Dexter's Giving Attitude

[Dexter_Dragon]

Dexter’s mad at me. So for the past month the pet store hasn’t been able to get any dubia in except extra small. I did purchase a few of the small and he wouldn’t eat them. Apparently not worth his time. Lol I’ve been getting his crickets in bulk every week, but sadly no dubia. He keeps looking at his bowl than me, bowl and me, and thinking I’m punishing him for something as he never sees anything but crickets. I do have some phoenix worms I’m giving him here and there, but I’m trying to eek them out, too, as the next shipment isn’t schedule into the store until end of next week. Gah! That and I only give them to him as a treat, so yeah.

So far, the only additional offerings the pet store has had are meal worms. Nope, sorry. Dex has never had them and I don’t want to chance it. I am currently not ordering online as its frigid winter here and our village post office is only open for a few hours a day. It takes me a good two days to get any packages left there in between job and other duties and I’d be frantic if bugs/worms sat out in the mail box. Mail delivery never seems to come at the same time on any given day.

Today he actually looked at the crickets and turned his back on them. Literally! Gasp! Refused them! Stubborn boy! Thank goodness the store promised me some on Friday as I think he can outlast me on being stubborn. ‘Course he does eat his salads well and he’s got quite the belly so a day of not eating his crickets isn’t alarming . . . no worries.

 

[Skybug]

How much are you paying for roaches? You might want to start a roach colony (its not as gross as it seems) , the upkeep is minimal you only have to feed them and water them, they dont stink , it takes like 8 months for a discoid roach to mature, if you are worried about one getting out and infesting ur home , they cant climb smooth surfaces either.

 

[2Pacalypse]

awe-I am feeling so bad for Dexter
Poor Lil guy doesn't understand!
I've had my lil dude but a few weeks but suddenly understand how people can love reptiles. Dexter's story is breaking my heart
Alot of reputable places online ship with a heating/cooling pack & have 2 day shipping. Some even do overnight.
They give you an option of having the post office hold for pick up & guarantee live delivery!
Amazon & eBay are not reputable, I just read reviews from those & ended up finding places by online searches.
I hope Dexter will be okay. I feel Soo bad!

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

How much are you paying for roaches? You might want to start a roach colony (its not as gross as it seems) , the upkeep is minimal you only have to feed them and water them, they dont stink , it takes like 8 months for a discoid roach to mature, if you are worried about one getting out and infesting ur home , they cant climb smooth surfaces either.

I have considered it and actually did a little bit of research on starting a colony up, but that's as far as it went. There was so much information to process through, all the dos and donts, etc. I think I may have to give it more serious consideration, though, as the pet store seems to run low on bugs quite often. Having my own colony would ensure Dex doesn't have to give attitude very often. lol Any suggestions, recommendations on how to set up and maintain? Sounds like you may have a colony.?.

When I first started getting the dubia I was squeamish and wouldn't touch them. I mean they are roaches. YUCK! Now not so much and I grab them with my fingers and feed them to him. hahahaha Same with the worms, ugly looking things, but hey grab a few and throw them in his dish. Crickets never bothered me.

I usually get 80 roaches and 500 crickets each week. Cost is about 20 cents each for the crickets and about 40 cents each for the dubia. Plus, a 25 pack of phoenix worms about every 2 weeks. It might be cheaper to get a colony going I suppose.

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

awe-I am feeling so bad for Dexter
Poor Lil guy doesn't understand!
I've had my lil dude but a few weeks but suddenly understand how people can love reptiles. Dexter's story is breaking my heart
Alot of reputable places online ship with a heating/cooling pack & have 2 day shipping. Some even do overnight.
They give you an option of having the post office hold for pick up & guarantee live delivery!
Amazon & eBay are not reputable, I just read reviews from those & ended up finding places by online searches.
I hope Dexter will be okay. I feel Soo bad!

I know . . . feel so bad for the little guy when supplies get low as he doesn't understand. Good news is he gets plenty of salad and treats so he's not going hungry. He's quite the character and has no troubles giving me attitude when he's not pleased. lol Dexter is fine and will be happy again by Friday. He actually ate his crickets this morning . . . he was just letting me know yesterday he wasn't pleased with his food options.

Hope your lil dude is doing well.

Interesting I'll have to check into the heating/cooling options. Thanks for the tip. Didn't know that was possible. Sites I've purchased from always warm against mail box deliveries and recommend post office pick ups during during high and low temperatures. Any of the boxes I've received didn't look insulated in any way.

