Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My vet said orange headed roaches from Mullberry farms were a fantastic food source for my chams and bearded dragons. He said they were prolific, nutritious, and that they can't fly or climb a plastic tub. He also said the animals really love them and he uses them to break hunger strikes because they really go for them.

IS HE OUT OF HIS MIND!

IS HE TESTING ME TO SEE WHAT LEVELS OF INSANITY I WILL REACH!

OOOOOOH! I FEEL FAINT!

Please someone talk me out of this!
Someone please tell me not to try this at home he is a trained professional.
If I see my chams eating a roach I know I will YAK!
Sonia

Sonia, come to the dark side! You don't know the power of the dark side of feeder-insect raising! Give in to your YAK....!
Darth Bill
Sonia's final step towards the dark side...

My wife put her foot down when I tried to acquire a healthy group of maggots. My chams just love their houseflies!

You know what, Roach-raising doesn't sound too bad!

("Honey, come here for a second...I have an idea..."

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!
YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!
I AM TOO OLD FOR YOU TO BE MY FATHER!

OK! I will just keep repeating. I love my chams! I love my chams There's no place like home! There's no place like home!
Toto, were not in Kansas any more!

One more question Bill.
I posted below about temps for newborn baby veileds and am having a hard time finding the answer is 80 - 85F Ok?

Roaches absolutely rock! I have three different kinds. Roaches are blamed for many diseases etc, but they are a clean insect. Cleaner than crickets in my estimation. And much easier to catch if they escape and no noise or smell. These are not American Cockroaches.

With a colony, you will have any size feeder that you need for your pets at all times - for free.

The Orange-Headed ones that your vet recommends are great. But if you get their minimum order (I think 10 or 12 roaches), it will take awhile to start a colony. Better to start with 30-40 adults.

I also like this link for husbandry => http://www.cricketfood.com/insects.htm

The roach has been the victim of fear and prejudice - just like many herps. How have we become so separated from our world?

Sorry for my rantings...
Joel Fish

I have to agree! As far as I'm concerned, roaches are much better than crickets. Besides the lack of noise, there is also none of that nasty cricket odor. The hissers I keep aren't as prolific as crickets, but my beardies, geckos and chameleons absolutely love them.
Personally, I think hissers are fascinating in their own right. I mist them daily and always linger at the roach colony for quite a while. My kids love picking them up and playing with them. When someone is over looking at my zoo, they always stop and look at the roaches. Some like them, others are repulsed. But you can bet they have an opinion!
-----
Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

ooops! that last post was for you but I don't think I posted in the right place. This roach thing has me so nervous!

OK! OK! I don't want to be PRE-JU-DI-CED!
I just don't want to be divorced either!

ooops! this message is for gomezvi. I don't even know how to post anymore this has me so nervous!

Sonia,

I can understand your initial reaction to the idea of intentionally breeding roaches, but they are extremely clean, especially compared to crix! They are 99% protein! They are used in many other countries for sauces and appetizers. No, I am not telling you to eat them, but they have to have some redeeming qualities since they are consumed so widely - oops, did I just here you ....YAK???

I have a friend who has the hissers for pets - they are pretty cool - very diff from the house roach as we know it.

If I could feed them to my little leafs I would opt for them over crix anyday...try 'em, you might be surprised

lele

lol, i pick them roaches up with my hand, they are really hard to catch. i used to trow them big orange head roaches in the fryer when i used to work at arbys