A bug question

[Dovahzul]

I know the answer is likely to be "It all depends on the individual dragon", but I don't have one yet so...

I am looking at getting a 2-4 month old sometime in the next few months, so I would like to know about how many dubia roaches a young dragon would eat per day, and how that number changes as they age.

I'm trying to figure out if its worth it to start a colony a few months prior to buying the dragon so the size I need will be ready OR if buying 500 to 1000 roaches at a time will last long enough to make it cost effective to just order them online.

Deciding on having a colony vs just ordering as needed is also going to depend on how many roaches a 1 year+ dragon would need. I have no idea how many insects the adults need, I've read everything from a few a day to occasional treats or only once a week.

 

[PatsyB]

Always worth it with babies to have your own colony if you can. Babies need to eat 3 times a day. Mine would eat about 25-30 crickets each feeding. We went through a lot of bugs.

They become adults around 18 months. I would say with mine the first 6 months they ate 3x a day, 6-12mon they only wanted 2x a day then they wanted once a day. Now at 5 & 4 years they eat bugs every other day. And usually like 3 large dubia or a few silk worms. They get about 4 supers a week.

 

[Dovahzul]

Thanks so much. I've raised feeder meal and superworms (for chickens and wild birds), but dubia's seem like they need a little more TLC than that.

 

[Dovahzul]

The site linked in the "starting/raising dubia colony" in the thread above is not accessible, is there a site elsewhere that has good step-by-step instructions?

 

[Dovahzul]

Also, just a thought...Are superworms and hornworms more of a treat than a staple? I know I can raise roaches and supers, but if supers are only for treats I'd quickly get too many to maintain a colony. I don't have chickens anymore to eat the overflow lol. Hornworms I can get every few months to add some variety but they seem too pricey to feed as a staple

 

[Hdrydr31]

The site linked in the "starting/raising dubia colony" in the thread above is not accessible, is there a site elsewhere that has good step-by-step instructions?

If you look in the general care section in the info for 1st timers I have written up info on how I raise dubia

 

[PatsyB]

Also, just a thought...Are superworms and hornworms more of a treat than a staple? I know I can raise roaches and supers, but if supers are only for treats I'd quickly get too many to maintain a colony. I don't have chickens anymore to eat the overflow lol. Hornworms I can get every few months to add some variety but they seem too pricey to feed as a staple

Hornworms and supers are more treat like. A few a week is good. Hornworms provide good hydration if you have a dragon that is dehydrated.

 

[Dovahzul]

Thanks for both replies, I'll look at the new thread