that roaches can get a fatal stomach blockage if the diet is too high on protein. They are not good at digesting protein in any large amounts. I don't know anything exact about that and the threads discussing this are probably quite dusty by now...


----------



## MysticDragon (Oct 11, 2008)

Why don't you use cat food? I am keeping hissers about 1,5year, and i  had no problems with cat food


----------



## ShellsandScales (Oct 11, 2008)

I feed half of my roaches nutro, iams, eukanuba, (I typically get great deals on leftover or damaged bags ex. 45 lb bag of eukanuba for $5). These are fed to my geckos and other vertebrates that like higher calcium and lots of extra vitamins and minerals. The other half gets whatever I have on hand. I try to use lesser quality foods with lower calcium content and these are fed to T's and other inverts. Both colonies get fruit and veggie scraps, leftover bread, carrots, potatos, etc.


----------



## Xaranx (Oct 14, 2008)

I feed mine ol roy, cheapo dog food from wal-mart.  I used to feed it to my dog until I found out how bad those grocery store foods are for dogs, now it's just for the roaches and the dog gets Innova.


----------



## Noexcuse4you (Oct 14, 2008)

I used to feed my roaches fish food, but that got wayyyy too expensive.  They grew like crazy, but so did my credit card bill.  I've since switched to Solid Gold Wolf King dog food.  You can get it at Petco for $45 for 33lbs.  I also feed my roaches fresh fruits and veggies.  

I found out my roach's favorite food on accident one day.  We were eating green beens for dinner and the roach bin happens to be right next to the dinner table (I know, I'm weird).  The roaches all came out as soon as we set the green beans on the table.  I threw a handful in and they all went crazy and devoured them in a matter of minutes!!


----------



## mcy (Oct 14, 2008)

best thing to feed them is chicken feed 50 pound bag for 10 bucks.... they love it. I stopped feeding them dog food it attracted flies like no other.


----------



## KyuZo (Oct 15, 2008)

mcy said:


> \I stopped feeding them dog food it attracted flies like no other.


what kind of flies are you talking about?  because i my field crickets colony have a few flies in there, but they are tiny.  are you refering to the regular house fly for the tiny ones?  i am looking for a way to get rid of them.  i feed them dog food too, so maybe i'll try chicken feed and hopefully get rid of those flies.


----------



## Elytra and Antenna (Oct 15, 2008)

CT9A said:


> Im asking this question because i fed my roaches some dog food i thought was ok, and then the next week they all were found dead. Im getting some new ones sent in.


 I'm pretty certain you had a "curse of the Grecian urn" problem (attributing an outcome with an associated but unrelated event). I've used just about every brand of dog and cat food over the years and never lost any roaches to a food. Just in case, Beneful for puppies is not harmful to any of the present hobby species.


----------



## pinkfoot (Oct 16, 2008)

mcy said:


> best thing to feed them is chicken feed 50 pound bag for 10 bucks.... they love it. I stopped feeding them dog food it attracted flies like no other.


Strangely, my G. portentosa _will_ eat chicken meal, but far more slowly than the rabbit and dog pellets I also supply...


----------



## Rochelle (Oct 16, 2008)

We use the cheapest available dog/cat food we can find; from the local Farm Supply store. It usually runs about $6 for 20lbs. 
We provide constant fresh water and an endless variety of outdated produce from the local market (greatly discounted!). 
Fish flakes are given about once a month as a supplement/treat.  
(they like it so much; that we refer to it as "roach crack")  

We've also learned that we can greatly control volunteer flies; by deliberately introducing 'cobweb' spiders to the tanks. They have colonized the upper parts of all the tanks; are completely harmless to humans; don't bother the roaches and have all but eliminated all unwanted flying crapbags... :clap: 

Hope this helps!


----------



## Mina (Oct 16, 2008)

We feed trout chow, you can get it for really cheap at any feed stores that carry it, it is 35 cents a pound at the feed store we go to, its in small pellets so you need to crush it or run it through a food processor.  If you want to spend a little more you can get food for fry, which is already powdered.


