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i want to start a small lobster roach colony to feed 3 small lizards a toad and maybe as treats for the Beardies that are on pellets and greens now. about how many should i start with and how long will it take them to start making baby roaches?

>>i want to start a small lobster roach colony to feed 3 small lizards a toad and maybe as treats for the Beardies that are on pellets and greens now. about how many should i start with and how long will it take them to start making baby roaches?

I got 250 from Mike Stefani and let them 'sit' about a month before feeding them to anyone that would take them. It has been several months but I know have two tubs of them overflowing. Gave several hundred to a freind, feed them daily to two baby anoles, two beardies, two savannah monitors and a pair of pyxie frogs.
They start making babies in the container on the way to you! They do breed better on heat but one of my tubs is just in my herp room at mid to high 70s and reproduce fine.
Give them lots of layers to hide in and constant food and water and they are amazing.
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Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

LOL, I got the roaches from Sonya about two weeks ago and I already have a ton of baby roaches.

You said you had 3 lizards and a frog to feed and occasionally your beardies. I don't know how many mouths you need to feed in total but you can start with 25 or 50 if you want. Lobsters breed like mad and you will have enough to feed 100 reptiles lol.. You should find them cheaper through private sellers or even www.cricketfood.com..

I started with a colony of 1000 back in May/June 03 I believe (somewhere around there). I feed the lobsters to my 9 bearded dragons. When I first got them I didnt feed many off at all. During the late summer and early fall I started feeding off some here and there (feeding more off as more were born). Now it is winter and my dragons dont feel like eating much(brumation) and I have an OVERLOAD of lobsters! OMG! They breed like crazy. I have even taken away their heat source, but I continue to feed them daily (I dont believe in taking away food source). The room is kept at around 70-80 degrees, so they arent in cold temps, but not in hot temps either. Doesnt seem to be affecting their reproduction rate though! I have 3 HUGE bins, I believe 90 quart bins filled with all different sized (diff age) roaches. It is crazy! I had to put up a ad to try and sell some before we run out of room in the bins! Right now we dont have the room for more bins, so I guess I am going to have to sell a bunch! I didnt want to get into selling roaches and unless I really have to, I wont But I really have to right now!LOL Here are some pics!

This pic is when I first bought them, before they even started breeding. As you can see the bin is a smaller bin, I believe 60 quarts.

This pic is also when I first bought them.

This picture was taken in November. I had to upgrade to 2 larger bins, 90 quart size. This was the least crowded of the two, at that time! Now I have 3, 90 quart bins FULL!

Take care, Lindsay

well hey do you live near Northeast PA ? i'll take some for you

I live about 30 minutes north of Albany, NY. Probably a long ways from you! Thats what shipping is for! *smiles*

well im still working on getting my mom to except that their not going to escape and infest the house
my plan to tell her they were lobster "beetles" didnt work becuase she found my list off things i needed for my lizards and i wrote lobster roaches on it , i think my dad wil help me convince her, since breeding roaches will save on bug bills and he likes saving money

anyway how much are you planning on selling your extras for?

I sent you an e-mail through kingsnake! Let me know if you get it. Take care, Lindsay

Lindsey, I do want you to sell all your extra roaches, but this kid probably should go with a non-climber. Lobsters are very good at excaping and you really have to have a good cage set-up and feed them one by one or else they are trouble. Even at that when you clean them its next to imposible to get all the babies so do it on garbage night, because some will be left in the sustrate. I am now using almost no substrate to make it easier to clean them. The have plenty of egg crates and paper towel rolls. You don't want your mom to find a loose roach or it could get ugly.
James

I agree James I wrote them a e-mail (yesterday I think) saying they might be better off going with a non climber! I need to sell the roaches but I am definitely not going to do it at anyones expense, you know? I also said they would need both parents permission. You definitely are right, lobsters are great climbers and much quicker then non climbers! Thats why I want non climbers too! Trying to find maybe a trade deal. I have a for sale ad up and a for trade ad. No takers though I dont know what I am going to do!

No takers though I dont know what I am going to do!

I don't know Lindsay but I did a roasted crix candy thing around Halloween time and I had to beat off some of the kids who were eating the crix! They said they were great. Maybe you need some roasted roach recipes???
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Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.

are there any non clibers that around the same size as lobsters with a simialar met to shell ratio the main thing i need them for are 3 small lizards tht currently eat crickets about 1/4 size and a 3 inch toad , they all swallow there food hole so i want something that they dont need to crunch to much

The non-climbers are going to get bigger, but its real easy. Like anything they start real small (1/8" and grow to an 1-2". You just feed them off when they are at the desired size. I personally think the Blaptica dubias work the best, but others do like orange heads, discoids, and death heads. I like the dubia because they are more mellow, easy to tell male from female, and good breeders. Its going to take longer for you to get a colony going than lobsters, but its worth it. I would not feed them to my $1000 geckos if I thought any different. Good luck,
James

OK thanx i'll look into those it seems like its going to be harder to convince my mom than i thought but them not being able to climb might help