Information on feeder roaches

[xanadu1015]

I would rather not feed fuzzies or anything like that to my blondi, but I want to give her larger and more nutritional prey. I hear a lot about giving roaches and I just wanted to know what were the best kind to give and where can I find them? Are they really expensive? Do I have to have special conditions to keep them until I am ready to feed them to Jax? Any info would be greatly appreciated. I am so happy to have a female blondi and I want to do what is best for her.


Laura

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Check out the dubia colony setup sticky in the insect forum. There you'll find all info you need on getting a good colony started. I'm rather certain that roaches are uncommon at pet shops, they seem to like seeling crickets instead.

 

[xanadu1015]

I didn't realize "dubia" was another name for roaches. :8o


Thanks!!



Laura

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Blaptica dubia that's the name of that specific roach. Most just say "dubia"... you could think they're somehow related to George Bush but oddly enough they arn't

 

[xanadu1015]

Anyway, thanks for clearing that up for me!



Laura

 

[Buspirone]

Blaptica dubia, Blaberus Discoidales and Lobster roaches(I forget the scientific name and am too lazy to look it up) are considered the best species for feeders. The lobsters can climb smooth surfaces which is a big negative.

 

[Dom]

I'm not sure about lobsters being considered among the best since they climb and have a fairly short life span from what I've read (never kept them). Lateralis are a fantastic alternative to lobsters since they don't climb, are fairly long lived, don't burrow and breed super fast.
I think Xanadu1015 wants a larger species though.

 

[jojobear]

I have all of the above mentioned species and then some(13 species total) and they are all good feeder roaches. I like the lobsters for the adult size to feed to my dwarf monitors and I love the "blat lats" for their smaller size to feed to spiderlings. Both are really, really quick producing and have similiar lifespans with the B. lat living less than a year as an adult and lobsters living up to a year as an adult. I have other larger roaches such as discoids, orang-heads and dwarf caves, but they are slower growing. I love them all can't you tell

 

[John J Starr Jr]

Roach

When I got my first Blaptica dubia nymphs I was slightly overwhelmed simply because I was used to the "pest" german cockroach which is very small and I was not use to the size of the large giant roaches. After getting used to them I have since added 4 other giant roach species to my collections. Yep I am hooked on the giant roachs. I personally prefer the low odor, non sticky, live bearing, and non glass climbers my self.

There are several of us who have posted information about the Blaberus genus of roaches at this link...

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=62411

...and I have some other pictures and information at the links below my name in this thread.

John J Starr Jr

 

[SheWithFangs]

I dont know what "lobster" roaches are but we keep a colony of hissing roaches as feeders-

They do have to stay warm in order to breed but we have no problems getting them to breed at all. We started with 4 roaches....now we have hundreds.