# Locusts vs Dubia Roaches



## akachewy (May 19, 2010)

Im looking to get my wee gecko abit more exercise (and entertainment for me) and thought id introduce her to either Locusts or Roaches, giving crickets a miss from previous excapees and several cans of fly spray latter).

Ive a couple of questions if someone could answer 

1. What ones are less likely to escape?
2. If they escape, will the cause a problem with an infestation?
3. What ones are preferred in general by a Leo
4. Are there any that might cause the leo to ignore mealies (heard locusts can some times do this)

Many Thanks for your previous help folks
Cheers


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## beardiebabe (Aug 6, 2010)

locusts are addictive to most reptiles i have loads of beardies and they prefer the locust to cricx or mealies but the roaches are supposed to be high in the good stuff and they are supposed to love them too the only thing u dont really want them getting in the house


hope this helps:2thumb:


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## ch4dg (Jul 24, 2008)

we have a breeding colony of dubias(going for bout 2yrs)-as long as they're cared for they can be one of the best live food sources.
they cant climb up glass, plastic or bowl edges etc so they rarely escape, but most house holds dont provide the right conditions for them to cause a mass infestation we've had one or two escapees and so far no sign of an infestation


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## Burpy (Jul 16, 2010)

beardiebabe said:


> locusts are addictive to most reptiles i have loads of beardies and they prefer the locust to cricx or mealies but the roaches are supposed to be high in the good stuff and they are supposed to love them too the only thing u dont really want them getting in the house
> 
> 
> hope this helps:2thumb:


I must add to this that with the roaches, it really depends on which ones you get. 

Turks are fast, and they'll give you gecko a workout, but they are fast if they escape too. I've been told they can't climb smooth surfaces, but if they are loose in your viv then they could hide quicker than your gecko gets them, and then you could have escapees. Have a word with a turk owner, there are plenty on here, Check out the classifieds. 

There are other types of roach that can climb and escape very easily, but most stick to either turks or dubbies becasue of that. 

I use dubia for my dragon, she loves them. See my vids here: YouTube - Kiwi tucking into Dubia Roaches
YouTube - Kids feeding Kiwi Dubia Roaches

As you can see, these really can't escape, even from a little shallow pet food bowl, and you can feed them in the open cause their not that quick either.

Bonus is that they are way better for your lizard than crix, don't jump or make any noise. Should they escape by some chance, without high temps and a ready supply of moisture, these will be dead within a couple of days. So nothing to worry about unless your house is 30c with a leaky pipe!!


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## akachewy (May 19, 2010)

Cheers for all your info!!!
Im happy that the Leo is happy with mealworms and i wouldnt want to introduce another food that will turn her of them. So just to be 100% sure, Roaches are less likely to put her off than locusts would?

Cheers again!!


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## Burpy (Jul 16, 2010)

akachewy said:


> Cheers for all your info!!!
> Im happy that the Leo is happy with mealworms and i wouldnt want to introduce another food that will turn her of them. So just to be 100% sure, Roaches are less likely to put her off than locusts would?
> 
> Cheers again!!


I would say so, roaches are more of a staple. My dragon goes balistic for locusts and would happily eat nothing else if I let her. But my pockets are not that deep and my wife point blank refuses to let me try and breed them :devil:

But she loves her roaches too. Although I've never fed mealworms, she quite happily munches through her morio worms as well as the roaches, so i don't see why you should have any probs.


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