Feeder Sizes Comparison - Crickets / Dubias

[JTelcontar]

I'll be bringing home my new little buddy from the Kammers on January 7th from the Reptile Super Show. I am ridiculously excited! Cage set up is going well, got my Mist King taken care of this weekend and receiving the last of my supplies later this week.

I have a few questions regarding feeder size comparisons.

My little guy should be 3 months old when I get him (Nose Be Panther). I know the Kammers will have been feeding him crickets, and their size/quantity suggestions are the following:

2-4.5 months = 1/8" to 1/4" crickets (8-12 quantity daily)


I'm hoping to pick up a small variety of feeders right away, including dubia roaches. I know dubias are "meatier" than crickets. I am planning on getting some 1/4" dubia nymphs to start off and see if he likes them (I really hope so-- cockroaches are one of the few things I am *NOT* allergic to! WOOHOO!). Should I still plan on feeding 8-12 nymphs? Or since they are meatier, would the quantity be less? I know when they are little it's best to feed them as much as they would like to eat, but I need to decide how many feeders to purchase and sort of "make a plan" ahead of time so I can schedule!

I'm also planning on grabbing a "Baby" Silkworm cup from Mulberry Farms (says sizes up to 1/2" -- I know they grow rather fast!). Would these be too big right away for a 3 month old?

In addition, I'd like to get a some phoenix worms. It looks like Mulberry Farms also has a cup of "small" (5/16") ones. I assume these would be OK size-wise?


Can you tell I want to make sure everything is perfect when he arrives? haha! Thanks for your help!


(I'll be gutloading with Bug Burger primarily, and dusting with the Rapashy Calcium Plus.)

 

[JTelcontar]

Not sure if anyone ever read this, but I'll try again with another related question. Haha.


I am going to pick up 200 1/4" sized dubia nymphs at the show this weekend. I bought a 22 gallon Sterilite tote to house them, the one pictured here:

http://www.drillspot.com/products/419165/Sterilite_19401006_22GAL_Latch_Stor_Tote_Pack_OF_6


It occurred to me that since I am going to be starting with a couple hundred small feeder dubias (no breeding just yet)... this tote might be way, way too big.

Should I go tomorrow and get something a lot smaller? Maybe the 50 quart one?
http://www.sterilite.com/ProductCategory.html?ProductCategory=18&section=1


(I'd like to start a colony, but I'm not going to be ready to do that right now and I'll want a "feeder bin" anyway to keep nymphs sorted!)


Thanks for any help

 

[EvilLost]

if you are getting the tub and the roaches, you might as well just breed them yourself...

they have no smell, are easy as heck to breed, etc etc just do some searches on here



as to your point, yea i do feed roughly the same but probably just barely fewer dubias than i do crickets (like 1-2 less)

I breed my colony in a 64QT tub and I have several hundred nymphs and roughly 20 adult females in there with a little more room to go, though its starting to fill up pretty well

yea 22 GALLON is huge....i read that as 22 QUARTS when i first read it until i got to the end of your post


as for having a separate bin for your "feeders"....i don't really find that necessary with my dubias as they are super easy to catch / sort, unlike crickets which are a PAIN IN THE #)*$&....i just keep all mine in 1 bin

 

[pssh]

Newborn nymphs, once they have been gutloaded well, are almost 1/4" wide and longer still. I would say each one is equivalent to 1.5 crickets.

The quantity doesn't necessarily matter. Just feed him all he will eat in about 5 minutes once or twice a day. It's easier that way

Also, keep some of what he is used to on hand as well. He might not accept the dubia/silkworms right away as a feeder.

As evillost has said one tub will work, but only if you gutload the whole bin. Doing so would be great, but realistically, once the colony grows it is not financially feasible for most people. A smaller gutloading tub would be good to gutload for at least 24 hours. Also, don't feed the roaches dog/cat/fish food ever. The protein doesn't completely go away with just a few days of gutloading.

 

[Olimpia]

You've gotten good info from others, I just wanted to applaud you for starting off trying to get a varied diet for your cham. You don't know how many people ask us when their cham is 6-8 months old when they should start adding variety to their diet. You're doing your cham a great service by trying to get him a well-rounded, varied diet from the get-go.

Here's to hoping he's not picky and appreciates all the food he's going to get!

 

[JTelcontar]

Thanks for the replies!


I've got my dubias in the large bin for the moment, but I think I will pick up a smaller "gutload" bin that I can use for 24 hours before feeding once I get a colony up and running. I'll have to do some math and see how financially feasible Bug Burger would be on a large quantity basis. The one bin is OK at the moment even though it seems so big. The roaches are all either eating or hiding in the egg crates anyway.

(And no worries-- it'll be fresh veggies and/or Bug Burger for these guys!)


@pssh: ah good point. If I can't get him to eat the dubias within a day or so, I'll run over to PetSmart and grab some crickets too. Today is his first full day with me (got him around noon yesterday). He's been eyeing the dubias that I gutloaded overnight, but hasn't had the "guts" to go check them out. Hopefully he'll get brave soon. I know they don't always eat a day or so after arriving, so I hope he'll eat tomorrow.


Thanks Olimpia! I'm trying to do the best I can right from the start! haha. With luck he'll be a voracious eater. I'm crossing my fingers!

 

[JohnnyD]

The $ savings for the dubia vs crickets come into play after your chameleon is large enough to eat an insect larger than a full grown cricket. One large dubia roach is more like 3 or 4 crickets. My adult chams love the adult male and sub adult roaches. Let the roaches grow along with your chameleon. Some people will feed them all off before they get a chance to reach a larger size and end up missing this opportunity.