Which insect is the easiest to breed?

[nhoj6465]

I will be getting my 2 Nosy be soon and I need to start breeding some kind of insect but don't know which 1 would b best and the easiest 2 breed. I have a bait shop down the road that has a variety of bugs and worms that I can get to mix it up a lil but I want something I can do myself. Any suggestions? And if so can u tell me how it's done. Thanks!!

 

[Jakedn]

Dubia roaches. Keep em' warm and dark, throw them some veggies and you have a self sustaining colony.

 

[xanthoman]

there are several that are easy to breed, but not all make good staple feeders, blaptica dubia roaches are probably the easiest and cleanest to breed (not at all like an american cockroach) and are one of the better and most economical and practical feeders. and are probably considered the default staple by most cham breeders. you dont have to mix it up a little, you have to mix it up a lot. its not likely a cham will thrive or even stay healthy on a steady stream of cricks and mealworms, and you can always get them at the pet store, but usually not roaches. they wont infest your house, they smell less, make less noise and die less. you can get a starter colony for probably under $50 that includes everything you need for the first two months (except for the $8 rubbermaid container)and you will have a perpetual free stream of feeders to mixin with whatever other feeders you can come up with. with crickets comes death, and smell, and escapes, with mealworms comes grain mites and niether one are a good staple. dubia are the only logical choice for the beginner. jmo

 

[Chameleonboy]

Don't waist your time go with Dubias and superworms. Easiest and best to breed in my opinion.

-Clemonde

 

[nhoj6465]

What do u guys think about silk worms? I think I'll do the roaches though. If I breed them will I have a steady stream of food all yr round? Do panther eat anything other than bugs? Like fruits or veggies? And I heard that superworms cause compaction. Is this true? Thanks 4 ur help guys!!!!

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Supers are the better choice as far as mealworms go. Less chitin in them than in mealworms. I think most people on here don't use silks as a staple feeder. If you want to feed worm try hornworms they are better than supers or mealworms.

 

[tkilgour]

Too many superworms can cause impaction. Feeding 1 or 2 a week as a snack should be fine. Silkworms make a great staple feeder as do Hornworms. Roaches are easy to breed and crickets are easy to keep and also make excellent staples.

 

[Lizardlover]

Too many superworms can cause impaction. Feeding 1 or 2 a week as a snack should be fine. Silkworms make a great staple feeder as do Hornworms. Roaches are easy to breed and crickets are easy to keep and also make excellent staples.

I would have to disagree, My male oustalet (titan) is on an all superworm diet (his choice) and he has never had any problems. Also, hornworms are not good staples.

 

[xanthoman]

how to breed anything

silkworms are harder to breed than many, but they make a better feeder than most. supers and mealworms are fairly easy to breed but they dont make that good of frequent feeders. just for the record there are lots of vids of how to breed almost any feeder you can think of on you tube. silks, crickets, roaches, supers, meal worms, wax worms, house and bbfs and several others. all of the how tos are there on you tube jmo

 

[nhoj6465]

silkworms are harder to breed than many, but they make a better feeder than most. supers and mealworms are fairly easy to breed but they dont make that good of frequent feeders. just for the record there are lots of vids of how to breed almost any feeder you can think of on you tube. silks, crickets, roaches, supers, meal worms, wax worms, house and bbfs and several others. all of the how tos are there on you tube jmo

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tkilgour]

I would have to disagree, My male oustalet (titan) is on an all superworm diet (his choice) and he has never had any problems. Also, hornworms are not good staples.

Many chams would like an all superworm diet. I know mine all would, but that doesn't mean they are a healthy staple. Countless threads recommend only supers as treats because they are high in fat. Hornworms do great helping hydrating chams. Hornworms that eat tomato plants are toxic.

 

[Lizardlover]

Many chams would like an all superworm diet. I know mine all would, but that doesn't mean they are a healthy staple. Countless threads recommend only supers as treats because they are high in fat. Hornworms do great helping hydrating chams. Hornworms that eat tomato plants are toxic.

Many chameleons are in perfect health and have been on an all superworm diet, just look at Kitty (from raisingkittytheveiled.) he only eats superworms. Hornworms are great for rehydrating etc but do not make good staples for chameleons.

 

[tkilgour]

B. lateralis and B. dubia roaches are the easiest to breed for me and all my chams. love them.

Many chameleons are in perfect health and have been on an all superworm diet, just look at Kitty (from raisingkittytheveiled.) he only eats superworms. Hornworms are great for rehydrating etc but do not make good staples for chameleons.

Not that I am trying to argue with you or your methods.

I am not saying superworms are totally bad, but have a high fat content and are not advised for use as a staple. However, I gutload my supers the same way as I do roaches and crickets and my vet has told me the younger, smaller, supers are better than older, hard ones. My vet still recommended they all be given as treats to prevent impaction. Do a search and you will find countless threads on the topic. It does tend to be slightly controversial. Certainly all my chams get a couple supers a week.

Hornworms are much better for continuous use, but my staples are roaches, crickets, butterworms and silks.

So maybe it is better for me to say Instead of staples, I use a wide variety of food. Simply because I use a wide variety of different insects each week.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Jmo but i'd try to get that guy on a varied diet. It makes life easier on you but its not whats "best" for him. They eat many different types of bugs and plant matter also. Also I think they eat many small geckos and frogs also. WE can't duplicate their diet but we can vary it a bit.

 

[graydon]

Supers are the better choice as far as mealworms go. Less chitin in them than in mealworms. I think most people on here don't use silks as a staple feeder. If you want to feed worm try hornworms they are better than supers or mealworms.

Silkworms are a common staple and are much better than hornworms and superworms.

Nobody should really have a staple. You should try and mix it up as much as possible.

 

[sandrachameleon]

I will be getting my 2 Nosy be soon and I need to start breeding some kind of insect but don't know which 1 would b best and the easiest 2 breed. I have a bait shop down the road that has a variety of bugs and worms that I can get to mix it up a lil but I want something I can do myself. Any suggestions? And if so can u tell me how it's done. Thanks!!

roaches, superworms, silkworms, terrestrial isopods, stick insects.

These are all easy.

There are links to How To within this blog entry: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

 

[laurie]

Don't waist your time go with Dubias and superworms. Easiest and best to breed in my opinion.

-Clemonde

You forgot to say dubia roachs are fast to breed and superworms tkae month & months, like over 6 and that only gets you tiny worms. I am a dubia lady myself.

 

[DGray]

Flies

Don't forget flies. They are easy, and breed like, well, flies.

I breed dubias too, but my quads seem to like the flies better than roaches. My only concern is whether the flies really eat the gut-load. They'd rather have carrion or scat...

 

[gpmo]

hey guys new here and to cham husbandry. We already have a wax worm colony for our leopard geckos, would these also work for the Cham? Also we have a small group pupating now and will be moths soon; would the moths also work for feeding to a yemen cham?

Thanks Gpmo

 

[nickers1210]

im afraid wax worms shouldn't be more than 3 a week they are like chocolate to them (very fatty and low nutritional value) and i found too many wax worms makes my yemen a food snob and wont touch anything else. i roll them in calcium powder and give him one every 2-3 days to try getting mine to hand feed his treats, usually i end up putting them in his food bowl as he seems to hate me and always has.