One of the most crucial aspects of caring for any animal is ensuring a nutritious and adequate diet. For cats and dogs, this is a relatively simple process. When it comes to bearded dragons, the situation becomes slightly more complicated. Which of the following is best for your beardie: crickets or roaches?
When it comes to living feeder insects for your bearded dragon, dubia roaches are a superior alternative to crickets. Dubias are less difficult to handle and store than crickets, and they do not smell or bite as much as crickets do. They are also a more nutritional food source for your bearded dragon in general. When it comes to practically everything, Dubias outperforms their counterparts. In one of our articles, you can also learn how to save money by breeding crickets for bearded dragons.
Dubia Roaches
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It grows to be between 45 and 55mm in length, making it a medium-sized cockroach species. Although their Latin name is Blaptica Dubia, they are also known as the Guyana Spotted Cockroach, the Argentinian Wood roach, and the Orange-Spotted Roach, among other names.
The male and female dubia roaches are very distinct in appearance, with the males having enormous wings and the females having only stubs on their wings. The mother will give birth to live children during reproduction when the eggs have successfully hatched within her body.
Dubia roaches are frequently cited as one of the most beneficial feeder insects for your bearded dragon’s diet. They have a high protein content and a low chitin content, and they don’t have a cricket-like odor. Since dubia roaches are meatier than other feeders, reptiles and exotic pets require less of them than other feeders. Dubia roaches for sale are relatively easy to come by, available at many pet stores and online retailers. This is because they are in high demand among reptile enthusiasts.
Not only are dubia roaches a remarkable feeder insect, but they’re also easier to store and handle for pet owners than other species of feeder insects. They can withstand temperatures as low as 62 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing pet owners to keep them at room temperature. You should feed your dubious food that will benefit your bearded dragon. In addition, one of the most significant advantages of harboring dubia roaches is that they do not emit any foul odors.
Crickets
1″ Large Adult Banded Crickets
- SUPERIOR to the European house cricket, Banded Crickets have a longer lifespan, are easier to keep, and are healthier for your pet reptiles and amphibians! See our size recommendations in the description
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Crickets are one of the most well-known feeders globally, and they can be found in almost every country. They are so lean and low in fat. They are a great source of protein. So they make excellent feeder insects for bearded dragons and leopard geckos of all ages, whether they’re young or elderly (Dubia roaches vs. crickets for leopard geckos is a complex comparison). Furthermore, they have minimal fat levels, which is beneficial for reptiles that do not have much movement in their natural environments.
When it comes to feeder insects, the cost is always a significant concern. Crickets, in particular, are among the most cost-effective of all the insects. This is because they reproduce prolifically and have a short life span. On the other hand, crickets grow to adequate sizes in a matter of weeks instead of dubia roaches and superworms. For their part, dubia roaches will need several months to grow from 14″ to 12″ in length. Breeding dubia roaches becomes increasingly difficult as a result of their poor growth rate. As a result, the entire cost increases. For this reason, crickets are pretty easy to raise, and it is simple to get crickets online and have them brought directly to your house.
Aside from their numerous advantages, crickets have some disadvantages. For example, older crickets have chitin, which is a protein. Chitin is a fibrous material that is found in their exoskeleton and is essential for their survival. As crickets grow older, their exoskeletons become firmer, which increases the amount of chitin in their bodies. In addition, bearded dragons have a difficult time digesting chitin, which can result in impaction.
Crickets, on the other hand, will eat everything. When you’re trying to breed them, this can be beneficial. However, when they start eating your pet, things don’t go so well. Some bearded dragon owners believe that their animals can coexist alongside crickets. However, the reality is that if bearded dragons do not swallow all of the crickets in a single sitting, those crickets may attempt to consume the bearded dragon as well. And the lesions they leave on the dragon’s skin can get infected, resulting in a variety of health concerns. The fact that dubia roaches and superworms won’t do this gives them a slight advantage over crickets in this situation.
