Reptile & Amphibian Forums

are they really better than crickets..

and which ones are the best?
i was thinking about getting lobsters or deatheads

i am looking for something better to feed my chams

also wut is the best treat like silk worms or pheonix worms and etc?

Roaches are softer bodied than crix and eat and metabolize different foods. So, variety is great. Not all chams decide they like them, so check for a roach breeder who offers "samples" to experiment. Some roaches get a bit large for chams so you'll want to try the nymphs. What species do you have?

i got 5 panthers and two jacksons chamelon.. on top of that i got 2 savannah monitors and a agrus. i figured all would be happier with roaches... tho i just don't want roaches all over my house, but what would you say would make the best for the chams.. cuz the monitors will eat anything.

My panthers love Madagasgar hissing roaches (not the largest adults, but most dont get a chance to reach adult size). I wouldnt switch to roaches instead of crickets, rather I would recommend feeding BOTH. The more options the better.
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Sandra
BC Canada

hey,carlton and sandra know what they're talking about..i highly suggest phoenix worms to everyone,they are the best thing on the market for your chams/reptiles in my opinion and no need to dust them..i've heard of people with sick chams start to feed phoenix worms and their cham seems to come around after that..my cham and beardie love phoenix worms alot!!its acually their favorite thing to eat..i kinda figure that they really like the taste of them..hope this helps,also phoenix worms can be fed all the time like crickets its just your chams will benefit more..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther
1 Bearded Dragon--sex not determined yet
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

try 'rusty reds' they are cheaper and just as good. They also are non climbers/fliers
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1.1 Furcifer Pardalis (Nosy Be)-Hooloovoo and Popsicle

Depending on where you live (SE US or farther north) to keep the roaches from roaming or getting established in your house (or escape to the wild...big no-no) you want a tropical species that can't fly or climb glass. I've kept false death's head and B. dubia. Others like lobster roaches. I prefer calmer species that don't start running up my arms when I am trying to work in their terrarium. The nymphs of some species that supposedly don't climb glass CAN. You can put a band of petroleum jelly or Bug Stop around the top of their terrarium to keep them inside.

i got 5 panthers and two jacksons chamelon.. on top of that i got 2 savannah monitors and a agrus. i figured all would be happier with roaches... tho i just don't want roaches all over my house, but what would you say would make the best for the chams.. cuz the monitors will eat anything.

At one point, we were going through 10,000 crickets per week. It was a nightmare - so we switched to roaches. Our critters get crix as a treat now and we only use maybe 1-2000 per month (of course we have fewer chams tho).

We have chams; beardies; skinks; geckos and frogs. They all love bugs - so we have 4 species of roaches. In the beginning - it was hissers, lobsters and orangeheads. We got rid of the orangeheads and tried discoids. Then we tried blatta lateralis. Those fast boys stilulate the chams for sure! We got rid of the discoids and got dubia - lots better! Now we are considering getting rid of the lobsters and hissers.

In the end, it will most likely be dubia and lateralis. They are non-glass-climbers and softer shelled. The roach sizes are good for our newborn day geckos up to the dragons and melleri chameleons - no problem!

Upside: no noise or smell, they multiply with ease.
Downside: they live longer and care must be taken about containment.

By the way - we are one of the few roach vendors that offers a variety sample pack.
P.S. Monitors love hissers - maybe it's the crunch!

Try roaches - you won't regret it.
~Morgana

A roach vendor, eh? Do you ship to Florida? We can't buy them down here. I had to load up in NJ before I came back to Miami. I tried them on my melleri, they just got bigger as he ignored them, he seems to prefer crickets... weird.
Collareds, on the other hand, love the roaches. Well, my picky female loves them, the male will take em or leave em. He'll eat what runs in from of him first. Funny story about the picky girl- she saw me set the container of roaches next to the cage and ran to the glass and *stared* the container down. I grabbed a mealworm (heh, see, I'm tricky) and opened the cage; she heard the lid open, spun around and waited for her bug. She caught the worm midair; SPIT IT OUT; and looked at me like "YO!! That's NOT my roach!" My male ate the worm, of course, but I had to get a roach in fast before the girl had a panic attack. So we love roaches, just can't get them down here.
Oooh, that was a long story. Let me know!
~Tiff
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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."

Tiff,
While Florida laws prohibit sending roaches into their state, there are lots of pet stores there that sell them. There are roaches native to the state too that they raise as feeders. Lots of herpers have colonies that they have had for years... but it isn't too hard to drive out of state to buy something you need.
Have you checked around?

Good luck!
~Morgana

Morgana,
I'm in Miami, we're about 5.5-6 hrs out of Georgia; the closest I'm getting to out of state is the Bahamas (or I guess I could make a bad crack about how I already live in Cuba... ba-zing!). I haven't checked around yet, I just got back in from NJ, but I'll tell ya... we don't have many decent pet stores down by me. I'll check with the one guy I know, and maybe he can point me in the right direction. Thanks so much!
~Tiff

>>Tiff,
>>While Florida laws prohibit sending roaches into their state, there are lots of pet stores there that sell them. There are roaches native to the state too that they raise as feeders. Lots of herpers have colonies that they have had for years... but it isn't too hard to drive out of state to buy something you need.
>>Have you checked around?
>>
>>Good luck!
>>~Morgana
>>
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"Were the diver to think upon the jaws of the shark, he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."