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

See he's got attitude written all over him. lol

 

[iris123]

See he's got attitude written all over him. lol

View attachment 25416

lol quick question could you tell me what morph smaug is i think he's hypo but it's hard to tell

 

[iris123]

See he's got attitude written all over him. lol

smaug also get lighter than the post above and has orange highlight in his beard and orange on the sides of his tail

 

[Beardomania]

@Barb.Littlefield 80 Dubia at 40 cents is $32 and 500 crix at 20 cents is $100; that's $132 a week, $528 a month for feeders??? That's crazy! If I were you, I'd comb the nearby Craigslists for established Dubia colonies. If there are none now, look every day for as long as it takes (usually not long). Don't get starter colonies with like 6 males and 20 females from people trying to make money selling roaches; get massive colonies from people leaving the hobby. Where I am, there is right now a 1,000 Dubia established breeding colony for $200 all equipment included and last week, there was a person claiming to have a colony of several thousand selling for only $150. Look for these deals cus the feeder store is making a killing off of you.

Alternatively, I've ordered feeders by the thousands beyond what I needed and then sold small packages of them on Craigslist undercutting all local pet store prices so in the end, I can feed my beardie with less than what I make back selling the extras. So however I do it, my beardie eats free.

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

lol quick question could you tell me what morph smaug is i think he's hypo but it's hard to tell

Hi Dillmonster, sorry I don't know much about morphs. Took me a little bit just to find out what kind of beardie Dex was.

 

[BeardedDragonDude]

Yep, happens a lot... Sheesh...
The world could be ending and Flash would still make her demands.

 

[iris123]

Hi Dillmonster, sorry I don't know much about morphs. Took me a little bit just to find out what kind of beardie Dex was.

okay thanks anyway

 

[Dexter_Dragon]

@Barb.Littlefield 80 Dubia at 40 cents is $32 and 500 crix at 20 cents is $100; that's $132 a week, $528 a month for feeders??? That's crazy! If I were you, I'd comb the nearby Craigslists for established Dubia colonies. If there are none now, look every day for as long as it takes (usually not long). Don't get starter colonies with like 6 males and 20 females from people trying to make money selling roaches; get massive colonies from people leaving the hobby. Where I am, there is right now a 1,000 Dubia established breeding colony for $200 all equipment included and last week, there was a person claiming to have a colony of several thousand selling for only $150. Look for these deals cus the feeder store is making a killing off of you.

Alternatively, I've ordered feeders by the thousands beyond what I needed and then sold small packages of them on Craigslist undercutting all local pet store prices so in the end, I can feed my beardie with less than what I make back selling the extras. So however I do it, my beardie eats free.

I know right! Quite a bit of money. Looking at the receipt I used I realized it's an older one. lol I still pay the same for the dubia, but now I get crickets at a discount through the store. 500 for $25.00.

Yeah, I'm thinking it's time to start my own dubia colony.

 

[Skybug]

Oh my goodness ur lizard is a spoiled lil brat! 100$ on roaches , if ur already picking up the roaches with ur fingers id say its time for a colony (i mean no disrespect to the guy who told u to buy em off ebay they would be cheaper but u dont know what hes feeding his bug) heres the thing about starting a colony, it takes anywhere from 3-9 months for a roach to sexually mature (3months for common house roaches 9months for discoid) and you need to buy alot at first so it might be 200$ worth at first but once ur established you’ll only need to pay for their food from here on out, heres what i did, I bought discoid roaches(i live in FL and cant get dubia , they have basically the same care) i got mine from “luna roaches” they pride themselves in “clean feeders” i have mine in a lowes bucket with a lid with 5 tiny holes , i have about 2 inches of dirt for them to lay their eggsack in i put a small layer of bark chips on the top to trap in moisture for the dirt (you want it damp but not wet, thats very important i mist the bucket once a week) i put in a handful of leaves for my cleaner crew bugs to eat(spring tails, earwig, roly polys, and 1 large millipede, and 3 other kinds of bugs, u want atleast two of these guys to clean the dirt) , i have egg crates in there proped up so the roaches can climb and get away from the ground dwelling bugs, food: i feed mine potato as a staple(doesn’t rot,dry out, I actually have one right now in my bucket that’s growing roots lol!) carrot is a must!! I offer romain lettuce for its water rather its nutrition, and broccoli for the protein, the 3 key things are #1protein for the females to make babies #2humdity is a must or the babies will die #3heat (as long as ur house isnt 50 or below for a week straight u should be fine) i know ive said alot and it can be daunting, but once the bin is set up it takes care of itself, I haven’t cleaned mine since i set it up(of course i take out old food and replace the eggcrates for new ones) i think ud be better off raising ur own ull save alot of mony in the longrun, and you’ll be giving dex better more nutritious bugs aswell and thats what really matters, if u need clarification on anything please do ask

