A lizard with the same feeding habits as a snake...

Arachnaeoccult · 03-10-16, 10:55 AM

My only qualms with lizards is I would need to start breeding crickets to support many species eating habits (its a hassle to go to the store every day for them), I was wondering though if any of them are sufficiently fed off of frozen mice like my snakes. I was almost sold a baby chinese waterdragon without being told how big its cage was going to need to be and almost no details given about its diet except 'crickets'.

eminart · 03-10-16, 11:10 AM

Breed roaches. Crickets suck.

But yeah, I really can't think of a lizard that doesn't eat a lot more than a snake. Monitors eat rodents, but a lot of them.

Arachnaeoccult · 03-10-16, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eminart

Breed roaches. Crickets suck.

But yeah, I really can't think of a lizard that doesn't eat a lot more than a snake. Monitors eat rodents, but a lot of them.

Is it the same as breeding crickets? Dirt to lay eggs, save the babies, etc etc.

chairman · 03-10-16, 11:43 AM

If you're looking for a lizard that doesn't need to eat insects, crested geckos are a good choice. They do well on a powdered diet that you mix with water to the consistency of baby food. They do require misting at least once a day, possibly more depending on your setup. They also can't be allowed to get warmer than 80.

For a lizard that can eat mice, a blue tongue skink is an option. As omnivores they also require greens, fruits, berries, and vegetables. They eat meat on a schedule similar to snakes, feed them non-veggies too often and they suffer from obesity.

Outside of monitors and tegus, the only lizards left that I can think of are the Heloderma. But they're venomous, usually require permits and training, and are a terrible choice unless you've got a solid decade of reptile experience under your belt.

sirtalis · 03-10-16, 11:54 AM

You shouldn't have to go to the store every day, I buy enough to last me two weeks (crickets) Breed roaches, they don't lay eggs, they give live birth which is a huge pro. Stay away from monitors for a first lizard, they need to eat a ton each day, I try to feed my peacock monitor twice per day for example, but I only feed my geckos every other day

eminart · 03-10-16, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arachnaeoccult

Is it the same as breeding crickets? Dirt to lay eggs, save the babies, etc etc.

Nope. Dubia are very simple. Get a plastic tub. Put some egg crates in one end. Put a UTH under it. Feed them your leftover fruit and veggies, bread, cereal, and maybe some baby chick "mash" food. I started out with maybe 50 last year. I have THOUSANDS now. I'm probably going to start selling some off just because I don't use that many.

But, as others mentioned, a crested gecko or blue tongue would be a good option. Both can eat prepared foods.

**Minkness** · 03-10-16, 12:27 PM

I am excited to start a few roach colonies actually. Green banana, orange spots, and dwarf hissers!

Arachnaeoccult · 03-10-16, 01:29 PM

The dubia setup sounds excellent for my arachnids. The 80 temperature requirement sounds iffy. Florida is just way hotter than 80. How much can I push the AC on my snakes even? (my house gets hotter than outside)

chairman · 03-10-16, 01:40 PM

Are dubia legal in Florida? For some reason I thought they weren't.

chairman · 03-10-16, 01:49 PM

Just double checked, you can't have dubia in Florida. You need to go with discoids or lateralis if you want to feed roaches.

Humble308 · 03-10-16, 02:17 PM

+1 on the roaches. I HATE crickets...they're smelly and loud. I usually keep about 100 crickets in a 10 gallon tank or so and buy once every couple of weeks. I've tried breeding them and failed dismally, when you get them heated up and of breeding age they're also pretty loud if you choose to keep them in the house.

I recently started a dubia colony to feed my toads, frog, and recently aquired leopard gecko. The first thing you'll notice off the bat is that the roaches will have a musky smell almost like composted soil...I don't find it unpleasant in comparison to the very sharp stench of crickets. I keep them in a $5 blue plastic tub from the hardware store on a piece of wired up flex watt plugged into a dimmer. The whole shabang was less than $20. You can keep them at room tempature but I run mine around 80-85 degrees. It takes a little bit to get them going as they don't produce huge clutches, but mine are coming along nicely.

They're also bigger than crickets, which for critters like my America toad Big Momma, she can mow down 7-10 crickets without even thinking about...it doesn't help that the crickets you usually get from the pet stores are tiny. They also seem to be "meatier" if that makes sense and the protein counts are high if not higher than crickets.

The roaches do have a couple disadvantages though. They're a little expensive to get your starter colony, but that investment will more than pay for itself. They also scurry around and burrow and seem smarter than crickets haha. It's hilarious though to watch my leo on the hunt, digging through the substrate...or the toads straight running down the roaches. They're slow breeders as well not producing huge litters, but if you only have a few animals it wouldn't be a problem.

I will continue to feed crickets, but don't care for breeding them. Dubia is pretty much set and forget and watch your colony grow.

Also if you're looking for an easy to feed lizard you might check out leopard geckos. At the shelter we keep ours on mealworms exclusively with roach mixed in every few weeks. Hope that helps. All the best.

Arachnaeoccult · 03-10-16, 04:51 PM

The colony will probably grow with my nid collection soundly. A frog or two might be a good way to keep em in check if I "have too many". They presumably reproduce as much as their enclosure size permits

Bandit · 03-10-16, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arachnaeoccult

The colony will probably grow with my nid collection soundly. A frog or two might be a good way to keep em in check if I "have too many". They presumably reproduce as much as their enclosure size permits

Once they get going, they don't stop. Doesn't matter how big the enclosure is.

Arachnaeoccult · 03-11-16, 10:49 AM

they don't live long as escapees do they?

chairman · 03-11-16, 01:27 PM

Most roaches are considered invasive species in Fl, which is why you're only allowed to own natives and species that they've given up on trying to eradicate. Most other places a dubia wouldn't last long but they'll thrive in a FL home.