Could use some advice and suggestions please!

[Ozy]

Ok, so I have a dubia colony. Right now they haven't made babies because I've only had them a couple of weeks. BUT, I do have about 75 roaches to feed Ozy. She will eat a couple of small roaches and then won't eat anymore, sometimes she won't eat any. The ONLY thing she gobbles up is mealworms. I don't mind giving her mealworms, but I want her to have a healthier staple insect. (She HATES crickets, and so do I) Any ideas on how to get her to eat the roaches and stop obsessing over the mealworms? The only way I've been able to get her to eat a couple of the smalls is by giving her 3 or 4 mealworms first and getting her all excited, then I'll toss a couple of dubia in there and since she's in eat mode, she will eat them.. Then she gives me the "stink eye" and turns her nose up at any other dubia I try to give her. Yet, soon as I put a mealworm in there she is ALL OVER IT. I don't want my roach colony to go to waste when they start making babies!! She is healthy and strong with a super fat tail. Maybe starve her for a few days, then just give her roaches? But I feel so bad doing that!!

 

[Kristi23]

She probably won't need to eat as many roaches since they are bigger and meatier. I would just keep giving her what she'll eat and monitor her weight. I feed my adults dubias every 4 days and many of them only eat 2-3. They're all at healthy weights.

 

[Lindz0518]

Maybe just hold off on feeding her a couple days, you would be starving her , it would just make her more likely to gobble up whatever is moving. I get in the bad habit of thinking that my 2 leos need to eat everyday, like dogs or other animals do. I still feed the new guy everyday but he is only a juvenile, but I have figured out that my girl actually eats better on an every other day schedule. Instead of her only eating 2 crickets a day ( I am going to try dubia soon, crickets stink but my 2 LOVE them ) she eats 6-7 every other day. You will figure out what she prefers, from what I've read of your post she has an attitude like my girl!

 

[Ozy]

Yea, you can tell she hasn't missed any meals.. Here are a couple of pics for you! LOL! She is the biggest brat. So it's ok that they are small ones? Like they are REALLY small... 1/4 and under.

 

[Lindz0518]

Her chubby tail cracks me up. I have read that they have to eat less of the dubia but I am not sure how many of what size is needed to maintain a healthy weight. I was going to order 50 of the 1/4 next week just to see how they liked them, I wanted to make sure the little guy was big enough to eat them, but he is growing like crazy, over double in size in just a few weeks!

 

[Ozy]

LOL! That's what everyone loves.. her super fat tail. She's soooo neglected. *sarcasm* Sounds like your baby is growing like a weed! Ozy did that when I first brought her home. She was the smallest and least dominant one at P*tco, poor baby. So ever since I brought her home I have spoiled her rotten. As fat as her tail is I would think she would just drag it along... Nope, she holds it straight out when she walks and waves it around and all that, like it's nothing. LOL

 

[Lindz0518]

Yeah he was so skinny when I got him. He is a PIG now!! Both of mine are so spoiled it's ridiculous. When I disrupt my girl I catch myself apologizing to her, lol! I attached a pic of the first day I had Loki and then one from today, then one of my girl for fun .

 

[Lindz0518]

Well one didn't work, I will try again

 

[Ozy]

ADORABLE! LOVE THEM! :sweetheart: This is what Ozy looked like the day I brought her home. She could probably stand to lose a couple of grams now.. hahaha! Gave her the last of the mealworms I had last night.. This morning she saw me and got in her "food time" hide. I dropped a roach in there, it ran off, put another one on it's back and she reluctantly ate it. Put another in there and she give me a dirty look and stalked back into her humid hide. LOL!

 

[Lindz0518]

So cute!! Mine are reluctant with mealworms like Ozy is roaches, they don't move fast enough to get them in hunting mode. I really hope she comes around, since you started a colony. Some are so picky! My girl will only eat crickets if they are dusted, now that I use Repashy it's fine but before I switched I was worried about her getting too much. I would drop a cricket in there w/out calcium or multivitamin on it and she would look at it, sniff it, then slowly back away lol.

 

[Ozy]

LOL!