Roach rating showdown

[Longhorn1234]

Hey guys,

I don't know if this has been done before but I wanted to ask you to pick your top 3 roaches to use as feeders. Also, if you can give an explanation, as short or as detailed as you like, then that would be awesome. This is to hear what you guys think and I thought it would be kind of fun. Remember to consider many factors such as chameleon willingness to eat, if they gutload well, and even how easy they are to care for. Thanks!

Edit: if you want you can do a top 5

 

[Scottsquatch]

Red runners are hands down the best. Soft bodied, reproduce faster than any other roach I know of and adults are small enough to feed off.

Orange heads. Meaty roaches that breed well and move much more than dubia.

Green banana roaches. Green color and ability to fly elicits a great feeding response. Adults are small enough to feed off.

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

I keep large chameleons, melleri. So my list is skewed that way I suppose.

Lobster/giant lobsters (Cricket replacement)
Dubia
Discoids
Orange heads
Hissers

 

[jamest0o0]

I'd add another part to that *ability to infest*( or at least get everywhere). I won't keep red runners or lobsters for that reason, though I know many do without problems, there are also bad experiences with them.

Orangeheads are my favorite, can't climb or fly, gutload great, very active, reproduce well, meaty and chams tend to like them. IMO should replace dubia as the suggested staple roach lol.

Ivory heads for the same reasons as orangeheads while getting larger and meatier. Do well in crowded containers and are composting roaches.

dubia because they're boring enough that I can easily hold one and sneak it into my cham's mouth while he's chewing something else.

Special mention: hisser for being the roach my Parsons will take from my hand

Working on porcelain and discoid colonies, still have to try those once they take off. Would also like to get giant green banana roaches whenever I can find them.

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

I'd add another part to that *ability to infest*( or at least get everywhere). I won't keep red runners or lobsters for that reason, though I know many do without problems, there are also bad experiences with them.

Orangeheads are my favorite, can't climb or fly, gutload great, very active, reproduce well, meaty and chams tend to like them. IMO should replace dubia as the suggested staple roach lol.

Ivory heads for the same reasons as orangeheads while getting larger and meatier. Do well in crowded containers and are composting roaches.

dubia because they're boring enough that I can easily hold one and sneak it into my cham's mouth while he's chewing something else.

Special mention: hisser for being the roach my Parsons will take from my hand

Working on porcelain and discoid colonies, still have to try those once they take off. Would also like to get giant green banana roaches whenever I can find them.

Lobsters are climbers. For a long time I said I wouldn’t keep climbers but I ended up getting them and they’re my favorite feeder roach right now. They reproduce at an astonishing rate, they eat like mad for their size (almost to the point of it being a negative detail) and they are active in a way that gets a strike from chameleons. They’ll chew through a foam gasket if you don’t watch them. Grease is a must but I’m happy with mine.

What James said about orange heads is true. They’re great. I think they may be too bulky to ever take over the top spot of dubia. They’re aggressive to each other too. I don’t think they can be easily mass produced like dubia and discoid. Discoids are another bulky roach but I think highly under rated. My only issue with them is how spiky their legs are as adults.

 

[Longhorn1234]

Lobsters are climbers. For a long time I said I wouldn’t keep climbers but I ended up getting them and they’re my favorite feeder roach right now. They reproduce at an astonishing rate, they eat like mad for their size (almost to the point of it being a negative detail) and they are active in a way that gets a strike from chameleons. They’ll chew through a foam gasket if you don’t watch them. Grease is a must but I’m happy with mine.

What James said about orange heads is true. They’re great. I think they may be too bulky to ever take over the top spot of dubia. They’re aggressive to each other too. I don’t think they can be easily mass produced like dubia and discoid. Discoids are another bulky roach but I think highly under rated. My only issue with them is how spiky their legs are as adults.

How are discoids compared to dubia when it comes to being active and attracting the attention of chameleons?

 

[Longhorn1234]

Red runners are hands down the best. Soft bodied, reproduce faster than any other roach I know of and adults are small enough to feed off.

Orange heads. Meaty roaches that breed well and move much more than dubia.

Green banana roaches. Green color and ability to fly elicits a great feeding response. Adults are small enough to feed off.

Have you ever had a problem with red runners escaping or anything like that? I've read horror stories of these guys infesting houses

 

[Longhorn1234]

I'd add another part to that *ability to infest*( or at least get everywhere). I won't keep red runners or lobsters for that reason, though I know many do without problems, there are also bad experiences with them.

Orangeheads are my favorite, can't climb or fly, gutload great, very active, reproduce well, meaty and chams tend to like them. IMO should replace dubia as the suggested staple roach lol.

Ivory heads for the same reasons as orangeheads while getting larger and meatier. Do well in crowded containers and are composting roaches.

dubia because they're boring enough that I can easily hold one and sneak it into my cham's mouth while he's chewing something else.

