Other Insect Feeders

[Jay_Bunny]

I want to get more into keeping lizards in the near future so I am trying to think of ways to raise my own feeders. I have around 2 dozen crickets right now and while they don't stink, are loud little bugs. I plan on keeping bearded dragons and leopard geckos. Are there any sites about breeding crickets and other appropriate feeders for these lizards? I've heard silkworms and such are good for the beardies. Are these easy to breed? I was also thinking of getting feeder roaches but I wasn't sure which kind I should get.

[suzuki4life]

I want to get more into keeping lizards in the near future so I am trying to think of ways to raise my own feeders. I have around 2 dozen crickets right now and while they don't stink, are loud little bugs. I plan on keeping bearded dragons and leopard geckos. Are there any sites about breeding crickets and other appropriate feeders for these lizards? I've heard silkworms and such are good for the beardies. Are these easy to breed? I was also thinking of getting feeder roaches but I wasn't sure which kind I should get.

crickets are fast and easy...

dubia roaches are next easiest...but they grow super slow and not high output.

lobster (roaches) grow fast and multiply fast but could be a headache real fast also...

superworms aren't too bad either...

[Jay_Bunny]

I'm starting with crickets. I was working on getting a mealworm colony going but the worms took forever to grow. Some didn't even grow very large before they died. I'm going to start fresh with a brand new batch of mealworms. Where can you find dubia roaches and are they expensive to get going? I'm going to try and find some articles online about breeding all these feeder insects.

[suzuki4life]

I'm starting with crickets. I was working on getting a mealworm colony going but the worms took forever to grow. Some didn't even grow very large before they died. I'm going to start fresh with a brand new batch of mealworms. Where can you find dubia roaches and are they expensive to get going? I'm going to try and find some articles online about breeding all these feeder insects.

you can find dubia all over the net...wait till it warms up and I can send you some if you cover shipping costs...

many people mistake mealworms for superworms...

mealworms do not get very large..length about the diameter of a nickel

supers get 2"++

[Jay_Bunny]

So what makes them different from mealworms, other than size. I know mealworms should not be fed to bearded dragons because of their outer shell. Leopard geckos can handle this but wouldn't supers be too big for them?

[suzuki4life]

So what makes them different from mealworms, other than size. I know mealworms should not be fed to bearded dragons because of their outer shell. Leopard geckos can handle this but wouldn't supers be too big for them?

mealworms...put them in a substrate, add a water source and keep them warm and they will breed over and over again...

superworms need to be removed and placed individually in order to get them to morph into beetles.

yes you can feed superworms to almost anything.

[redstormlax12]

Go to faunaclassifieds, PM a guy named Magic Merlin and buy some of his turkistan roaches. These things are awsome. Adults are the size of adult crickets, and they will breed like CRAZY. They lay egg cases. The next best thing about roaches is you just put them in a container, give them heat, food, water crystals and dark and let them do their thing. In about six months im sure ill have more turks than i can deal with. I only have 7 leos so feeding them will be easy once the colony gets established. And think about the money you'll save. NO MORE CRICKETS.

As for supers being too big for leos, not even close. Ive been feeding my leos supers since around 25-30 grams and they have no problem munching them down. Granted they basically just slide them down their throat and let their stomach do all the work, they still eat em.

[jbean7916]

I've just started breeding crickets myself (today actually so we'll see how it goes)

I have 2 MHD's and everything I've read says to shy way from mealworms and supers as they can impact lizards.

[Jay_Bunny]

Mealworms are fine for geckos like leopard geckos as they can break down the outer shell of the mealworm without issues. Lizards like bearded dragons, however, cannot do that and end up getting impacted.

Good luck with your cricket breeding.

[Mettle]

For what you're planning on keeping I'd do either dubia roaches or super worms. Or both if you want two projects. With a large enough colony of either you'll be good to go.

The crickets may not be smelly now but they will be. I am rediculously allergic to them and it has only gotten worse over time. Touching them makes my skin itch and I have to take allergy pills after opening a container of just 100. I'm happy to be getting out of geckos for that reason alone.

One of my friends told me she wasn't allergic to crickets. Then she bought 1000 at an expo for a new lizard. Her and her fiance had a hard time with them in the apartment I think. Their new lizard will now be having mostly worms I think (I know she's breeding them).