My Feeders: Dubia Roaches, Hissers, Superworms *pics too*

[LindsayMarie]

I am finally down to a manageable amount of feeders! I had several roach species, worms etc, now I just have the 3! :clap:

Anyways here are some pics to share!

This is a 10 gallon aquarium of feeder supers. I make their bedding out of rolled oats, baby cereal, chicken feed, guinea pig pellets, bird feed, fish flakes, alfalfa hay etc. I add as much nutrition as I can to it and feed apples for moisture.

Superworm Beetles! This is when I was trying to breed them. It was successful just took more time then I wanted and so I went to roaches. I may try supers again in the future.

This isnt the best picture of my 6 adult Hissers. I kept 6 (4f, 2m) out of the hundreds and hundreds I had because they are pretty neat to watch and their babies make a good treat for my dragons This picture does them no justice though. I had to scoot them all to one corner and they were hissing and quite ticked! They started bunching in little balls to try and pretend I wasnt their. Oh well!

This is my 95 quart Blaptica Dubia bin. I have 135+ breeding adults and several hundred babies. I would have a lot more but when I was trying to rid of some roach species I turned the heat down on these guys and it slowed them down quite a bit. Now the heat is back, hopefully the babies start popping out everywhere!

Close up of the dubias. Picture shows males, females and nymphs. Its nice to be able to easily tell adult males from adult females!

I just wanted to share some pictures. Feel free to comment or ask questions. Take care, Lindsay

 

[NYbirdEater]

Looks like those 2 beetles are doing Kama Sutra

I got 1 hissing roach, a small one about 1.5", for my T blondi once and he loved it, but those things gross me out so I never got a batch. Plus they seem expensive unless you breed them which I do not have the stomach for. Shame though because I'm sure my tarantulas would appreciate the switch. The only ones who get a switch in diet are th eones who eat mice and lizards.

You know of any places to buy different crickets like the black kinds? Or maybe grasshoppers? Locusts? Something larger then a cricket, less gross than a roach, seems like a lost cause. Many of my T's don't like wax worms or mealworms but will take one evey few months. They do like moths but I stopped catching them and giving them to my pets in fear of contamination. There are large green praying mantis near my house but it's illegal to kill them or even take them as pets as far as I know.

 

[james]

Roaches

You have to get over the mental aspect of roaches. You can use tweezers to catch them and they are easy to keep. They are also very clean, quiet, and just a great feeder. I would do just about anything for my animals if they liked it. Roaches are expensive, but I will be working out feeder programs with my customers that do not want to have breeder colonies for repeat purchases. I suggest non-climbers in a critter-keeper, like blaptica dubia that look like a large pillbug and are completely harmless. I will also have cheap items like water crystals and food to keep them healthy. You buy 10 or 20 at a time and it can be very worth while. Plus to save on driving to the pet store(gas), paying tax, and you get a better product. With that being said later this year I may try to get black crickets and chirpless crickets going to offer more variety, but I really don't care much for them. Locust are illegal in the states or I would try them as well.
James

 

[LindsayMarie]

I agree with James! Your best bet is to get over the yuck factor you have for the roaches. To be honest I find them less yucky then most other insects! They are super easy to take care of (and breed if you want), they dont smell, they dont chirp and they are easier to handle then jumping crickets or flying moths, etc. Just make sure if you did decide to try roaches that you invest in non-climbers as they are much easier to care for!

 

[NYbirdEater]

The hissing roach I got could climb plastic so I guess those ones would be good to avoid although my little T blondi snatched it faster than most other prey I offer and seemed happy as ever. I know I should get over my yuck factor, it's funny even crickets gross me out and I handle giant spiders.

The dubias look even grosser to me than the hissers who look more armor plated but since they can't climb I guess that would be my best bet assuming they don't fly either. I usually grab crickets by th eleg to ensure they can't hop on me or get loose so I'm assuming the same can be done with these.

I am going to look around the forum and look up the care of these things. I have a 10 gallon tank I'm doing nothing with right now because I used all my feeder mice and if they are very easy to care for, it would probably save me money in the long run to have a bunch, as long as they are very low maintenance. Let me know if you have a pricelist or website I can check. Thanks

 

[roach dude]

Roaches Yukky What The <lol srry for the swearing people!lol!>!

Om<lol>g Roches Are Not Yukky They Rule!!!!!!! ;p ;p Big Up Roches To Not Being Yukky!!!! ;p ;p
If U Think There Yukky Then U A Bit Coocoo!!!! :? :? :} :}

 

[jcl]

What kind of substrate do you have the roaches on?

 

[LindsayMarie]

I have the roaches on aspen shavings.