Roaches

[Cryptly]

For the past several days my leos have been getting roaches because I'm out of mealies and crickets and I can't get to the pet store for more (actually closer to a week, it's been awhile since I've gotten to the pet store). It may be another day or two before I get to the pet store. They love roaches, but I can't keep feeding roaches only since my colony isn't quite to that level yet (My tarantulas have been getting roaches too, so my colony is really taking a beating).

I'm worried that when I can finally get to the pet store, they're going to turn their noses up at crickets and mealies. What can I do if I encounter this problem? They've already shown reluctance to go back to crickets or mealies after a roach treat, and I have a feeling they won't want to go back to the usual food after this.

 

[gothra]

Ha, I'm in the EXACT position as you! I started my roach colonies in December and they're just starting to build up; I have maybe up to a thousand nymphs, but I want them to grow bigger before I feed them off. Last month, I was running low on mealworms and supers, and some of my leos just won't eat silkies...so, I started offering roaches. Luckily, I only have one leo that got seriously addicted; now he will only eat roaches and nothing else. I managed to trick him to attack a silkworm on 2 occasions, both times, he just spit it out when he noticed its not a roach!

Good luck on getting your leos back to "normal" food.

 

[rrhill]

Why not keep them on the roaches? They are much cheaper then crickets & easier to breed. I use roaches as my staple food with silkies (mine really love the silkies) & waxworms. Every now & again I get some mealworms for them but they just don't get fired up about the mealies after tasting the roaches and silkies.

 

[Gregg M]

What species of roach are you guys keeping???
It sounds a bit odd to me that your colonies are not at the point where you can use them as a steady staple unless they were just started....

What are the temps, humidity, food, and male to female ratios....

From my personal experience, if you start with 100 dubias, in 5 months you should have more roaches than you know what to do with....

I agree with Ro... They are a great staple.... Although a varied diet is great and will not deplete your roach supply as fast.... Most roaches have a much higher meat to shell ratio than crickets and meal worms, they are easier to keep, they do not smell, and will be cheaper in the long run...

 

[Cryptly]

I'm keeping dubias. I started with 50 (I think there may have been more in the shipping cup) a little over 4 months ago and I made a mistake at first and didn't have the temps high enough (started with low 80's, upped it to 90). Once I increased the temps they started multiplying like bunnies, but it's not quite to the level where I can feed regularly. I've got loads and loads of nymphs, but I'd like to have more mature adults, and more of the inbetween sizes before I start feeding on a regular basis. I was going to give the colony another month before making them a regular part of the diet.

I'm feeding them cricket bites, various fruits and veggies, fish flakes and occasionally tiny bits of soggy cat food. Last time I was in the roach tub I saw more females than males, not sure of exact numbers.

I do plan on making crickets go bye-bye, but with so many insect eating critters to feed, I want to be close to overrun with roaches before using them for feeding regularly.

 

[Perefalcon]

See, I use lobsters, and have no roblem when I feed mine crix or mealies, they take those as a treat, I haven't even had to use any waxies in a few months. personally I like the way pinkies fatten the egg laying females better, and they seem less addicting. Lobsters also breed faster, and even though they climb, they can't get past the barrier or vaseline I keep in their tub. I feed mine apples, carrots, and ground up cat food. A coffee grinder is a great tool to have for roaches. I grind up a half cup of cat food once a month and go through a bag of apples every 2 months or so.

 

[Gregg M]

Tonya,
Lobsters are Very fast breeders.... I just dont like the glass climbing factor....LOL.... Anyway, I have also noticed that you need alot less to "fatten" up a breeding leo who is on a roach diet... They have been using roaches in Europe and Canada for many years....

Chris, Dubias mature at about 3 months in close to perfect conditions.... Your colony should be up to your standards in no time....

 

[Perefalcon]

well, some of my first year girls stopped eating all together for a while, so they needed a bit extra