Do you know a cheap food for B. dubia ?

[DGray]

Hi all. I have a new colony of 1000 B. dubia, and they eat a LOT of food.

I've been giving them left-overs, soft fruit, including bananas, and soft starchy stuff mixed with cricket crack. This is adding up, and yeah, its cheaper than buying crickets, for sure, but it seems expensive.

Can people please share their affordable foods for raising healthy dubia?

 

[Julirs]

Dog Food! Just do not feed roaches that have been eating dog food. Put them in a bin with fresh veggies and fruit for 2-3 days before feeding them to your chams.

 

[DGray]

woof, woof

Oh. Do you grind or soften in any way?

 

[Julirs]

Nope-they eat it just fine.

 

[pssh]

Crushed dog food. But it has been shown that the protien isn't completely gone for two instars... (or at least that's what others have said.) So I don't know if dog food is he way to go unless you aren't feeding them off for a long time.

 

[draetish]

I too just ordered a colony and I was told cat food has more protein than dog food and this is what they need. Obviously you want to quarantine the dubias for 48-72 hours with no food before feeding to your cham.

 

[DGray]

I too just ordered a colony and I was told cat food has more protein than dog food and this is what they need...

Thanks Draetish, I thought that dubias DIDN'T need so much protien.

Obviously you want to quarantine the dubias for 48-72 hours with no food before feeding to your cham...

Right, not high-protein food before offering them to the Chameleon Gods.

Also, calcium will kill your colony so no cricket crack or Fluckers w/calcium. This was told to me by one of our Members that sell Dubias.

So far no problems here. I'm using a low calcium Cricket Crack for the montane sp. I keep, but I do gut-load the ones I'm feeding to the beasts.

 

[Dave Weldon]

...Also, calcium will kill your colony so no cricket crack or Fluckers w/calcium. This was told to me by one of our Members that sell Dubias.

Howdy,

I've been raising my Dubias exclusively on leftover fruits and veggies along with a constant source of Cricket Crack ever since the first batch of C.C. was made available long ago. I usually find a dead Dubia once a year or so and it probably died of old age .

If cost is an issue then raising Dubia on dog food and then switching to something like Cricket Crack and/or lots of the appropriate fruits/veggies a week or so before feed-off time might be the best trade-off. The idea is, at a minimum, to have their little bellies full of high quality gutload as they are chomped by your chameleon. I may be fooling myself, but I also like to think that having Dubia grow-up eating C.C. for many months has other added benefits for the chameleon eating them.

 

[serenitystarlite]

Also, calcium will kill your colony so no cricket crack or Fluckers w/calcium. This was told to me by one of our Members that sell Dubias.

I don't think the Fluker's with calcium has enough calcium in it to do anything. I've had some dubias for a couple weeks now and I was giving that to them until yesterday when I switched to the plain Fluker's because it's cheaper. All of my dubias are still alive. I'll let you know if I lose any, but I've seen it mentioned here that there's barely any calcium in the Fluker's with calcium.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Potatoes and carrots and yams are pretty darn cheap to buy. Easy to grow too, as is dandelion and lettuce. Kelp is also great. Throw in some seeds and nuts, and whatever fruit and veg scraps you have left from making your own meals. Cooked pasta and rice also. Skip the dog and cat food entirely - not necessary and potentially not good for the chameleon.

 

[Chameleon Jim]

Cat and dog food come in two varieties. Some are mainly animal protein, some are mainly vegetable. Just look at the list of ingredients on the back.

If it says corn first then it is low protein, if it says poultry first, it is high protein. The low protein stuff is also usually the cheapest

 

[Carlton]

I don't find dubia expensive to feed if I give them trimmings or leftovers I don't use otherwise. I give them rinsed fruit and veggie peels, yams or sweet potatos, bits of pasta, bread heels, finely ground cereal grains, whatever I happen to have on hand. I also ask for produce trimmings and day old breads at the small local grocery. Considering how well my colony produces (compared to buying feeders directly) it just isn't a problem. I don't use dog or cat food as it is a hassle to separate and re-gutload potential feeders and the protein balance seems to be controversial.

 

[jojackson]

I also like to think that having Dubia grow-up eating C.C. for many months has other added benefits for the chameleon eating them.

As opposed to the roaches only nutritional value being in its gut content at the time of feeding? Im glad im not alone in my thinking. Currently waiting on word from an entemologist (from the Australia Museum) on this issue.
I onced suggested the same in a similar thread and was told indirectly im an idiot.
I will also ask about the value and storage of proteins while im at it.

 

[jojackson]

Still awaiting an in depth reply via email but the general concensus from the entomologist I spoke with breifly, is that a long term constant diet of a healthy balance produces a more nutritious insect for the end consumer, irregardless of gut content, than ones only gutrloaded with quality ingredients before feeding off.
Stay tuned...

 

[Chameleon Jim]

I am eager to hear the reply. Keep us informed and thank you.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Still awaiting an in depth reply via email but the general concensus from the entomologist I spoke with breifly, is that a long term constant diet of a healthy balance produces a more nutritious insect for the end consumer, irregardless of gut content, than ones only gutrloaded with quality ingredients before feeding off.
Stay tuned...

Seems entirely logical.

 

[jojackson]

Always seemed so to me too. Im hoping to get an understandable answer that explains how nutrition is stored/used/converted (though im sure its different for diff kinds of bugs crickets, roaches etc). I will also ask about how protein works with a mind to storage in the insect body, as related to consumption by our reptiles.
With any luck, I may be pointed to some good reading (studies) too.
I would appreciate if anyone else, particularly in the US & UK can likewise seek out entomology depts at universities with the same questions.