# Which feeder roach?



## Beardy Boy97 (Dec 13, 2011)

Hi, I am looking to start a roach colony again for feeding to my lizards. I had some dubias before but I had to leave them for a year to let them get established to feed to my leopard gecko. I now have a beardy, leopard gecko and a fat tailed gecko. I have been looking at lobster roaches and red runner roaches. I have read that these tend to breed a bit quicker. I am happy to leave the colony to establish, but I don't really want to have to wait a year again. What roach would people recommended?

Thanks for any replies:2thumb:


----------



## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

*Turkestan roach*

Hello, im a large roach breeder with 20 odd species.

Lobsters stink so bad once you get over 2000 in a tub and because they climb and are really fast you will expect escapees all the time even with tape or Vaseline around the top. We no longer breed these smelly things.

Dubias are a slow breeder there larger but they cost a lot more to buy they may take longer to get a good colony going but there a good feeder.

Turkestan roach/red runner are the fastest breeder we have that does not climb and these are now being sold in pet shops because there such a good feeder. For a colony of 1000 is a good starter and will produce hundreds every month. but if you need 500+ roaches a month then a colony of 2000+ will be better.

We have many roaches on offer http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...estan-roach-shelfordella-lateralis-large.html
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/food-classifieds/965808-lots-cockroaches-offer.html
If you need any help pm me


----------



## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

*Turkestan roach*

Turkestan roach/red runner are the fastest breeder we have that does not climb and these are now being sold in pet shops because there such a good feeder. For a colony of 1000 is a good starter and will produce hundreds every month. but if you use 500+ roaches a month then a colony of 2000+ will be better.

We have many roaches on offer http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...estan-roach-shelfordella-lateralis-large.html


----------



## Beardy Boy97 (Dec 13, 2011)

Hi, thanks for the explanation do you think that red runners would be big enough for a beardy?


----------



## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

Hello,
Mine eat them there larger them crickets with a bit more bulk (meat) on them.
There bright red so even lazy lizards like dragons will chase them.
the best thing is theirs no noise.
I also breed crickets but im giving them the axe soon as turks just breed faster and are a much better livefood to feed your pet.


----------



## Beardy Boy97 (Dec 13, 2011)

Hi, I have been reading that red runners do climb and are quite fast is this true?


----------



## buddah (Dec 23, 2009)

i had a go at trying to breed turkistan roaches with no luck what so ever they lay plenty ooths , but none of mine hatched so i give up on them. Yeah they are very very fast but they con not climb , but they can fly ive seen a couple of male take a short flight.


----------



## Beardy Boy97 (Dec 13, 2011)

Ok, I not to bothered about speed I just don't want them climbing. I may have found a solution to ooths not hatching, apparently they need quite high humidity so that could have been the problem


----------



## mrhoyo (Mar 29, 2007)

I had lateralis roaches and they multiplied rapidly. All the lizards liked them too.
The issues I had were:
They're only about as big as a cricket when adult and take a few months to get there. A cricket takes a few weeks.

They're fast. More predictable than a cricket or locust as they don't jump but can be hard for large or slow lizards to catch.

They smell. They leave tonnes of roach egg cases around which eventually start to stink. If you replace the egg trays and clean the tub you'll end up losing loads of potential nymphs. 

The very worst part of breeding them is that they escape. I had them in a lidded tub and found them everywhere. Turning the light on and seeing them climbing the walls was the final straw. When I tried catching them some jumped off and "flew" across the room.
It was almost a year after getting rid of them that we finally stopped finding them around the house. 


They'd be a brilliant feeder if all the animals were kept in an outbuilding or something but I dont recommend keeping them inside. 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

Beardy Boy97 said:


> Hi, I have been reading that red runners do climb and are quite fast is this true?





buddah said:


> i had a go at trying to breed turkistan roaches with no luck what so ever they lay plenty ooths , but none of mine hatched so i give up on them. Yeah they are very very fast but they con not climb , but they can fly ive seen a couple of male take a short flight.


Hello they cant climb smooth surfaces to slow them down reduce the heat (cool them down)

They may not have been turks as I have had millions over the years and I have never seen one fly. There are so many roaches that look just like turks and get sold as them.
If you cant get egg cases to hatch add more heat and water gel for humidity it works for all my colonys.


----------



## Beardy Boy97 (Dec 13, 2011)

I think I have decided against getting red runners. I think I will get some dubias again. I could deal with red runners escaping and I think my mum would make me move house and never talk to me again if she found them climbing the walls :lol2:


----------



## ExoticInsectsUK (Nov 15, 2008)

Hello Dubias are a great roach but they cost a lot more money to buy and take ages to feed from unless you buy thousands and only need smalls for a few months. Larger colony's breed better with this species.
Before you get any make sure your setup is good enough as many people on here seem to have a problem with there roaches escaping and its not down to the roach its down to the setup not being right.
If you have the right setup then you wont get any climbing the walls :lol2: I have had this myself but with a climbing species and it was down to using a rub which are not high enough rather then a normal plastic tub.
Make sure that the egg crates are about 3" below the top of the tub and you should not have a problem.


----------

