Blaptica dubia food- Mixed or pure.?

[TalonAWD]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

 

[BrianWI]

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]

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]

Get nonmedicated chicken feed though.

Alfalfa pellets may make OK vege substitute.

 

[TalonAWD]

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]

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

 

[BrianWI]

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]

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]

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

 

[BrianWI]

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

 

[TalonAWD]

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]

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]

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!