Right now I'm feeding plain oatmeal, wheat bran, ground flaxseed, granola, and powdered baby cereal mix as their "dry" foods. For moisture I'm giving small chunks of squash, pieces of carrots, and a little kale.
Full Answer
What can I Feed my dubia roaches?
To the extent you can, provide your Dubia roaches with fresh fruits and vegetables. They are very healthy, and they’re part of the Dubia roach’s natural diet. In addition to satisfying their hydration needs, they also provide excellent nutrition. Remove any uneaten food remnants from the enclosure before mold forms.
Why do roaches eat young nymphs?
The smaller/younger the roach, the more consistent care they need. Small nymphs are vulnerable to predation within a colony. Stressed adults with inadequate protein, sporadic food availability, or poor food quality, will eat young nymphs.
Can I Feed my roaches apples?
Like much of the fresh produce we feed our Dubia, apples are convenient roach cuisine because they’re available year-round. Some noteworthy advice about apples: Peel them before feeding them to your roaches.
What do you feed cockroaches?
Sometimes people “dust” these foods with vitamin or mineral powders (like vitamin A or calcium) before offering them up to their roaches. On the other end of the spectrum you have fresh, raw foods like those found in the supermarket produce aisle.
What do you feed a dubia roach?
Fresh fruits & vegetables. To the extent you can, provide your Dubia roaches with fresh fruits and vegetables. They are very healthy, and they’re part of the Dubia roach’s natural diet. In addition to satisfying their hydration needs, they also provide excellent nutrition.
What do dubia roaches need?
Dubia roaches need moisture in some form. You can meet their hydration needs with fresh fruits and vegetables, water, or both.
How long can a dubia roach go without water?
Clean and replace the water dish every few days before it dries out, or before mold starts to grow. Dubia roaches can go a long time without water, but it’s probably not very healthy for them. Nutritional Note: If you plan to feed off the roaches within a few weeks, water quality may not be critical.
How to keep roaches from tipping over?
Once you’ve chosen a hydration method that all your roaches can access, set your water dish inside the enclosure on the floor. Don’t place it where it can tip over, or where substrate or harborage can touch it. A spot on the floor with some space around it is usually best. Clean and replace the water dish every few days before it dries out, or before mold starts to grow. Dubia roaches can go a long time without water, but it’s probably not very healthy for them.
Why do roaches need lids?
Lids are often unnecessary because Dubia roaches can’t climb smooth surfaces. However, in addition to keeping things in, lids also keep things out. This may come in handy if you have pets or people who may want to check out your roaches. Also remember that Dubia roaches can climb lightly scuffed surfaces.
How hot can a dubia roach escape?
As a rule, Dubia roaches should be able to escape temperatures above 90ºF. If they can’t, they will become stressed and their health may suffer. With feeder roaches, the decision of whether or not to provide heat depends on (1) how long you’re going to keep them and (2) the temperature of your home.
What is the best way to keep roaches warm?
Whether for growth or to maintain the health of their Dubia roaches, people often boost the holding container’s temperature with a supplemental heat source. Heat pads, tape, mats, or cable, ceramic heat emitters, and light bulbs are commonly used.
What roaches are used as feeders?
Although dubia roaches and discoid roaches are the most commonly used as feeders, there are several other options available that you can add to your rotation:
How big are roaches in captivity?
Among the smallest roaches in captivity. Nymphs are roughly the same size as Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies, or 2-3mm long. Adults are less than 1/2" long.
How big is a nymph?
Ranges from 4.5mm as newborn nymphs to 3/4” - 1” as adults.
Dubia Roach Diet: “Nature” vs. Captivity
Monday
- Bananas Ripe bananas make great Dubia food. And the riper, the better. Bananas are relatively inexpensive, they’re available year-round in the United States, and they’re high in the sugars Dubia roaches love. Their natural diet includes fruit, but often only if they’re lucky. There is little doubt that fruit contributes to good roach health. In fact, the more fruit the better – to a point, of cours…
Tuesday
- We has potatoes! Potatoes (particularly sweet potatoes) are a nutritious source of calories for humans and animals alike. Roaches are no exception. If sweet potatoes are good enough for NASA(external link), they’re good enough for our roaches! Even plain white potatoes are themselves nearly a “complete” food, believe it or not. They have most of the nutrients both hum…
Wednesday
- Beets & Carrots Carrots and beets contain a range of nutrients including vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, fiber, sugars, and moisture. They are an important staple of our Dubia roach diet for several reasons. First, our roaches like them…a lot. Second, they’re among the dozen or so foods that may actually improve Dubia roach health and vitality, ba...
Thursday
- Apples As you may have guessed, fruits and vegetables are important components of the Dubia roach diet. They aren’t the only important thing, as you will see tomorrow, but they are significant – both in volume and effect. Apples contain many of the nutrients Dubia roaches need for good health. Natural sugars, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients among them. Like much of the fre…
Friday
- Today’s entrée: Super Secret Roach Chow AKA: This is where the magic happens. OK, so fruits and vegetables are important parts of the Dubia roach diet, but we’ve found that they do better with more. And by “more”, we mean other foods. Pictured is our Dubia roach chowmixed with some super secret ingredients to form about 45 pounds of “special sauce”. Actually, the rest is i…
Saturday
- Aaaaand….nothing Don’t worry. You aren’t missing anything. It’s OK to skip feedings. It may even be productive, depending on your goals, what and how you skip, and how much you feed your roaches. All things equal, many animals in the wild don’t have constant access to food. As a result, they may have evolved certain beneficial coping mechanisms (pdf)(external link). And the…
Sunday
- Oranges and Greens (tangerines, actually) We usually feed our roaches oranges, but on this day we got a great deal on tangerines. Organic tangerines, no less. We also picked up some mixed greens because that’s just how we roll! Dubia roaches love oranges specifically, but they are often picky about citrus generally. They like it sweet, not sour, and some citrus fruits more than others…