Tip: 1/4” Dubia Roaches are the most nutritious.
Dubia Roaches vs. Crickets
More and more individuals are re-evaluating their choice of cricket as a feeder and considering making a move to roaches due to the increasing popularity of dubia roaches as feeders, particularly for reptiles. To understand why so many previous cricket users have switched to roaches, it’s helpful to think about some of the reasons:
Crickets have a distinct odor.
What causes crickets to smell? It isn’t that the live crickets themselves are offensively scented. The rotting flesh of dead crickets is responsible for the foul odor. This is a much bigger problem with crickets than with Dubia roaches since crickets have a significantly shorter lifespan (9 weeks versus 2 years). They dehydrate more quickly, especially when they are young.
Roaches that are well-cared after will survive for a more extended time. Even after they have died, roach keepers have discovered that they do not smell as awful as crickets.
Crickets Jump
One of the most unpleasant aspects of cricket keeping is dealing with escapees who spring out of the enclosure, jump out of the transfer container, or jump out of the reptile cage, which can be frustrating. When you’re hosting a party, seeing crickets march across your living room rug might be embarrassing. For the remainder of its 9-week life cycle, an adult cricket can readily establish a residence in your home.
Although roaches have wings, they cannot fly. They are also incapable of climbing or jumping. If the animals are kept in a well-covered enclosure, there should be no problem with escapees. It is only via a human error that a roach could escape, such as spilling the food container or failing to seal the roach or reptile enclosure securely. Roaches cannot survive in most moderate temperatures, and they are also unable to reproduce or infest.
Crickets make a lot of noise.
Adult crickets make no sound, although juvenile crickets do. Some cricket keepers have expressed their dissatisfaction with their homes’ constant sound of campgrounds.
Roaches are deafeningly quiet throughout the entirety of their two-year existence. Only the rustling sound of roaches moving around in their enclosure and consuming their roach chow would be audible in this environment.
Crickets are carriers of disease.
A common concern among individuals who use crickets as feeders is that their reptiles occasionally become infected with pinworms due to the crickets’ presence.
Neither pinworms nor any other sort of parasite can be found in roaches.
Crickets bite
The pincers that surround the crickets’ mouths do precisely what they say they pinch. Roaches are easy to deal with because they do not bite. The fact that they have “generalized chewing mandibles” is mitigated by their body design, which includes having the head tucked under the shell, making it considerably less probable that those mandibles will come into contact with a human finger or a reptile body.
Crickets do not grow as large.
Roaches are accessible in a broader range of sizes than previously. The size of newly born roach nymphs is comparable to that of freshly hatched crickets when they are young. Still, they grow to be about double the size of crickets by the time they reach adulthood, making them a good feeding alternative for keepers of both large and small reptiles.
Cricket sizes for bearded dragon
Overall, medium crickets 3 to 3 12 weeks old (1/2″ to 5/8″ long) are the most appropriate size for feeding an adult dragon. These are crickets that have retained their delicate exoskeletons to improve digestion. Crickets that are five weeks old already have stronger exoskeletons that make them more challenging to digest than younger crickets.
Crickets aren’t as meaty.
The plump, soft-bodied young cricket is in stark contrast to the stringy, fibrous adult cricket. When a cricket reaches adulthood, it appears to have less tender meat than before.
Although dubia roaches have a concrete shell, they are entirely composed of meat beneath it. According to some reports, a single full-sized roach may contain as much flesh as three to four adult crickets.
Crickets are not as nutritious.
The nutritional requirements of reptiles are a challenging topic that varies from species to species. The fact remains that all reptiles require a particular number of calories, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals to maintain their health. In general, it is known that reptiles need a diet that is strong in protein and low in fat, as opposed to mammals.
