# Blaptica dubia food- Mixed or pure.?



## TalonAWD (Sep 15, 2009)

I am trying to start a small dubia colony. I have read lots of threads all over the net on food for them. I already established that cat and dog food should be the staple and that fruits and vegetables should be offered as well, especially oranges.

What I'm not sure is if I should feed dog food by itself and seperatly put pieces of fruit and veggies  or make a mixture of foods with the dog food plus fruits and veggies.

I bought Newmans own organic dog food (adult formula) and that seems pretty healthy and it states "No pesticides" on the lable as well as vegatables and only organic foods. 
Heres the link to all the info: http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Newmans-Own-Organics-Adult-Dog-Dry-Food/144001.aspx
But then I'm wondering if I should do the following.

Make a batch of Dog food with dried Wheat Bread, oats, fish flakes and sweetened banana chips (natural). 

Ever since my 6" Female A. genic died from DKS I'm worried about what they consume (through the preys consumption) I never found what did her in as all my other T's are fine.

Also let me know your recipes if you do make a mix. Please advise me. thanks. Oh and i only paid $3 for a small bag (1.5 lbs) of the dog food at Target.


----------



## scottyk (Sep 15, 2009)

Keep dry food and wet food seperated in different dishes. You can leave dry in at all times and add fresh foods weekly. 

When the colony is new and small you'll probably need to go back in and take out uneaten fresh foods before they get moldy. Eventually the colony will get larger and you'll get a feel for adding the right amounts of fruit and veggies.

Don't go crazy looking for special mixes. The dog food mix you are already going to do will be perfect, and more than many do....

Scott


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 15, 2009)

I thought about mixing in other foods with the dog food. So you say not necessary.

Just pure dog food and apart fruits and veggies. Also I grind it up for them.

And for bread (since I see they love wheat bread) just throw in a half of slice once in a while. (I dried it in the toaster oven at 150F for an hour than grinded it up to powder than mixed into the grinded up dog food.)


----------



## scottyk (Sep 15, 2009)

TalonAWD said:


> I thought about mixing in other foods with the dog food. So you say not necessary.
> 
> Just pure dog food and apart fruits and veggies. Also I grind it up for them.


No, I like the idea of adding the oats, fish food, banana chips etc, and I do something similar. The roaches will love it. I meant don't worry about trying to find some "special" mix. There is no perfect formula....


----------



## Sarcastro (Sep 15, 2009)

That's not a bad mixture.I use a similar mixture myself nothing special i have found  that mine don't care for the banana chips much as they where leaving the ground powder in the tray so i substituted it for dry apple chips and they devour it,I do offer fresh fruits and veggies every other day.They love sweet citrus and romaine lettuce.


----------



## Rochelle (Sep 15, 2009)

I still shake my head when I read these posts.....

1.) The "Organic" dog/cat foods are not good for your roaches. They contain natural pesticides. *Rosemary is a natural pesticide*. This is why your Grand Mother and Great-Grand Mother lined her pantry shelves with sprigs of it, and grew it around the base of her home. :wall:  Simply because a company calls a product "organic" does equal safe for roaches. Please keep in mind that _*their main concern during shipping and storage is keeping bugs out!*_ They add these ingredients to lure you - the dog owner - into buying extra pricey food for beloved Fido; because you find the ingredients yummy, yourself. It's a marketing ploy. Don't fall for it; when you're shopping for your roaches. 

2.) There is not a single ingredient in this food that is needed by the T's that you are feeding your roaches to. Remember - what you feed your roaches; you are feeding to your T's. 

3.) The K.I.S.S. theory holds true here. (keep it simple, stupid) Stick to pure sources of protein (i.e; MEAT). Give fresh, whole veggies and fruits. Period. There is simply no benefit to over-complicating the process of growing fat, healthy feeders. The less un-needed ingredients; the better. 

4.) Most dried fruits contain sulfur dioxide. This kills bugs. 

5.) If you want to treat your roaches to "roach candy" - try plain old Cheerios. In small doses. 

*I apologize in advance if this came off sounding condescending. I mean no harm or insult ~ only solid, proven information to assist new keepers in their efforts to NOT pull their hair out in frustration and unnecessary grocery bills. :wall:


----------



## scottyk (Sep 15, 2009)

Rochelle said:


> I still shake my head when I read these posts.....
> 
> 3.) The K.I.S.S. theory holds true here. (keep it simple, stupid) Stick to pure sources of protein (i.e; MEAT). Give fresh, whole veggies and fruits. Period. There is simply no benefit to over-complicating the process of growing fat, healthy feeders. The less un-needed ingredients; the better.


Great and informative post as usual, but I have a question. Are you saying you put actual raw or cooked meat right into the container? I would love to hear the specifics on this. 

I personally use the unmedicated chick mash, whole grains and fresh fruit and veggies with great success.


----------



## Anastasia (Sep 15, 2009)

Ahg, my roaches eat everything I do
all scraps of my plate
after Am done with it of course :}


----------



## BrianWI (Sep 15, 2009)

I just thought I'd add a quick note. For protein, fish foods may be a good choice. Since fish are very sensitive to pesticides, anything they can eat should be safe for invertebrates in general. Bulk trout pellets, cichlid food, etc., would be good.

Honestly, roaches need little to survive as the bacteria in there systems create most of what they need. I would really wonder how much "gut loading" is really needed when used as feeders.


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 15, 2009)

Thank you for your input. I am being informed and appreciate the info regardlessof how it may sound, harsh or sweet. You guys know more than me.

