What kind of roaches do you feed your T

[robc]

I was wondering what kind of roaches you feed your T's. I bought a couple of deaths head cockroaches to feed my T,s and was doing some research on the net and it said they can realease a odor (I noticed them tilting there butt in the air I guess realeasing the odor)....basicaly my question is this bad for T's. I tried feeding my hatian a adult roach she seemed a little interested but never did take it....I gave her a cricket she readily took it. I know T's can sense odors in insects that is why they will not take a stink bug for food....is this why my T won't eat the roach?

 

[spartybassoon]

If they are true death head roaches, just raise them and sell them. They are pretty expensive as far as roaches are concerned. Go for B. dubia - they are nearly odorless, don't climb smooth surfaces or fly, don't make noise, and breed quickly in 90 degree heat. Easy to keep, and T's love 'em.

 

[Moltar]

I'm still trying to figure the roach thing out. I have a colony of dubia's that i'm sparingly using for feeders. Now about 2/3 of my t's really like them. The other 1/3 don't seem to even notice they're there. The problem seems to be that the roaches have a much more highly evolved set of defensive behaviors than crickets do. If they sense danger they will sit motionless for HOURS sometimes. Then they borrow and stay there for hours more or even days.

Crickets seem to be driven to move around and search for food, staying constantly active. B dubia on the other hand stay motionless for long periods of time. Generally speaking, my terrestrials eat them no problem. I've had mixed results with arboreals and mixed results with obligate burrowers. Maybe i just need to figure a different way to introduce them. If i just throw them in they're already terrified and freeze as soon as they hit the substrate. If i gently slide them out of a cup onto the soil they begin crawling around. Obviously that won't work as well for a "bite first, ask questions later" species like P murinus or even A geniculata. My finger may end up being the meal.

Don't get me wrong rob. I still think roaches are the way to go, it's just i now understand why many keepers have more than one species of roach. There is more to consider, crickets are really stupid, bumbling buffoons in the insect world.

 

[Zelli]

I feed mine lobster roaches. All my various sized T's love 'em.

 

[robc]

I'm still trying to figure the roach thing out. I have a colony of dubia's that i'm sparingly using for feeders. Now about 2/3 of my t's really like them. The other 1/3 don't seem to even notice they're there. The problem seems to be that the roaches have a much more highly evolved set of defensive behaviors than crickets do. If they sense danger they will sit motionless for HOURS sometimes. Then they borrow and stay there for hours more or even days.

Crickets seem to be driven to move around and search for food, staying constantly active. B dubia on the other hand stay motionless for long periods of time. Generally speaking, my terrestrials eat them no problem. I've had mixed results with arboreals and mixed results with obligate burrowers. Maybe i just need to figure a different way to introduce them. If i just throw them in they're already terrified and freeze as soon as they hit the substrate. If i gently slide them out of a cup onto the soil they begin crawling around. Obviously that won't work as well for a "bite first, ask questions later" species like P murinus or even A geniculata. My finger may end up being the meal.

Don't get me wrong rob. I still think roaches are the way to go, it's just i now understand why many keepers have more than one species of roach. There is more to consider, crickets are really stupid, bumbling buffoons in the insect world.

I feed anole lizards, crickets, locust, grasshoppers, pinkie mice, fuzzy mice....I like to vary the diet....I just wanted to make sure a deathshead cockroach is what other people feed there T,s and are they safe. I have 20 free if I want them. They are adults.

 

[spartybassoon]

@ etown

If you mangle or crush their heads slightly, they will move around and wiggle instead of being motionless. They can live like this for a long time since they have another brain somewhere else, I think. The T's will eventually be attracted to the thrashing about and if that doesn't work, then maybe try another type of roach. It's gruesome, but effective...

 

[Moltar]

I feed anole lizards, crickets, locust, grasshoppers, pinkie mice, fuzzy mice....I like to vary the diet....I just wanted to make sure a deathshead cockroach is what other people feed there T,s and are they safe. I have 20 free if I want them. They are adults.

If i were you i'd cut back on the vertebrate prey, especially the mammals. (I guess that's what you're trying to do w/ the roaches) Some people think too much calcium can contribute to bad molts and problems such as broken fangs. I don't know if that's really true but i'm not taking the chance with my t's.

Going with roaches is a great idea. If you have TRUE deaths head roaches though it's like making chicken soup with a rare parrot. Those are valuable bugs. There are however FALSE deaths heads as well. I don't remember the scientific name but they're pretty common as feeders.


And thanks smarty, i'll try that. I've done it with crix for slings but not yet with roaches.

 

[Travis K]

Dubia

I have a colony of Blaptica Dubia, that I use.

 

[xhexdx]

And thanks smarty, i'll try that. I've done it with crix for slings but not yet with roaches.

Sparty, not smarty ;P

I have two colonies. B. dubia and E. distanti. I have a colony of G. portentosa on the way. I feed the distanti more than the dubia because I have 3x as many of them at the moment and I want the dubia to get their breeding going a little better first.

I would say 4 our of 5 of my spiders take roaches no problem. The other 1 of 5 get crix or mealworms, but I'm working with them to get them to take roaches instead.

 

[Moltar]

Sparty, not smarty ;P

LOL sorry. That's the problem w/ common names. Should have called yourself Spartanicus bassoonificationali.

 

[RottweilExpress]

B. Dubia and S. Tartara.

 

[Andrew273]

B dubia. I have G portentosas also but not nearly as many. I want to get two more species in the future but I think dubia will remain my primary feeders.

 

[moose35]

i use fusca...pretty roaches...and my t's think they are tasty.




moose

 

[spartybassoon]

LOL sorry. That's the problem w/ common names. Should have called yourself Spartanicus bassoonificationali.

LOL, I'll get workin' on that!

 

[treeweta]

i use the orange heads, you get good variation in size from 4mm first instar to 2 inch adults.

 

[ShawnH]

I have about 12 species of roaches that I am breeding atm. I usually only feed B lateralis or B dubia to my T's but every once in awhile I'll toss them B parabolicus or G portentosa (for very large T's) when I have a population explosion.

 

[robc]

If i were you i'd cut back on the vertebrate prey, especially the mammals. (I guess that's what you're trying to do w/ the roaches) Some people think too much calcium can contribute to bad molts and problems such as broken fangs. I don't know if that's really true but i'm not taking the chance with my t's.

Going with roaches is a great idea. If you have TRUE deaths head roaches though it's like making chicken soup with a rare parrot. Those are valuable bugs. There are however FALSE deaths heads as well. I don't remember the scientific name but they're pretty common as feeders.


And thanks smarty, i'll try that. I've done it with crix for slings but not yet with roaches.

I only feed vertebrate prey once a month or every other month as a treat or if a T comes off a fast.