Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Me and my girlfriend are thinking of getting a beardie and I was wondering if it would be OK to use Lobster roaches as a staple. I have a breeding colony and I hate crickets, is why I'm asking. The roaches are soft-shelled and I use the smaller ones as a staple food for my crested gecko. When the beardie gets bigger I could just feed it the bigger adults. I of course would offer a variety, but I just don't really wanna deal with crickets.
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A twisted mind is a terrible thing to waste.......so is BEEF JERKY!!!!!

can't say I know anything about lobster roaches...but I would think if their exoskeleton is soft and they are no bigger than the space between the beardie's eyes it should be alright. Other insects you can feed a beardie are waxworms (in moderation as they are quite high in fat), freshly molted mealworms (though many breeders prefer not to use them at all), pinky baby mice (again as long as they are not bigger than the space between teh beardie's eyes. Also only give in moderation, once or twice a month due to richness). Another good insect feeder are silkworms. They seem to have more good things then crickets and other feeder insects with less of the bad things (ie fat, hard exoskeletons,parasites, smell, noise, etc) though they tend to be more expensive and they only eat one thing, Mulberry leaves.

Hope this gives you some ideals....wish I could say for sure about the lobster roaches though.

I would say lobsters would be just fine, especially because they are even more digestable then the hissers. We have a healthy, thriving (though for some reason brumating at the wrong time) adult male, and a new baby on young nymphs....

>>I would say lobsters would be just fine, especially because they are even more digestable then the hissers. We have a healthy, thriving (though for some reason brumating at the wrong time) adult male, and a new baby on young nymphs....
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A twisted mind is a terrible thing to waste.......so is BEEF JERKY!!!!!

Roaches are actually the best food item there is. Since they eat anything you can gut-load them with high quality food and plenty of veggies. You will have fat happy animals. I personally do not like the hisser or lobsters because of their climbing skills, but prefer the several non-climbing species I have. Mealworms and waxworms should only be suppliments, because neither provide much nutritional value. Crickets work well, but we all know they are a pain in the rear.
James