this is my personal, non-expert, experience with feeder roaches right now I am keeping 5 different species of roaches: dubias, hissers, turkistans, and two blaberus species I started out with the dubias. They were supposed to be treats, but since they had given birth in transit to my house, I took that as a sign, and yes - that batch (35 I think) has since grown to a couple of colonies. The beardie likes them, but the frogs only when they're really hungry, and the tarantula soso. There are always plenty to donate to the rescue. After this instant success I had to try other species. The hissers produce much much slower, and really just make an occasional snack, but young hissers are apparently quite delectable (I've got a super picky beardie - he let's me know). the biggest disadvantage with the hissers is that they can climb glass and plastic and the babies do (the adults don't seem to bother) The blaberus species I've got (craniifer & fusca) are a little less popular with my animals, but the adults grow tubby and are popular with my friend's monitors - mid-level reproductive yield. and because they have shiny wings, I think they're attractive. They do not climb or fly. the turks are great - the frogs love them, and they're the only roaches I've got that are smallish as adults and move a lot. Somehow I haven't quite figured out how to cycle them, and from time to time I either end up with a ballooning population or - like right now - I need to wait for a batch to mature into adults. They need substrate to reproduce, which the dubias don't. They're reputed to not climb glass or plastic, but I've had some turn up in places they weren't supposed to be, and believe that possibly they can do wing-assisted jumps. The other notable thing about them is that they're wickedly fast and nearly impossible to catch. Their colouring is pretty. right now I have a total of six colonies, totaling perhaps 500 insects and constantly reproducing, all together taking up the amount of space of a 20G long tank, and no smell worth mentioning, with maintenance taking up less than 15 minutes twice per week. From this I feed two beardies, five dumpy frogs, a tarantula, some feeder lizards, and donate to the rescue. I've not had much luck getting any of them sold at expos in the area, despite the fact that I price them ridiculously low, so that folks might consider them as a treat for their lizard, but nobody's ever much interested. I remember looking at dubias at the expo, before I got mine, and thinking that they were pricey. Now I just think they're not a great business, because once you've got them going, you never have to buy them again, but it's hard to make them as cheap as crickets, and most people don't see the advantages. Raising them is no big deal, but I find selling them a hassle, so I end up giving them to the rescue. hopefully someone will find this helpful cheers - rhea
very much indeed. i only wish i could tell the difference between one another ,my babies dont seem to appreciate woodies at all, except occasionally, so may be is because that particular one that i buy is not of their taste, yes they can climb glass and is very annoying to tell you the truth, i hate them, but the only one available for me is the one that i buy on the pet shop. thank you for the info
