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anyone else ever tried roaches as a food source?

rugbyman2000 Dec 16, 2004 09:43 PM

Anyone who's ever kept live crickets in bulk knows they smell terrible. Finally a friend of mine started exploring other bug options for his geckoes and euro, and gave lobster roaches a try. When his lizards quickly took to them, he offered me a bunch, and my beardie and leos loved them too. Having such a hardy (and odorless) insect as a food source is great.

Anyone else ever tried lobster roaches as a food source, or have any reasons I should not continue using them? Thanks!
-----
Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org

Replies (14)

milwaukeereptile Dec 16, 2004 10:38 PM

I haven't used them personally, but I know MANY of the top breeders use lobster roaches as their staple food.
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Brian Skibinski
Brian@MilwaukeeReptiles.com

www.MilwaukeeReptiles.com
Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

-JayDog- Dec 16, 2004 11:04 PM

Are they good for fattening up a gecko?
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- Jason

LEOS:
1.1 Hypos (Conan & Red Sonja)
0.0.2 Juvies (Dremel & Ryobi)

CATS:
2.0 Maine Coons (Sam & Tye)

FIANCÉE:
0.1 Tall Blonde (Christine)

milwaukeereptile Dec 16, 2004 11:20 PM

I beleive nutitionally they are about the same as crickets.
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Brian Skibinski
Brian@MilwaukeeReptiles.com

www.MilwaukeeReptiles.com
Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

geckobill Dec 17, 2004 12:17 AM

where can you get roaches? anyone know id like to try that. are they good for young leos?

SableLynx Dec 17, 2004 12:27 AM

Just feed the right size, same as you would with crickets. And once you get them, put a heat lamp on them warming them to around 80-85 and give them some time before you start feeding them out. in a couple months you will have a great colony and will never have to buy feeders again.
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Cheryl

xelda Dec 17, 2004 12:37 PM

I've got five different roach colonies right now. Lobsters are my least favorite though. They reproduce so quickly that my animals can't keep up. If anybody is in the Kansas City area, I'll give them to you for free.
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chickabowwow

ManhattanHerps Dec 17, 2004 12:51 PM

Darn!!!!

i'd like to start off a roach colony...to bad im in ny..
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Dan Quinn

xelda Dec 17, 2004 01:21 PM

I wanted to start selling some but it's already too cold. I may offer them in the spring though.
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chickabowwow

-JayDog- Dec 17, 2004 01:04 PM

Does anybody have instructions for starting feeder colonies? I'd like to know how to start a Crix, Mealie or Roach colony. Who has tried this before and is it difficult?
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- Jason

LEOS:
1.1 Hypos (Conan & Red Sonja)
0.0.2 Juvies (Dremel & Ryobi)

CATS:
2.0 Maine Coons (Sam & Tye)

FIANCÉE:
0.1 Tall Blonde (Christine)

xelda Dec 17, 2004 01:18 PM

Roaches are very easy to breed. I just keep them in some of my spare glass aquariums since they still have UTHs attached to them from back when they housed geckos. Since a lot of of the feeder roaches are tropical species, keeping at a temp of about 90 degrees will help them reproduce more quickly. You don't need any substrate, just egg cartons will do. And then every month or so, sweep the poop out with a small brush. It doesn't stick to the tank like cricket poop does, so it's really easy to do.

Mealworms are the next easiest to breed but they take extra time. After they molt into their alien form, it's about another week or two before they become beetles. Then it's another 2-3 weeks before the beetles die. Another month or so before you start to see baby mealworms, and then another month before they become large enough to feed your geckos. You just need to order a whole bunch of mealworms--more than your geckos can consume in a month's time. Then they'll start pupating on their own. Separate the ones that have pupated, and then BOOM. You've got a colony.

Progeckos.com has a great caresheet on roaches. And Leoloverslizardlounge.com has a good caresheet on mealworms as well as a nice gutload recipe.
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chickabowwow

geckogrl6 Dec 17, 2004 05:51 PM

I got mad that the petstore always seemed to be out when my gex were most hungry. Also the mealies kept pupating anyway, and my gex won't eat the beetles. I use one of those plastic dishpan things, but any deep smooth sided container will work. Just dump some mealies (or beetles) in, add some rolled oats, and some sort of water source (fresh fruit or veggie) and wait. Mine's been going for about 2 months, and I have enough so my geckoes never starve at least.
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1.0 Blizzard Bill
1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
1.0 HypoTang from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino Hypo (Cloud)
0.3 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie (now w/SD), Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (MIA)
RIP Peaches, Ghost

peachstategeckos Dec 18, 2004 09:55 AM

There's a link at the bottom on my sig on how to breed mealworms.
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Katie F.
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

stittingham Dec 28, 2004 12:56 PM

I live in the KC area and would like to takl to you about your set up and maybe see about getting a few roaches if i could email me at eric.stitt@mostjo.ang.af.mil or stittingham@hotmail.com

stittingham Dec 28, 2004 01:05 PM

can you contact me sorry so many replys new to the form. stittingham@hotmail.com

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