In addition, they require vitamins and minerals. Calcium, which helps build strong bones; vitamin D3, which aids in the metabolism of calcium; and phosphorus, which aids in the metabolism of fats and protein, are among the most important. When there is too much calcium, the phosphorus is unable to do its function. When there is too much phosphorus, the calcium is unable to do its role.
What is the Best Way to Feed Dubia Roaches to a Bearded Dragon?
Dubia roaches are relatively simple to feed to a bearded dragon because they cannot fly, climb glossy surfaces, or jump, among other things. As a result, a small ceramic or shiny plastic bowl or dish works well for feeding them.
Because dubia roaches can be gut-loaded for several days before being fed to your bearded dragon, they make ideal bearded dragon bug feeders. As well as providing valuable nutrients, Dubia roaches will consume sweet veggies that are well-hydrated, which will aid in keeping your bearded dragon hydrated.
Dubia roaches are, as a result, a very adaptable bug species. You can feed them inside or outside the tank if one of them manages to escape. If they manage to escape, they will not develop or breed in your house unless your house is maintained highly and warm. Essentially, this implies that you can scatter them on the floor and let your bearded dragon catch them if you so like.
In addition, unlike locusts, crickets, or mealworms, dubia roaches do not nip or bite as frequently as other insects. This means that if you have to leave them in the vivarium, they’re relatively safe to do so. Leaving any insect feeder in the vivarium is not recommended, but if you really must, Dubias are the insects to use for this purpose!
Adding dubia roaches to a salad dish will help stimulate your bearded dragon’s appetite and encourage him to eat more of his salad. To improve the calcium intake of your bearded dragon, both the Dubia and the salad can and should be coated with calcium powder before serving.
Do I Need to Feed My Bearded Dragon Dubia Roaches Regularly?
Dubia Roaches can be fed to adult bearded dragons once or twice a week, depending on their size. To keep things interesting, we recommend mixing up the diet with various bugs from time to time. However, Dubia roaches can be considered the main food item. If you can’t get your hands on anything else, Dubias will do just fine, giving a well-balanced nutritional spectrum all around.
Baby bearded dragons can also consume Dubia roaches, which is the type of food we recommend for young bearded dragons. They do, however, need to be adequately sized — make sure the breadth of the Dubia roach is no greater than the distance between the newborn bearded dragon’s eyes, and you should be fine. In comparison to many other insects, dubias contain significantly less chitin in their exoskeleton, making them an excellent choice for raising juvenile bearded dragons.
Give your bearded dragon as many Dubia roaches as they will consume in about ten minutes to get an idea of how many to feed him. Alternatively, they can be placed in a dish and taken off one (or two) at a time.
Can I Feed my Bearded Dragon Dried Dubia Roaches? Or how to keep dubia roaches for bearded dragons?
Dried Dubia roaches are available from a variety of sources, including internet retailers and pet stores. Dried Dubia roaches are not a good choice for a bearded dragon’s diet. When you have a bearded dragon, part of the enjoyment is seeing it catch its bugs, and if you use dried bugs, you will miss out on that part of the experience.
Furthermore, the dried bugs will do absolutely nothing to assist your bearded dragon in maintaining proper hydration. Finally, the dried form of the bugs has less nutritional value than the live form of the bugs, simply because you cannot gut load dried Dubias and must rely on them having been pre-gut-loaded before drying.
How many dubia roaches to feed a bearded dragon?
A full-grown bearded dragon may consume three to five Dubia roaches during two to three feedings every day. In comparison, you’ll need higher numbers of Dubia roaches for newborn bearded dragons. They consume 25 to 50 of these insects each day on average, and they can be fed numerous times during the day.
Conclusion
Thanks for reading our blog post. If you are interested in purchasing Dubia roaches or any other live feeder, we can link to the supplier we use. We hope that this article has been helpful and informative! Always buy dubia roaches from a reputable breeder. Never try to go for dubia roaches for bearded dragons that are on sale.
Read More: Baby Bearded Dragon For Sale: Buying Guide For 2024
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