crickets or roaches ?

[pkrtech]

is there a reason most are mentioning crickets but not roaches for leopard geckos.

 

[malt_geckos]

we use roaches instead of crickets because they don't stink, are very good for the geckos, and breed very easily. We use dubia roaches. I like them very much and so do our geckos.

 

[wings2fly]

I think a lot of people can not stand the though of having roaches in their house.
Also, the price of roaches is higher... but there are other pros.

I feed my geckos dubia roaches.

Carin

 

[pkrtech]

thank you both

 

[Paco]

I think Roaches are really just starting to catch on as feeders over here in the US. They have been using them in Europe for a while. Plus as Carin said we have a stimga with roaches over here in the US. But I have a feeling they will be become one of the main staples for leos in the future. The price is Very High for Certain Species of roaches right now because they are such new feeders, 200-300 Dubia run anywhere from $60-300 depending on size and the vendor. Thats Thousands and Thousands of Crickets. But as we see their popularity increase the prcie will drop. Hopefully one day they will be a cheap as crickets, they are a much better feeder. Plus Reptile Breeders with very Large Colonies could not afford the food bill if they were to feed with Certain species of roaches at this point in time. For small breeders it works fine. Imagine having to purchase 100,000 Dubia every month, which replace 300,000 meal worms, that would not be cheap. It's a better feeder but 100 times the price right now. Also I don't think anyone has a Dubia colony big enough to supply the Big breeders at this time. But that will soon all change.

 

[Kristi23]

We use dubias, too. I tried crickets and couldn't stand the smell. Plus, too many would escape. Most of my geckos love the roaches.

 

[gothra]

I like the dubias much much more than crickets. They don't smell, won't chirp, and I don't need to pull off the evil jumping legs...to conclude, I hate crickets. lol.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Had I known about roaches as a nutritious food source for my geckos 10 years ago, I probably would have been using them as a staple food now. I believe they are probably a better food source than cricket.