Feeder Roachs

[Smilts]

I dont know very much about roachs I am considering starting a small colony of roachs for feeding and wanted to know what kinds of roachs are prefered?

[Aaron_S]

I have never done it but from what I've read, lobster roaches are pretty popular. I think it's due to their size and how good they can be for the animals.

[siz]

Dubia Roaches are what I constanly hear about, but I don't breed feeders myself. Sorry Aaron if this is the same kind of roach - I don't think it is but I honestly have no idea about roaches. I feed crickets and worms to my insectivores.

Coy, PM me and I can send you to a forum which has lots of info on roach colonies.

[bugger]

Lobster roaches are fairly active from what I've gathered, and attract atttention to themselves, and the predators that like movement are attracted to them. The do climb glass though. I picked up a small colony of lobsters this weekend at a local reptile show. I hope they're tasty...

Look up the variety of roach, and decide if you want climbers, that have a better shot of escape, in which case you'll need a barrier to prevent them from getting out of the enclosure you keep them in.

Other features you can decide on are if the roaches burrow into the substrate to hide from predators, and if they do and your pet doesn't burrow for food then you have a lot slimmer chance of the pet eating when it's hungry.
There are roaches that don't burrow or climb, so they are less likely to escape, but predators that only hang out in the top of the enclosure, and don't persue food, won't have the non-climbers where they can get to them to eat.
Some dubia don't climb or borrow, so they are alot more visible on the 'floor' of the enclosure.
Lobsters do climb and will be up out of site of pets that only hang out on the 'floor' of the enclosure, so they aren't as available for dinner as the non climbers are for ground level predators.

What I am understanding about lobsters popularity is that they breed very fast, so they build a colony quick, and if you have pets that eat many roaches in one day, then they can keep up with the demand. Other roaches that don't reproduce as fast may have their colony depleted with not replacements for the eaten roaches.

Shell to meat ratio is a factor for some, in their choice of roach to raise.
Softness of shell, for some predators, can also be a factor in your choice.

[bugger]

Dubia roaches, from what I understand, don't burrow, but some varieties of dubia may or may not, I'm not familiar enough at this time to tell you what does and doesn't.

The non-climbers are desirable for pets that hang out on the floor, or one's that will go down to the floor to get a meal.
If your pet always stays in the canopy, and won't go down for food, and you get a non climber roach then that pet may not each much, and you would want to get a climbing roach variety that will go up to the predator, so the predator can eat.

Borrowing roaches may hide in the substrate, and if your pet doesn't go down and dig in the substrate for food he'll go hungry if burrowers get underground before the pet gets to them.

Lobster roaches reproduce quickly and can survive in alot of conditions, from what I've learned. They are glass and plastic climbers though, and you will need to contain them and keep them from climbing out of the enclosure. They have special barrier products that you rub around the rim of the enclosure so the roach, or whatever feeder, can't climb out and get away.

I just got a small colony of lobster roaches this weekend at a reptile show, and hope to be feeding sometime in the next couple months out of the colony.

I paid more than I wanted to for these lobsters, but I didn't have to pay shipping on them, so...

Look up roaches on the web and see what variety you want to feed, or more like what your animals will respond to, and go for it.

[Faequine]

Roaches as feeders?? what would eat them? anything that eats crickets? Why would you even use them. arent they just pests that invade your house -.-

[Chu'Wuti]

I've heard that roaches are actually highly nutritious for insectivores, but I couldn't stand them myself.

Give me snakes, give me spiders . . . ANYTHING BUT ROACHES!

I'm actually phobic of roaches. Most people think it's really strange that I'm afraid of roaches but not of snakes or spiders!

[Smilts]

Roaches are just another option for feeding my tegu. The Lobster roaches are nice and big? I ask because my tegu will go ANYWHERE in her enclosure but bigger prey is better. And Chu I have a good friend who is scared to death by roaches.

[bugger]

Madagascar hissers get large. The supposedly have a harder shell, but my mantis' ate a couple that a pet shop owner gave me to try.
The lobsters get up to around 2 inches, and their shells are supposed to be fairly soft.
I think its the dubia's that are good for not climbing glass and not burrowing, depending on what variety you get.
Look up the variety and look for its pros and cons online. Some sites have alot of good info, others have relatively little info.

I do know that a guy on the mantis forum I frequent recommended the lobsters though.
I just don't like climbers ability to get up close enough to the top of the home depot bucket I have them in, to escape.
I currently use olive oil as a barrier, with no escapes so far. I am going to get some other type of barrier, as vaseline will melt at high temps, like we get here in Phoenix, and you get there in Houston, plus you have nasty humidity there.

The think about culturing roaches is you know what they are eating, and you don't feed them sewage or other things that will culture bad bacteria, that your pets will be eating. Feed them well, and they will in turn feed your pets well.

A guy here in state that breeds large colonies and sells them said he has a customer that feeds them to his monkeys as a cheap high protein source. He feeds them madagascars hissing roaches, and I think, but don't know, that the monkeys are from africa also, and probably eat them in the wild. High protein, mmmmmm mmmmm

[Chu'Wuti]

I have a good friend who is scared to death by roaches.

Smart friend! Those things are seriously creepy. ugh. and to think they'll outlive us . . .

High protein, mmmmmm mmmmm

ugh ugh ugh! You guys are totally creeping me out!

[bugger]

What's funny is I didn't like touching roaches till I started using them as feeders.
Now I'll grab them and toss them into the mantis enclosure and not think twice about it, but the one's I have aren't coming from the sewer either, like the one's we think of that invade the home. Totally different circumstances.
I still don't want them running around my house though, but then I don't let my crickets or mice or other animals run around free either. I would let a mantis or two loose, but I think they'd get hurt in here.

[siz]

Originally Posted by Faequine

Roaches as feeders?? what would eat them? anything that eats crickets? Why would you even use them. arent they just pests that invade your house -.-

lol they aren't the same as cockroaches. Pretty much anything that eats crickets can eat roaches. They don't stink like crickets...I hate crickets. They're easy but they're so damn annoying!

[Faequine]

what makes them annoying?

[siz]

They stink, they poop all over everything, they can escape pretty easily, they're quick when they do get out, they'll eat anything (not always a good thing), they're jumpers, they chirp, lol, did I mention they STINK?!
...But man, is it fun to shake 'n' bake them haha