 

[2Pacalypse]

I know . . . feel so bad for the little guy when supplies get low as he doesn't understand. Good news is he gets plenty of salad and treats so he's not going hungry. He's quite the character and has no troubles giving me attitude when he's not pleased. lol Dexter is fine and will be happy again by Friday. He actually ate his crickets this morning . . . he was just letting me know yesterday he wasn't pleased with his food options.

Hope your lil dude is doing well.

Interesting I'll have to check into the heating/cooling options. Thanks for the tip. Didn't know that was possible. Sites I've purchased from always warm against mail box deliveries and recommend post office pick ups during during high and low temperatures. Any of the boxes I've received didn't look insulated in any way.

Just ordered from Backwater reptile & another is rainbow mealworms.

 

[2Pacalypse]

Dexter’s mad at me. So for the past month the pet store hasn’t been able to get any dubia in except extra small. I did purchase a few of the small and he wouldn’t eat them. Apparently not worth his time. Lol I’ve been getting his crickets in bulk every week, but sadly no dubia. He keeps looking at his bowl than me, bowl and me, and thinking I’m punishing him for something as he never sees anything but crickets. I do have some phoenix worms I’m giving him here and there, but I’m trying to eek them out, too, as the next shipment isn’t schedule into the store until end of next week. Gah! That and I only give them to him as a treat, so yeah.

So far, the only additional offerings the pet store has had are meal worms. Nope, sorry. Dex has never had them and I don’t want to chance it. I am currently not ordering online as its frigid winter here and our village post office is only open for a few hours a day. It takes me a good two days to get any packages left there in between job and other duties and I’d be frantic if bugs/worms sat out in the mail box. Mail delivery never seems to come at the same time on any given day.

Today he actually looked at the crickets and turned his back on them. Literally! Gasp! Refused them! Stubborn boy! Thank goodness the store promised me some on Friday as I think he can outlast me on being stubborn. ‘Course he does eat his salads well and he’s got quite the belly so a day of not eating his crickets isn’t alarming . . . no worries.

I thought Phoenix worms were a great thing to feed but rarely see people mention them & like you, they say as a treat. Should I not feed these once mine gets a certain age?

 

[Beardomania]

I thought Phoenix worms were a great thing to feed but rarely see people mention them & like you, they say as a treat. Should I not feed these once mine gets a certain age?

Phoenix worms are just the commercial name for black soldier fly larvae. They're more expensive than they should be because of the marketing. Grubterra has them for much better prices and they are just about the most healthy thing to feed a beardie as they have enough calcium to not need dusting. Herptivite only. They are a perfect staple but can get a little more expensive than other options.

 

[Skybug]

I thought Phoenix worms were a great thing to feed but rarely see people mention them & like you, they say as a treat. Should I not feed these once mine gets a certain age?

If I remember correctly pworms are high in fat? I think thats why they say aS a treat? Ive never bought them my beardie wont eat larve forms of bugs or things that don’move, just bought her bslf i had to force her to eat some :/ literary just threw them all away as they’re turning to flys

 

[2Pacalypse]

If I remember correctly pworms are high in fat? I think thats why they say aS a treat? Ive never bought them my beardie wont eat larve forms of bugs or things that don’move, just bought her bslf i had to force her to eat some :/ literary just threw them all away as they’re turning to flys

so far my beard eats anything ! The Phoenix worms are the same as bsfl.
Don't know why they have like six different names..lol

 

[Beardomania]

so far my beard eats anything ! The Phoenix worms are the same as bsfl.
Don't know why they have like six different names..lol

They have an insane number of names. Phoenix worms, Calciworms/Calcigrubs, Reptiworms, etc... But they are all just black soldier fly larvae. The were called Phoenix worms first and if I remember clearly from many years ago, the company did a small study with baby beardies and found that those fed only black soldier fly larvae as their protein grew larger/faster than when fed anything else including a varied diet. Of course, at the time, they were the only ones offering them and set them at sky high prices so they performed the experiment with significant financial conflicts of interest.