----------



## Rochelle (Oct 16, 2008)

OMG Mina... You're BRILLIANT!  :clap: 
Outstanding information ~~ we'll be looking for this immediately. Thanks for the beneficial slap upside the head. I don't know why we didn't think of this, ourselves. 

:worship:


----------



## dtknow (Oct 16, 2008)

If you guy check out the ingredients their is some pretty crazy preservatives in most of them. Sure this is ok?


----------



## mcy (Oct 16, 2008)

KyuZo said:


> what kind of flies are you talking about?  because i my field crickets colony have a few flies in there, but they are tiny.  are you refering to the regular house fly for the tiny ones?  i am looking for a way to get rid of them.  i feed them dog food too, so maybe i'll try chicken feed and hopefully get rid of those flies.


yes the tiny flies i dont know why the dog food attracts them... the chicken feed seems to have helped A LOT


----------



## Rochelle (Oct 16, 2008)

I've noticed that chicken mash seems to a have very high calcium content.....
Fish are very sensitive...And I trust Mina explicitly.


----------



## pinkfoot (Oct 17, 2008)

Rochelle said:


> We've also learned that we can greatly control volunteer flies; by deliberately introducing 'cobweb' spiders to the tanks. They have colonized the upper parts of all the tanks; are completely harmless to humans; don't bother the roaches and have all but eliminated all unwanted flying crapbags... :clap:
> 
> Hope this helps!
> [/COLOR]


My spiders were an involuntary invasion, but are settled nicely, and yeah...no flies either.


----------



## BestRoach (Oct 22, 2008)

Mina's suggestion is a good one....my feed is very similar to what would be in a commercial trout chow. I would avoid dog food and cat food if possible.

Gamebird and turkey food are other good options. Lower calcium content then laying feeds, and higher protien. Can be purchased for around 25-35 cents a pound.


----------



## HcUnderoath (Oct 22, 2008)

i use ferret food, but my instincts say that is probably not the best food for em


----------



## syndicate (Oct 22, 2008)

Rochelle said:


> We've also learned that we can greatly control volunteer flies; by deliberately introducing 'cobweb' spiders to the tanks. They have colonized the upper parts of all the tanks; are completely harmless to humans; don't bother the roaches and have all but eliminated all unwanted flying crapbags


That is an awesome idea!I will def start doing that as I hate fruitflys!!!
Roach crack lolz!Might have to try and offer some flakes and see how they like them.


----------



## loxoscelesfear (Oct 23, 2008)

i havent tossed dog food to my roaches for awhile, but i feed em just about anything, and they have been breeding like mad for 4 yrs now.  started w/ 30, and have had 1000s and given 1000s away


----------



## scolex (Oct 23, 2008)

Dude they are roaches Just feed them cardboard.


----------



## dtknow (Oct 23, 2008)

dude our pets are eating them, make sure to feed them good quality food. :}


----------



## Rochelle (Oct 23, 2008)

Roaches are easy to keep - but it takes more attention to make them thrive for high production.

Anyone can merely keep them alive.....


----------



## bhoeschcod (Oct 24, 2008)

scolex said:


> Dude they are roaches Just feed them cardboard.


yeah but have you heard you are what you eat cardboard isnt healthy or is it....


----------



## GiantVinegaroon (Oct 25, 2008)

bhoeschcod said:


> yeah but have you heard you are what you eat cardboard isnt healthy or is it....


cardboard is fine for them.  you can keep roaches alive on cardboard alone.


----------



## Xaranx (Oct 25, 2008)

They might live on it, but they won't thrive and reproduce which is the point of a self sustaining feeder colony.  Need a source of moisture and some decent food to get them reproducing.  they won't waste their energy on reproducing when they are being fed cardboard only.


----------



## Rochelle (Oct 26, 2008)

Why on earth would I feed cardboard to a feeder roach, that I'm about to give to a $500 T.? 

I've said it before and now I'll say it again... there is a world of difference between the Keepers ~ and the captors. 

