Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I love them! Especially those in the Blaberus genus. I too use lobsters for my animals, and they are awesome, because you can gut-load them so much better than any other insect. I don't usually "grip" them, I just stick my hand in the roach container, shake the cardboard a bit so they all fall off, and literally (and very quickly) scoop them into a plastic bag. I then place them in the fridge for about a minute, and then I feed them out. I only feed enough so there aren't any left in the collared enclosures. Otherwise they'd be impossible to catch with so many rocks in the cage. Again, they're not that hard to handle (and they're clean!), but the most important thing about them is that they are extremely easy to breed, and if fed well, they can carry a BOMB of nutrients for your collareds!

Amanda, if you are reading this (speaking of gut-loading insects), make sure you are feeding your insects well. If the insects don't get a good meal, the lizards won't either!

I make a paste at home in the blender:

-water
-spoon of bee pollen,
-spoon of spirulina
-cup of mixed vegetables (carrots have beta-carotene, which is turned SAFELY into vitamin A, a vitamin that is easily overdosed if supplemented in pure form)
-spoon of calcium supplement without phosphorus (because insects are LOADED with it), and without dietary vitamin D3 (because I use good UVB lights)

All blended to make a thick paste and fed to the crickets in small amounts as needed every day (fed to animals at least two hours after insects have been eating)

Anyway, hopefully you'll learn to like those roaches, they're great! (have you tried them covered in chocolate? they're better than crickets or mealworms, much more healthy! )

Happy feeding,

Fabián
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Fabián Aguirre
Zookeeper/ Freshwater Aquarist
Department of Herpetology and Freshwater Biology
The Dallas World Aquarium
(214) 720-2224
fabian@dwazoo.com
www.dwazoo.com

see, even the roaches think of themselves as nasty since they are cleaning themselves all the time
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vonnie
***There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it. Mary Wilson Little ***

Hmmm. In the fridge for a few minutes....

I never thought of that! I'm going to try it! Maybe I'll finally be able to feed the roaches to my anoles. Due to the complexity of the cage, the one time I did drop a cockroach in, it had disappeared in about two seconds. The lizards never even had a chance at it.

And Fabián... you COOK for your roaches? Man, that's dedication!

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1.0.0 Common Snapping Turtle (Goliath)
1.0.0 Brown Anole (Anubis)
1.0.1 Green Anoles (Baal, Hathor)
1.1.0 Great Basin Collared Lizards (Amon, Amaunette)
0.1.0 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Spiega)
0.1.0 Spoiled Mutt (Storm)

But believe me when I tell you this, the differences in breeding (especially with my chameleons!) and overall health are unbelievable when you feed your insects a diet that is balanced. On the other hand, you have to be very careful as you can always overdose on certain ingredients. For example, as I mentioned before, insects have LOTS of phosphorus, which is why most calcium supplements are 2:1 calcium-phosphorus ratio. I personally use that ratio for my herbivorous herps, and the one without phosphorus for the insect-eaters. And since I feed the insects so well, I do away with the potentially dangerous multi-vitamin supplements containing vitamin A (which can be easily fatal). As mentioned before, the carrots' beta-carotene is converted by the lizard into vit. A without risks. Also, because I use good UVB lights, I don't use supplements with dietary vitamin D3. Anyway, you guys should try "cooking" for your herps some time, it's worth it!

Until later,

Fabián
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Fabián Aguirre
Zookeeper/ Freshwater Aquarist
Department of Herpetology and Freshwater Biology
The Dallas World Aquarium
(214) 720-2224
fabian@dwazoo.com
www.dwazoo.com

I have a female veiled about 5-6 months old. She loves grasshoppers, but my mother would kill me if I brought a roach inside.
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0.1 Veiled Chameleon
0.1.1 Green Anoles 4 eggs
1.1 Easten Collared Lizards

Let there be Lizardz
- Scott