Are these feeders ok? And if so, what order are they from best to worst?

[Clintaceous]

Recently I went away for a couple days due to work, and when I came home my home was filled with this nasty ammonia smell! I thought it was my trash, or worse, one of my other pets had past on. After checking my animals and seeing them all alive, and taking out the trash, I found out it was my crickets. No mass die off, no mold, I think it was just the poop in the egg carton may have gotten too moist.

I know that exerpt has nothing to do with the title, but its why I am asking. I'm hoping to remove crickets almost entirely as a feeder due to the smell. I'm thinking of using the following:

1. BSFL (adults)
2. Wax Worms (adults)
3. Silkworms (adults & larva)
4. Isopods
5. Roaches (discoid only. I live in Canada, so its really my only option)


I will be researching ways to reduce the smell of crickets, but in the meantime I'm looking up their replacements. These bugs listed will be my main feeders, with superworms as treats. Some of these I will order only, but I do plan on breeding 2 of the listed species. I already have isopods, so they don't count towards that.

Are any of the insects listed not an ideal feeder? Are any difficult to house/breed?

 

[jamest0o0]

To start, regarding the crickets, banded crickets tend to smell much less IME. Lots of ventilation(screened sides and top) helps as well.

And for the feeders I’ll respond to each according to the numbers:

1. Solid feeder option, but sometimes aren’t fully digested(or digested at all). When you say adults do you mean the flies or just larger BSFL? With larvae they’re all babies no matter the size, adults are the flies. The flies are nice to give some hunting stimulation for your Cham. I had them slowly reproducing in my enclosures which gave nice little occasional treats.

2. Also not sure if you mean the moths or just large worms(sorry I’m not trying to be a smart ass!). The moths are a good flying option. The worms are pretty fatty and said to be addicting with some Chams, best to keep these to only a couple times a month max. Superworms or even mealworms are probably a better treat TBH.

3. Another great feeder, worm and moth. Dust accordingly and they make a nice part of your Cham’s staple diet.

4. Isopods are a high mineral feeder, but be careful with too many. They can uptake lead and other heavy metals that can sometimes be found in soils. Best to keep them on clean substrate you’re familiar with and breed them out a bit before feeding off. I’ve read they’re very high in calcium too, but would need to find a source to confirm… too much calcium can be harmful though. Probably best as an occasional snack.

5. Great high protein staple that can be gut loaded with all sorts of things. They can build up uric acid, as all roaches do more or less, so feed very low protein diets to the roaches. If buying, I’d breed them and feed off younger ones that you know haven’t been fed dogfood or whatever else. It’s said they can hold onto uric acid for a very long time, but I’d also need to confirm this(been awhile for me). With proper hydration and a healthy Cham, it’s likely not a giant risk, but better to have safe practices in place IMO.

 

[elizaann2]

I agree with the above. Are grasshoppers a feeder option where you live? I'd add those if you can