I will stop the dog food and start on just fish food/flakes just like I did for my crickets.
I will also get the fruits and veggies in there. 
I just wanted something dry for less maintenance as fruits and veggies can get mold etc. 

I hear alot about chicken feed and will look into that as well. (unmedicated)


----------



## BrianWI (Sep 16, 2009)

Get nonmedicated chicken feed though.

Alfalfa pellets may make OK vege substitute.


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 16, 2009)

BrianWI said:


> Get nonmedicated chicken feed though.
> 
> Alfalfa pellets may make OK vege substitute.


Thats the thing. I'm looking for a place that sells the stuff. Maybe an online dealer.


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 16, 2009)

How is Purina Mills Sunfresh Recipes Layena as a food for them. I found this brand and not sure if this is ok.


----------



## BrianWI (Sep 16, 2009)

any chicken food that is labelled non-medicated would work. Farm stores would have that and rabbit pellets. And grinding it up is a waste of time, roaches eat it w/o the hassle


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 16, 2009)

Ok I asked for non medicated and they gave me Kruse's perfection brand Pultry feed.
I hope its ok cause I fed my crickets the dog food mixture and every day I'm finding dead ones. My nymphs all seem to be ok. I don't think they touched the stuff.

And now i got some adults and really want to do the right thing.

And Man, these things are huge! The biggest roach I have ever seen!


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 16, 2009)

Is this the right stuff?
Looks like alot of corn in the mix.


----------



## BrianWI (Sep 16, 2009)

Chicken food has a lot of corn. Just make sure nothing on the label like "Amprolium" or anything else that sounds weird


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 16, 2009)

I called up the manufacturer direct and spoke to them regarding this product to see if it had some type of medication. Confirmed that its non medicated. Plus there were a couple Red flour beetles in the bag so I'm sure it would have killed them if there was something strong in there.

So you are saying this is the right stuff....
Heres the link to the label.
http://ohkruse.com/PDFs/Products/Poultry-Gamebird Section/Poultry/9 17 LAY MASH.pdf

Also a link to the website. I got the "Lay Mash"
http://ohkruse.com/poultry-gamebird.html


----------



## OldHag (Sep 16, 2009)

I feed my chickens that Layena crumbles.  I also grind it up for my roaches along with all kinds of cereals catfood and fishfood. Ive done it for years and my roaches are thriving. I think if it works... dont sweat it.


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 16, 2009)

I gave some to my crickets and they rushed it instantly. I gave a little to the roaches and there is a few already on it. I'm happy! thank you!


----------



## BrianWI (Sep 17, 2009)

Honestly, I am unsure if they need the variety we give them, but I do think they enjoy it. If I put something they have not had in awhile in the colonies, they devour it. Feed the same too long, they eat much less.


----------



## Gaston (Sep 17, 2009)

Thanks!!!

This information help me alot for my roaches colony


----------



## TalonAWD (Sep 17, 2009)

Now if I can get my tarantulas to eat them that would be great.


----------



## OldHag (Sep 17, 2009)

TalonAWD said:


> Now if I can get my tarantulas to eat them that would be great.


I have a X. immanis that would NOT eat them. She went hungry for about 6 months before she would eat them. Shes my best dubia eater now!


----------



## scottyk (Sep 18, 2009)

TalonAWD said:


> Now if I can get my tarantulas to eat them that would be great.


Head pinches and patience are the key.

Also, start them on smaller "cricket size or smaller" roaches until they get used to the new food. Nothing will put a tarantula off faster than expecting a cricket and getting an adult, winged sherman tank tossed at them


----------



## AudreyElizabeth (Sep 19, 2009)

I've found that chicken feed works great, but beware of grain mites! You can easily get a grain mite explosion and it is very annoying and not to mention disgusting. I've cut down on the chicken feed, (I use rural king layer feed) and I throw fish food in there occasionally, along with fruit and veggies out of my garden, which is pesticide free BTW  . I've only been keeping dubia for a few months, I bought 105, now I probably have around 400. 
When my colony got infested with grain mites I was ready to torch them, or feed them to the chickens, but I cleaned the container and rinsed the roaches off and have not had an outbreak since. 
And yes, pinching the heads of them with tweezers works great when feeding them to tarantulas, and my geckos enjoy the nymphs as well. 
Roaches are awesome!


----------



## deadly_elegance (Oct 1, 2009)

I'm from the philippines and
i give mine a variety of cheap stuffs

for protein source i used non medicated high proteine chicken/hog pellets, although chicken pellets smells less = costs 50 cents (usd) per kilo

I live near a local bakeshop and I collect those bread that are hanging for a while, the one that are already too stiff to eat but doesn't have molds on it = costs free

my mom loves fruits so every time she goes to the local market she asks for those fruits that is close to being rotten, the one that the store owner wouldn't sell, believe me roaches loves this i have dubias, lateralis, lobsters and hissers and they all love this it usually consumed within 6 hrs so the fruits doesn't have a chance to rott i just remove the "very little" leftovers and best of all = costs free

a friend of mine  told me that dubias breeds very fast when fed citrus fruits like oranges and he swears it works like magic, so i feed my dubias a local kind of orange like citrus fruit called "dalandan" (http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/dalandan) that is verry cheap, at this time of the year these fruits are like $1 per 4-5 kilos on some cheap markets so i give my dubia colony one fruit a day and i've seen some pretty good results. . . = costs $1 per 4-5 kilos in some cheap markets


----------