:wall: :wall: :wall:


----------



## CT9A (Oct 26, 2008)

Like Rochelle is trying to say. We are feeding these roaches to our valuable pets, and we want the best for them. 
Its kind of like feeding what your roaches are eating to your tarantulas (not literally but in some way it is true.)  
In the long run its common sense that feeding roaches fed on nothing but cardboard would have some 
effect on the animal consuming the roach


----------



## BestRoach (Oct 26, 2008)

Keepers and the captors.....

Nice way of putting it Rochelle!

Seriously though, to the guy who said feed them cardboard. I raise roaches as feeders for my own animals primarily, and as such I want my roaches to be as healthy as possible so that health in turn is passed on to my bearded dragons. Secondly, as a large scale breeder, I must provide a diet that is conducive to the rapid reproduction rate required of my roach colonies. 


Feeding your roaches cardboard (or other cheap foods), counters one of the best reasons for raising your own feeder insects, proper gut loading and quality control. By raising your own, you can make sure they are of the highest nutritional value before feeding them to your pets. If you simply feed them garbage like cardboard, then you might as well feed your pets cardboard.



All that said, I doubt the poster was serious. It was most likely a knee jerk reaction to the thought of roaches....regardless of their superiority as a feeder insect.
Thankfully my guys don't eat card board....if they did, I would have to find another way to ship them


----------



## gh0001356 (Nov 22, 2008)

bump for a good thread.  Anyone try the Purina Game Fish Chow?  I tried looking for "trout food" at my local feed suppliers but they only carry the Purina GFC.  It comes in three different sized pellets and contains 36% protien.


----------



## bluefrogtat2 (Nov 26, 2008)

i have fed mine iams adult formula for years now and can say all are doing great.
(just what i feed my dog)
andy


----------



## samthebugman (Nov 26, 2008)

Stay away from dog foods with DYES in them! I know someone who fed some dog food with red dye in it and it crashed his colony also killed 4 beardies who ate those roaches! 

THIS IS NO JOKE!


----------



## patrick86 (Nov 26, 2008)

I feed my B. dubias and crickets a combination of non-medicated chick mash, oatmeal, honey and nut O's and fish flakes.

They get big and fat, reproduce like bunnies, and I've never received a complaint from any of our tarantulas.


----------



## RoachGirlRen (Nov 28, 2008)

I don't tend to feed dog food; I toss cooked chicken/turkey, krill, or meat based baby food in there about weekly instead. Largely, my guys eat soaked oats, greens, fruit, veggies, and dried oak leaves all mixed together in a chopper. Most of my hissers live over three years and my feeders are highly reproductive w/little or no cannibalism, so I must be doing something right ::shrugs::

If I were to feed dog food, I'd probably aim for a puppy food due to the higher protein content and stick to something with recognizable ingredients. Honestly I prefer not to feed much in the way of processed foods though, as I like to have a firm handle on what kinds of ingredients are going in to the animals I'm keeping as pets or feeding to pets. Animal feed crop standards (US) permit a much higher usage of pesticides, and with all the corn and soy in most dog foods I'd imagine there's probably a fair amount of nasty stuff floating about in it that might not be great for roaches or the critters we feed them to.


----------



## Crippled (Dec 2, 2008)

CT9A said:


> What specific name brand dog food do you use? I've been researching and looking up on most dog food brands and they all end up with a sort of insecticdes such as garlic oil or rosemary. etc, I've also researched plenty on AB and have no clear anwser as to what brand to use. Ive seen to use Cheap brands, and if so give me a few examples. Also if there are other cheap alternatives to dog food, feel free to share your ideas and experiances with feeding. I'm feeding dubia btw. Thanks.


are garlic and rosemary harmful to dubia's and t's (directly and indirectly fed through roach)
If not, I'd like to try it for mite control.


----------



## squinn (Dec 13, 2008)

I've thought about using commercial catfish feed, but my freezer is full of pumpkins (i picked up 200 pumpkins from a nursery day after halloween) so for protein my lobs get a dead mouse or rat every so often, I probably need to adjust my strategy on hissers and dubias as they are not getting much protein, but never saw them go after the dead stuff much come to think of it. What do you all think about protein in dubias, discloids and hissers do they need much?


----------