Special mention: hisser for being the roach my Parsons will take from my hand

Working on porcelain and discoid colonies, still have to try those once they take off. Would also like to get giant green banana roaches whenever I can find them.

It would be interesting to see how your chams react to yellow roaches. We all know they love the color green but what about other colors? Definitely let us know

 

[jamest0o0]

@JoeDigiorgio I've heard a lot of people say they have problems with their OH's being aggressive to each other, but I really haven't had that problem. Mine reproduced as fast the dubias.

I had lobsters for like a day and then got rid of them. Almost got them all over my house in just that time. The wife would kill me and I rent so I didn't want to risk it with them.

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

How are discoids compared to dubia when it comes to being active and attracting the attention of chameleons?

Dubia don’t move after you put them down. I hand feed because all of my melleri are on free range full time but sometimes I need to send a roach up a tree to a higher up chameleon and dubia are useless for that. Discoids run when you put them down. Discoids are a bit bigger too so maybe not for everyone. I use both routinely. If I need to place a roach in the strike zone and know it’ll wait to be eaten I use dubia. If I need it to go somewhere for me I use a discoid lol lobsters I don’t put down on purpose lol

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

@JoeDigiorgio I've heard a lot of people say they have problems with their OH's being aggressive to each other, but I really haven't had that problem. Mine reproduced as fast the dubias.

I had lobsters for like a day and then got rid of them. Almost got them all over my house in just that time. The wife would kill me and I rent so I didn't want to risk it with them.

All of my roaches are in the garage. Not trying to catch a divorce lol

 

[jamest0o0]

Hahaha I can understand that. We have a cold unfinished basement that looks like a dungeon, there's a backroom that I keep heated where all of mine are kept. Outside that room it can be anywhere from 30-50 degrees so any escapees don't get far.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Hahaha I can understand that. We have a cold unfinished basement that looks like a dungeon, there's a backroom that I keep heated where all of mine are kept. Outside that room it can be anywhere from 30-50 degrees so any escapees don't get far.

That's so smart! I just moved my dubias to the garage because the weather is warmer now, and they seem to thrive in that heat. I have never tried any roaches other than dubia, but I want to maybe try orange heads. Where did you guys buy the starters for your orange head colonies?

 

[jamest0o0]

I'm thinking of moving mine outside now that it's nice too. Would save on electric bill. I got most of my roaches from nick barta at fullthrottlefeeders

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

I'm thinking of moving mine outside now that it's nice too. Would save on electric bill. I got most of my roaches from nick barta at fullthrottlefeeders

Careful with keeping them outside. You’re asking for unwelcomed attention. Rats, pest insects, ANTS...

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Oh the ants! Those things are the worst! I mean, as long as the container is sealed then it should be okay with the insects. It there are things like badgers or skunks or something then that might be a hazard.

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

Oh the ants! Those things are the worst! I mean, as long as the container is sealed then it should be okay with the insects. It there are things like badgers or skunks or something then that might be a hazard.

Aside from animals there are plenty of unwanted invertebrates that are more than capable of making entry into a roach bin through ventilation holes. Trust me on this one.

 

[dragonjane13]

I hadn't considered the difference in roaches behavior having an affect on drawing my chams attention. When all my efforts to feed my veiled dubias failed, I just assumed she was conditioned for crickets. The dubias were so inactive and slow that she never considered eating any of them and I figured she would have the same reaction to any other roach species.

Do people have experience with chams refusing one species like dubias but going after another species like OHs without hesitation?

 

[JoeDigiorgio]

I hadn't considered the difference in roaches behavior having an affect on drawing my chams attention. When all my efforts to feed my veiled dubias failed, I just assumed she was conditioned for crickets. The dubias were so inactive and slow that she never considered eating any of them and I figured she would have the same reaction to any other roach species.

Do people have experience with chams refusing one species like dubias but going after another species like OHs without hesitation?

Definitely.

All of my melleri except one prefer large, winged roaches. One of the six will only take small roaches and they have to be running up a branch. They’ll all crush several lobsters in a feeding however that one melleri refuses to take a roach larger than an adult lobster. Dubia usually either sit still or drop from the branch. Discoids scurry up branches perfectly and orange heads seem to be somewhere in between. I feed roaches almost only by hand except for that one melleri so it doesn’t usually matter for me but there is absolutely a difference in feeding response between species of roaches.

 

[Roz’sMom]

Local herp and insect breeder sold me some red runners and I’ve been really pleased. Roz (9 month old veiled female) likes movement and these guys deliver. I had weaned her off superworms as her staple to Dubia but she went on a hunger strike for 3 days because they were too boring. I bought about 70 red runner adults and 150 pinheads, in addition to my dubia colony and they’re going like gang busters. One thing I like about the red runners is that the males fly a little bit (kind of like chickens do) and that keeps her interested. My girl is a sassy pants who doesn’t have time for boring food.

Edited to add: I would really like to try the green banana roaches as they fly. I think my girl would like that.