What to not feed your feeder roaches

[Keitone]

I was wondering if there is anything I should not feed my roaches. I always have fruit and vegetables around. Are strawberries, kiwi, etc ok? I know to stay away from peppers but anything else?

Thanks
Keith

 

[Srt14292]

Chillies?

 

[Tony C]

I would stay away from foods high in oxalates, most feeder insects already have a low Ca ratio, and you don't want to make that worse.

 

[RampantReptiles]

arent there some fruits your not sposed to give cresties, might be an issue with leos as well... not sure
Well the leos arent eating it but indirectly

 

[Shera]

I would stay away from foods high in oxalates, most feeder insects already have a low Ca ratio, and you don't want to make that worse.

Hmm, interesting, I hadn't heard about this before. I had to look it up, but oxalates bind metal ions (such as calcium ions) which would increase the ratio of phosphorus ions to calcium ions in the feeders.

Here is a list of foods high in oxalates.

 

[Khrysty]

Hmm, interesting, I hadn't heard about this before. I had to look it up, but oxalates bind metal ions (such as calcium ions) which would increase the ratio of phosphorus ions to calcium ions in the feeders.

Here is a list of foods high in oxalates.

Interesting. This says that potatoes and wheat germ (some of the more common feeder foods) are high in oxalates. Should we not be giving these to our feeders?

 

[Shera]

Interesting. This says that potatoes and wheat germ (some of the more common feeder foods) are high in oxalates. Should we not be giving these to our feeders?

I'm not sure, I just made a mix of oats (also high in oxalates), and wheat bran (with a few other things too), for my supers today :anxious:.

I found this site too, and in the grains section it says cornflakes are low. Maybe cornmeal would be a good food for feeders?

 

[Khrysty]

I usually use a combination of whole wheat flour and powdered milk. I wonder if switching the wheat flour to corn meal is a good idea. But I thought I remembered reading somewhere that we shouldn't use corn-based things. I can't remember where, though..

 

[Shera]

I usually use a combination of whole wheat flour and powdered milk. I wonder if switching the wheat flour to corn meal is a good idea. But I thought I remembered reading somewhere that we shouldn't use corn-based things. I can't remember where, though..

That's the thing, I don't want to switch from the tried and true methods to something low in oxalates only to find out that it's doing something far worse or causing my feeders to be in poor health, which in turn makes them less nutritious when I was trying to make them more healthy.

 

[Tony C]

Corn products can be risky if they mold, because they grow a toxic fungus called Fusarium verticilloides. I do use wheat and oat bran for my mealworms and superworms, but I also use them as a much smaller part of the diet than many people, preferring active prey like crickets and roaches.

 

[Shera]

Corn products can be risky if they mold, because they grow a toxic fungus called Fusarium verticilloides. I do use wheat and oat bran for my mealworms and superworms, but I also use them as a much smaller part of the diet than many people, preferring active prey like crickets and roaches.

Oh, that's not good.

While googling I found that supers like cabbage, which is very low in oxalate and high in calcium, so that might be a good thing to use to help the percentages. I'm sure OP could try using cabbage with the roaches too.

 

[BrilliantEraser]

Would it help to add powdered calcium carbonate (36% calcium, no phosphorous) to the wheat bran, if used as a feeder substrate?

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

I have looked into the calcium binding properties of wheat bran and tried to make my own substrate for a bit and while it was a pain to make it did make the mealworms grow really large haha I have noticed chick feed makes the mealworms grow pretty large as well.

 

[Tony C]

Would it help to add powdered calcium carbonate (36% calcium, no phosphorous) to the wheat bran, if used as a feeder substrate?

High calcium diets may help to balance the Ca ratio, but they will also result in high insect mortality after about 48 hours, so should be fed for a short time prior to feeding them to your geckos, not as a staple diet.

 

[Khrysty]

Would it help to add powdered calcium carbonate (36% calcium, no phosphorous) to the wheat bran, if used as a feeder substrate?

I use powdered milk in my substrate to add to the calcium content with my mealworms. They grow large, mature, and reproduce. There is no problem with a high die-off rate

 

[Tony C]

I use powdered milk in my substrate to add to the calcium content with my mealworms. They grow large, mature, and reproduce. There is no problem with a high die-off rate

Powdered milk contains on average about 13 grams calcium per kg milk, 36% Calcium carbonate contains 360 grams per kg calcium. That is a huge difference.

 

[BrilliantEraser]

Powdered milk, eh? Good to keep in mind! I'm starting the mealworm-breeding project (between me and my friends, we go through a crap-ton of mealworms weekly!), and I just got 8 pupae today.

Is it weird to be so excited about the prospect of having beetles in my home?

 

[Khrysty]

Powdered milk contains on average about 13 grams calcium per kg milk, 36% Calcium carbonate contains 360 grams per kg calcium. That is a huge difference.

I know -- that's why I offered that as sort of an alternative to calcium carbonate

 

[Khrysty]

Powdered milk, eh? Good to keep in mind! I'm starting the mealworm-breeding project (between me and my friends, we go through a crap-ton of mealworms weekly!), and I just got 8 pupae today.

Is it weird to be so excited about the prospect of having beetles in my home?

Lol nope, not weird. Word of caution though: darkling beetles stink! They have this weird awful smell when they're scared or something. It's icky lol

 

[BrilliantEraser]

Hmm, never read about that in any of the literature I found when I was doing my research. Maybe I'll keep them out in the garage or shed. Heat tape should be sufficient when it gets cold outside, right?