just a quick one...does anyone breed and feed these as a staple to their lizards? and if so are they really as good as the writeups say??? the reason i ask is that i am currently going through approx 100 med locust every 4 days or so....so i am seriously considering breeding roaches as a staple.

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various snakes for sale here>> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snake...ghamshire.html

Theres a dude here Rickezze *sp that breeds and sells them...
Most people that have used them said they are very good, going to get a batch myself soon I think (i just hate roaches, gives me the willies!)

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Lobster Roaches

Thats was his last advertisement....

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Ian,

I breed roaches and use them as a staple diet for my beardies. They chase them like no other food. They make very good feeders and are easy to keep and breed. Compared to cricks, they have no smell and make no noise, I'm sure with using that many cricks you know about the smell they make. They are a lot cleaner than ppl imagine. Give me roaches over cricks anyday.

Duzzie

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Busybee's and my collection
Too many to list

Duzzie! More info please??

How big is your coloney? and what do you use to keep them in?

I've got 4 dragons and not sure how many i'd need to sustain them?

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The species I keep are Blabtica Dubia or Orange Spotted Roach. They are very popular in America but don't seem to as popular in the UK. I like them cause they are non-climbers and don't fly. The adults are also very easy to sex.
I have about 30 adult females and 15 adult males an a 30L plastic tub with egg flats for them to hide. I keep them at about 25 degrees C. The live on a mixture of carrotts and dried cat food, apart from that they take care of themselves. With the number of Adults I have, I get 10-15 nymphs each day. They then take a couple of months to reach sufficient size to feed to beardies. They take about 4 months to reach adulthood.
I'd have thought that the number I have would sustain 4 beardies, maybe a few more females to be sure.
This is an adult male (note the full wings)


This is an adult female (note she has no wings)


Is this enough info for you Gaz. Lol. feel free to ask more if you want.

Duzzie

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Busybee's and my collection
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cheers Gaz and Duzzie...i am deff gonna go for the lobster roaches me thinks

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various snakes for sale here>> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snake...ghamshire.html

That tidy thanks! But i'm sure I'd need more than that?

Say then I need on average around 30-40 roaches per dragon per week thats 160 adult roaches gone per week. I would therefore need to produce 160 nymphs per week. Given the feeding rate then I reckon you'd need closer to 100 females?

How many are you feeding per week using you colony?

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Gaz
I'm just getting my colony up and running at the mo so am not feeding a lot yet and i'm not certain how many i'll need. I am growing on my first nymphs to get new breeders and larger nymps for feeding. I'd imaginge feeding an adult beardie 3 or 4 large nymphs or adults a day would be about right. The smaller the nymph, the more you would need to feed. That would mean 16 for you, or 112 per week. With my 30 females producing about 10 to 15 a day, that would be about right. That said, 10 or 15 extra females would have you sorted. I have 2 females per male. You don't need that many males, 3 or 4 per male is fine, so i'm feeding excess males to my beardies at the mo.

Duzzie

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Busybee's and my collection
Too many to list

Cool... dread to think how many boxes of roaches a 4 month supply would take up!

Seams a very good way of breeding your own food though in all fairness.... you could always get in a few crix in if you needed to let your supply increase...

Thanks dude!

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