Roach Chow

[sablebeauty]

Wanted to post a quick question. For those of you who have roaches, what is your homemade roach chow made of? I have lots of fish food, etc sitting around that I could use (of all kinds, flakes, pellets, etc) and some dog food too.

This is the link to the dog food:
http://www.thenutrocompany.com/natural-choice-dog/puppy-food-small-bites-chicken-rice-oatmeal.aspx

Can I use this for roach chow? And do I need to blend it all up together or can I just place it in a bowl for them to eat out of?

 

[nicosgeckos]

Yes, it'll work. You can just put it all together. There's no need to blend it up.

 

[Glass_]

I just feed them dog food with the occasional fruit like oranges, apple cores, and grapes.

 

[BrilliantEraser]

I've taken whole dog kibble and just placed it throughout the cage. It's funny to watch a small roach walk around with an entire kibble piece that's as big as they are! I haven't had any die-off yet, so I figure they're surviving okay on it.

 

[jermh1]

For a little over a year I have been using retriever brand high protein its $24 at tractor supply for 50lbs and it lasts me 2-3 months. I just got a bag of old Roy from wmrt just to see how well they like it. And grinding it up does make them eat a bit faster, but it is a huge pain in the forearm, wrist, shoulder and BUTT.

 

[sablebeauty]

Thanks everyone Well if I blend it up then I'm hoping to put fishfood and other stuff in it. Would that be okay? And cant I use a blender?

 

[Glass_]

If you want to use a blender, than you can, but you don't have to. Fish food is fine.

 

[Stl_Greaser]

I use Kitten food, dog food, fish flake, and generic rolled oats. I put everything into a blender i got from goodwill for a few dollars just for this purpose. They will eat more and grow faster if the food is ground up first. Down side is you will go through more food.

 

[sablebeauty]

Well when I'm first starting out the colony should I grind the food up and then later just not bother so they'll breed slower later to avoid population overgrowth? lol

And I have alllll sorts of fish food left over from my fish days lol so I'm hoping to put it to good use *rubs hands together* But basically they'll just eat anything? And as long as it doesnt mold or rot it should be fine?

Where do yall get your water crystals from?

 

[fuzzylogix]

hey myda, the dubia you got from me were eating dog food, apples, oranges, and carrots. sometimes i would even put in a romaine lettuce core after feeding my torts. i keep an orange halve and an apple halve in there for water source. i tried using the water crystals, but they made more of a mess than i was willing to deal with. if you use lettuce cores or potato, make sure you remove it after no more than two days to prevent mold. use a coffee can lid or something similar to put the dog food, carrots, lettuce etc. you can just put the apple or orange directly in there skin side down.

 

[sablebeauty]

hey myda, the dubia you got from me were eating dog food, apples, oranges, and carrots. sometimes i would even put in a romaine lettuce core after feeding my torts. i keep an orange halve and an apple halve in there for water source. i tried using the water crystals, but they made more of a mess than i was willing to deal with. if you use lettuce cores or potato, make sure you remove it after no more than two days to prevent mold. use a coffee can lid or something similar to put the dog food, carrots, lettuce etc. you can just put the apple or orange directly in there skin side down.

Good to know! I blended up a bunch of fish food I had that was like 40% protein and stuff so here's what the setup looks like now:

And actually the containers are turned long ways now all next to each other touching the egg crates.... figured they'd crawl onto the crates and then into/on the food/water sources?

 

[C C Gecko]

Instead of starting my own thread about this maybe I can get some tips...

I have had roaches for about a week now and I see no decrease in the amount of food or water crystals.

I use dog food and oatmeal grinded into powder. They don't touch it. Same goes for the water crystals untouched. I even gave a fresh orange when I got them which they didn't touch.

My temps in the room are mid 70's to mid 80's and the temps in part of the roach bin are high 80's to 90's

 

[jermh1]

just looking at the set up here, I dont know how well the roaches can climb the foil. you have to make sure for the little guys that they can get into their food. I use old lids from my plastic ware hides, with a vessel made of aluminum screen stapled together, into a box, so everyone can climb into it.

 

[sablebeauty]

Instead of starting my own thread about this maybe I can get some tips...

I have had roaches for about a week now and I see no decrease in the amount of food or water crystals.

I use dog food and oatmeal grinded into powder. They don't touch it. Same goes for the water crystals untouched. I even gave a fresh orange when I got them which they didn't touch.

My temps in the room are mid 70's to mid 80's and the temps in part of the roach bin are high 80's to 90's

I'm having the same problem even though I moved the food/water crystals onto plastic lids and out of the foil containers. Its still not being touched so I just threw it all out and put a carrot in there, and they seem to be chewing on that. So, I guess thats what I'll be giving them from now on. LOL!

 

[Stl_Greaser]

How many roaches do you have in your colonies? I have a ton (couldn't possibly count them) and I go through an average of 90 grams of chow a day! You may just not have enough mouths to see a difference until it is all gone. I had the same concerns when I started my first colony.

With the research project I am doing all of the Females are separated. So far one spoon full of chow has lasted over a month for each female!

 

[sablebeauty]

With the research project I am doing all of the Females are separated. So far one spoon full of chow has lasted over a month for each female!

Huh. Interesting. Maybe I'm just putting too much food, etc in there and don't have enough roaches to eat it all, then. I'll try with less and see how much (if any) is gone day by day and see if I notice a difference.

 

[C C Gecko]

oh wow. I have the babies totaling 250 i was told so give or take that in one bin and at least 5 tablesppons min of chow and water crystals in their bin, about the same amount for the 4 female and 3 male adults also.

Maybe your right I just have to much in there to see it. But wouldnt it stand to reason I would see a good amount of them on the food and crystals?

 

[sablebeauty]

But wouldnt it stand to reason I would see a good amount of them on the food and crystals?

Mine are so skittish that every time I open it they're like AHHHHHHHHH light! So I couldn't even tell ya if mine are ON the food & crystals! LOL! But, I'm just gonna try for less food and less water crystals. Or keep the water crystals for the humidity and put less food in there.

Also, apparently some fruit-flies got into my bin and laid eggs on the crystals and I had to throw them all out.... is there any way to prevent this in the future? I was shocked when I found out.

 

[5HiddenLizards]

Fruit flies are annoying, and I have had a couple somehow get into my roach bins, but I haven't had them lay eggs or anything, yet. I usually just smash them when I see them. I did a double layer of insect screen for the vent in my bins, and those gnats still find a way in. I think its mostly when I have fruits for them, but I rarely put fruit/veggies in there,so I haven't had too much of a problem.