Fruit platter for roaches?

[gothra]

I want to try watermelon and papaya as moisture source for my roaches, but I seldom hear people use those; is there any reason to avoid watermelon and papaya (or even dew melon...etc with high moisture content)? What about pears? Are there any type of fruits that I definitely should NOT feed to my roaches? Thanks.

 

[nine livez]

don't feed them anything citrus like oranges......

 

[John J Starr Jr]

Food

I use carrots, dark green romaine leef lettuce, apples, and oranges. This is in addition to bread and ground up dried dogfood. I try and alternate their foods to give them some variety. I heard somebody say that they feed bananas to their Blatta lateralis, red runner or turkistan roach, as the main staple..

I also believe that many food choices are species dependent. My Blaptica dubia will eat just about anything you give them. My dubia really seem to love the ground up dried dogfood that has lamb in it more so than any of my Blaberus species. Each of my current species seems to like something the best of all.

And of course my Dragons love to eat the nymphs. In fact, one of my Dragons is named Cricket and Cricket no longer eats crickets but only roach nymphs.

jjsjr
.

 

[xelda]

Watermelon and papaya would be excellent. Cantelope and bananas are also good choices. Pears and apples don't seem to be as appealing to any of my roaches although they'll still eat it if that's all they have available. They don't really go for grapes either. I think the only reason why you don't hear many people using those to feed their roaches is because those fruits are more expensive than the usual apples and oranges. My only recommendation is that if you have a small colony, only offer what they will finish within two days, which might only be a few small pieces. Otherwise, the leftovers get yucky and moldy. It's also a good idea to cut up the fruit and distribute them around the cage so you get more surface area.

 

[insect714]

don't feed them anything citrus like oranges......

This is prob a dumb question but why no citrus? ( I have never raised roaches)

Insect

 

[aggie08]

I was wondering the same thing myself, my roaches love oranges. I read somewhere that it gives the colony kind of a collective sugar high for a day or so, and whaddya know the gravid female gave birth. Any ideas?

 

[GailC]

Roaches can have citrus. I've feed melon, pears, mango, oranges, apples, bananas, even coconut. Just don't feed them avocado

 

[OldHag]

When I feed mine oranges I have an explosion of babies. Its like pitocin or something on Hissers

 

[Vys]

Roaches can have citrus. I've feed melon, pears, mango, oranges, apples, bananas, even coconut. Just don't feed them avocado

...'Donkeys can step on basalt, of course they can!
Just never let them walk on granite.'

For reference, I've read that P. nivea would love avocado, but mine didn't get all too excited when I tried. Peppers (because they are popular and tend not to mold) and apples (because they are very popular) is what I use for my rather small colony.

 

[gothra]

My dubias seem to like orange, but the discoids don't. I also gave them a bit of papaya yesterday, definately not their favourite... I noticed they like pumpkin too.

 

[insect714]

Just don't feed them avocado

Gotta ask why not? I know that the "wild" ones near my house can e found eating avocados in the backyard at night....

Insect

 

[Scolopendra55]

Do N.cinerea like oranges?

 

[Shelob]

My dubia eat apples with gusto, other fruits that they munch on, but don't seem to enjoy quite as much as the apples are oranges, banana and berries (straw, rasp, black and blue)

 

[CptMcSwaggens]

can i give my dubia lemoncitos?

 

[Ellenantula]

My B lats eat just about anything. Since I also keep parrots and a bearded dragon, I tend to buy lots of fruits and veggies anyway, so it's easy to feed these to my roaches also.
Mine love oranges cut in half! And roaches make less of a mess with oranges than my parrot does.
And sometimes I buy too many grapes, so I've cut grapes in half and offered them also -- roaches love them (I cut them in half so the pinheads can enjoy them also). Honey Dew and cantaloupe are also a hit big here with all my critters.
I suppose my roach staples are leafy greens (not lettuces which have little nutritional value), carrots, apple - with some cereal grains and cat food added in. My bearded dragon's favourite is mustard greens -- even the parrot has developed a taste for them now - and the roaches devour them quickly. I've even offered roaches parrot pellets and they enjoyed that too.

My only forbidden food is anything over-ripe. I prefer to feed mine fresh fruit/veg -- just as I do for parrots/bearded dragon (if I wouldn't eat it -- then I don't give it to them either). If a food is clearly over-ripened or beginning to rot -- into the compost it goes.

 

[Tleilaxu]

The necromancy is stronk. LOL at not giving roaches citrus, that basically jump starts their reproduction systems.

That said not all roaches have a sweet tooth, some prefer veggies. Watch your roaches reaction and the amounts they eat.

Also @Hisserdude

 

[Hisserdude]

The one thing that most roaches don't seem to like in terms of fruit are sour ones, like lemons, limes, granny smith apples, etc., I've never heard of anyone ever feeding those to bugs, except for granny smith apples, which I tried myself, and nothing seemed to like them. So @CptMcSwaggens I doubt those would work, it probably won't kill them though, so you can try and see for yourself.

 

[Hisserdude]

Also tomatoes and strawberries, nothing I've ever kept had been particularly fond of those two, even large hungry groups of roaches don't seem to eat strawberries unless they literally have no other option yet, and they rot so quickly anyway, and nothing ever touches tomatoes. Mangoes have also been a hit and miss with my roaches, some like, some hate, none of them have loved mangoes though.

 

[CptMcSwaggens]

The one thing that most roaches don't seem to like in terms of fruit are sour ones, like lemons, limes, granny smith apples, etc., I've never heard of anyone ever feeding those to bugs, except for granny smith apples, which I tried myself, and nothing seemed to like them. So @CptMcSwaggens I doubt those would work, it probably won't kill them though, so you can try and see for yourself.

nah i rather not risk it, hahahaha. its my surviving ones from an ant attack

 

[Hisserdude]

nah i rather not risk it, hahahaha. its my surviving ones from an ant attack

Ah, yeah you might not want to get too experimental yet then lol!