Dubia vs Red Runner

[lthrbecks]

Hi folks

My new chameleon has a voracious appetite I'm glad to say. He's eating at least three hoppers and around eight roaches everyday! It's great to watch him sneak up and out pops that fabulous tongue of his! ??

Are there any advantages or disadvantages, feeding either of two types of roach? As in nutritional value, better for health etc? Just wondering.

Thanks for any help you can give me on the above matter.

 

[DocZ]

I haven’t found a specific nutritional breakdown for red runners. Maybe @jamest0o0 will have some more info

Rainbow mealworms says:
“Red Runners are very nutritious as they have a high meat to shell ratio containing 37% protein and 6% fat making them very similar to a cricket nutritionally.

They are known to be exceptionally high in vitamin B12”

but I don’t know where their info comes from.
They are definitely softer shelled than Dubias and they move A LOT faster. They might stimulate a feeding response better for some chameleons. They’re also a lot smaller full grown so they’ll never out grow a younger chameleon. One thing I’ve noticed with mine, they’re a bit stinkier.

I like them for variety. I’m sure each bug has a certain nutrient that it is higher in than the others. I try to feed something different at each feeding, so they get the nutritional advantages of each bug.

 

[lthrbecks]

Thanks so much for your reply. I. Had to stop getting crickets as a few inevitably escaped, wingless, then subsequently sprouted wings and began chirping all night long. I was ready to run away from home or I'd end up in the asylum! It actually got me very depressed due to lack of sleep. It was really that bad.

So, I've now bought the roaches instead. Much much easier to look after, and best of all, no noise or escapees!

I also feed him grasshoppers. That's the only two feeders I now purchase. Tried silk, wax and calci worms not a bit interested.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply.

 

[nightanole]

If you dont have winter, i would not get a red runners. Also i would do an allergy test, as many folk are allergic to them/bin.

But you hear people with horror stories like "the queen dubia got out of the bin and i smashed her before she could get into the walls". They dont have nothing on red runners. Germans are the default indoor pest roach, reds are the default outdoor pest roach, at least in the bottom half of the usa. They are worse that orientals just because they breed like rabbits.

 

[lthrbecks]

Very interesting....

My cat, Honey (10), has had the sniffles and sneezing for almost two weeks now. I've only had the roaches for three weeks since getting rid of those hideous crickets!

I'm just wondering, could it be the roaches causing this as in an allergy? Or perhaps its just a coincidence. I assumed it only affected humans. Emm!

 

[nightanole]

Very interesting....

My cat, Honey (10), has had the sniffles and sneezing for almost two weeks now. I've only had the roaches for three weeks since getting rid of those hideous crickets!

I'm just wondering, could it be the roaches causing this as in an allergy? Or perhaps its just a coincidence. I assumed it only affected humans. Emm!

Pretty easy to tell. Take them out of the house and put them in the pole barn or un attached garage for a few weeks and see if Mittens still has a runny nose. But reds are worse than crickets when it comes to allergies etc. I still dont know why they are worse than any other roach, but there are plenty of people that have allergies to German and Oriental roaches. Maybe the roach folk can make a list of "clean" vs "dander" roaches. I dont have an issue with the dubia bin being lidless 8 ft from my head, and im allergic to "pet dander" and cant have dogs/cats in the bedroom, henz the lizard route for pets.