Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know this post might not be in the best place.. but I keep cresteds so... there is a fair amount of relevance.

Was wondering wonder everyones opinions were on keeping crickets vs. lobster roaches. I've always kept crickets & never kept roaches. Crickets seem to always have been very messy to me.

Questions:
* are lobster roaches much easier to keep than crickets as far as cage cleaning goes?

* are roaches more nutritious for my cresteds than crickets?

* are roaches easier to breed & maintain a colony than crickets?

* has anyone ever had problems w/ escape roaches & them breeding your apt./house? will lobster roaches breed like typical house roaches (in U.S.)? (my gf is very worried about this)

I've done some reading, mostly on lobster roach retail sites (obviously biased b/c they sell them), & from what it seems they'd be the best choice for my cresteds. Just wondering if most of what I've read is true. Any help/advice/comments appreciated.
~Ben

I feed em, and the geckos like them better than crickets, which is good as far as smell, sound, maintenance, etc go.
Ian
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buy the ticket, take the ride...

Thanks again Ian. Was wondering do you ever have any problems w/ these fast little feeders getting away from you? My girlfriends main concern if is they'd escape and breed in the walls.... bah... hehe. She says she would be okay w/ meal worms.. but I'm convinced the cresteds would enjoy the roaches much more & I'd enjoy seeing them hunt roaches more.. So I'm trying to convince her to let me keep roaches.

Any advice to convince my gf to let me keep roaches is appreciated (don't hear that everyday...) Thanks.
~Ben

I always tell people that they are an exotic species unable to survive outside of the carefully controlled constraints of terrerium life, so escape is not a concern. That usually does the trick; if not, remind her that they don't smell, they don't make noise, they are extremely clean (if housed properly), and that they can be left to their own devices for days at a time without food or water. The geckos definatly enjoy eating them, and they taste great when stir fried with noodles and broccoli.
Ian
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buy the ticket, take the ride...

Ben,
the lobsters are by far cleaner,quieter,healthier, "and all of the above"...!!! They are a fantastic staple, or just a great treat as well!!! I keep them and they are very nice to have around...They breed on their own, maintaing a steady supply of food, as well as illiminate most of the feeder bill for insect eating reptiles, which is probably enough to convince your "girl" to allow them.!!!LOL. However, there are negatives to roaches! And these should be throughly considered and taken into thought before attaining a colony of roaches. THEY BREED VERY QUICKLY!!! This means, that if you have only one adult female roach get out, you could be introducing a whole new colony to your house (if she is gravid)! They live in very extreme conditions and they will breed very well under normal house conditions...So escapees will need to have a service for extermination, which is a hassel and expensive! But here is what I do with my roaches and I haven't had any escapees as of yet!!! I put them in a plastic bin, I then put a layer of vasaline all around the side of the bin that is about 2" tall, they usually will NOT climb over this, almost like an electric fince for a dog, they know the boundaries!!! I then put an extremely fine "mesquito Mesh" over the entire top of the bin that drapes a bit over the sides...Then the lid (with many small holes drilled in it) is snapped on over the mesh... This has prooved very sucessful for me over the past year or so. I keep my colony out in the garage because it gets very warm out there and stays relatively dry...These roaches love it warm (85-90's) and you can tell the activity levels increase alot when it is warmer, and they WILL NOT breed in cool temps. (below 70 or so)...Good luck, they are worth it! I keep many species or rare and common geckos, including cresteds and they enjoy roaches alot! Leland-D.W.Geckos