Food amount and size+storage

[BeardedHippy]

Hey, you can keep them in almost any container, but they will like those tubes for hiding in. That jelly stuff is purely water so make sure you feed them plenty of fresh veg too, the same stuff you feed your dragon, that way it can get the benefit of those vitamins even if its not into its veggies. You want roaches 2-3cm in length, see how many your dragon will get through in a sitting and take it from there as far as amounts go. As for where to buy them, well it depends where you live. Ordering online is the best way to go, in the states try dubiaroaches.com or ebay. Check the reviews of ebay sellers and see how long they have been breeding them for, bad breeders dont stay in business long and good ones usually keep reptiles themselves so know what they are doing.

 

[Dray]

Thanks for the advice and quick response! The water "crystals" I have are calcium fortified not that that means alot. I live in USA so unfortunately cm doesn't mean much, I'll convert it. Seems like I'm ready for him to Chow down his shipment of crickets coming tomorrow then converting to roaches!

 

[Dray]

I just converted the cm to inches. You're suggesting a .75 - 1" roach. That seems large to me? I was going to order 1/4 to 3/8" for my first batch? One website I found suggested 1/4" roaches if you were feeding max size 3/8 crickets. So many numbers

 

[BeardedHippy]

at your beardies age and size they are fine, in fact he could probably manage slightly larger. The general rule of thumb is no wider than the space between your dragons eyes. If you buy them too small they will get eaten so quickly you will barely have time to blink and it can start getting very expensive. He will consume far fewer of the larger ones and they should last you longer. A 1/4 inch is tiny, when my dragons were babies they would go through 40 or 50 of those each a day!, thats when i seriously considered a colony lol.

 

[Poisonedbite]

I keep a Dubia colony. I hate crickets, they smell, they're loud, and most importantly, Sobek can't stand them. Won't touch them. I only buy from dubiaroaches.com, they always give the proper ordered sizes. Now. If you want to start your own colony, I'd recommend buying 50-100 1.25 inch extra larges and a few males/females, and stick them in a tote in the dark for a few months. You'll need to cut an air hole in the lid and hot glue a piece of screen on it. And while your colony grows, a monthly order of 200 1 inch roaches will easily sustain him. Which is about $40 a month. Feed them fruit/veggies every other day.

 

[Dray]

Thanks for the colony advice! I saw some sites offered " starter packs " that come with large make and females

 

[Dray]

I just received my last order of crickets yesterday so it should take him around a week to power them down. I'll order the roaches on Tuesday or Wednesday. If there's any straggling crickets then I'll grant them asylum in the back yard haha. I'm going to get 100 3/8 to start. https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...MIkqDBve6N3AIVQz0MCh3pzAtTEAQYAyABEgJs7_D_BwE

That's the cage I'm currently using for my crickets. It should work for the roaches right?

 

[Dray]

Also do you think this particular cage can handle 200 roaches?

 

[BeardedHippy]

I couldnt see the pic of your cricket cage, but if its anything like the one I have it will be fine for everyday storage but not big enough for a colony. Its not like they will be there long enough to get comfortable, I'm thinking your first order will last 2 days maybe 3. By the way, fresh veggies should be fed every day, its the bugs that you should cut down on when they become adults, veg daily and bugs a few times a week.

 

[Dray]

As of right now I'm feeding him 15-20 crickets and upwards of a quarter cup of veggies a 6 am before work and 15-20 crickets at night around 5 or 6. He always goes NUTS when he sees me go near the cricket cage and LOVES his salad. We have a good time hand feeding him the chopped greens.

 

[BeardedHippy]

yup, its the same one as mine. Im not sure how well they will handle the tubes, they cant climb as well as crickets.They will hide in the daytime, if they cant get up the tubes you may have to take them out and stack a few egg boxes in there instead. They do a great job of disposing of all the left over veg you give your dragon, including the stuff you would normally put in the rubbish when prepping.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Thanks for the colony advice! I saw some sites offered " starter packs " that come with large make and females

if you take a look at the links below my comments I've written up how to do a colony for new comers to dubia.. they are great feeders!! they hold the food in their gut for 72 hours making them amazing to gut load and that to then be fed to your dragon.

 

[Hdrydr31]

As of right now I'm feeding him 15-20 crickets and upwards of a quarter cup of veggies a 6 am before work and 15-20 crickets at night around 5 or 6. He always goes NUTS when he sees me go near the cricket cage and LOVES his salad. We have a good time hand feeding him the chopped greens. View attachment 18277

You would want to get a dark colored sterlite tub and lid with plenty of ventilation. Dubia like dark warm tubs with egg flats stood on their sides to allow poop to fall to the bottom.

 

[Dray]

Thanks for all the info! I'm not sure I'm ready for a colony yet. Depends how fast he goes through them. I saved the egg cartons from my last cricket order in case I needed them. Good thing I guess!

 

[PatsyB]

I want to go back to the tank. Remember that you want a tank that an adult dragon is going to be able to sit anywhere and be comfortable, meaning not curled up but spread out. Dragons need more floor space than height. Too much height and you are going to have problems with your UVB and heat reaching the bottom of the tank. You also need a tank that is going to provide ventilation. That corner tank seemed pretty high, along with the dragon not being able to get proper heat and UVB, it might be hard for you to reach down in the bottom to clean.

 

[LavishLizards]

There are other feeder options to look into also. The most nutritious are Dubia roaches, and you can also do phoenix or waxworms. I like to stay away from crickets actually, because they can easily carry parasites. Superworms are good feeders too, but i like to cut the heads off. Its a mixed debate on the superworms whether or not to cut off the heads. But you can keep them in a shoe box tote and put them in oatmeal. About 200 to 300 fit nicely. Then you just throw some sort of leafy green or veggies on top. Poke holes in the lid, and your good to go.
Dubias are also easy to keep, and depending on space, can take up less room. Good luck!

 

[Dray]

Thanks for the corner tank input! Seems like haku will be moving into the basement then as a larger track will basically put him in our fireplace which we use in the winter. ( We spend shot of time in the basement)

 

[Dray]

Roaches came today, do I need to dust these little creeps with calcium or vitamins like the crickets?

 

[Dray]

If possible can anyone suggest an affordable tank for him? I saw Petco had a zilla 40 gallon tank that had a lid with a door that pops open, it didn't have a price on it though.

 

[PatsyB]

All bugs should be dusted. The front opening tanks are real nice and makes it easy to get your dragon in and out without having to move the lights off the tank.