# Cat food for Roaches - to crush or not to crush?



## ljkenny (Mar 5, 2007)

... That, is the question!


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## Rico (Jan 5, 2007)

ljkenny said:


> ... That, is the question!


I used to put mine through a blender but now I just give it to them as they are.


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## Wabbit (Aug 26, 2009)

I don't crush it up, they manage it just fine.


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## imginy (Jun 14, 2009)

Are you lot talking about the biscuits or the meat?


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## Freakinfreak (May 13, 2009)

imginy said:


> Are you lot talking about the biscuits or the meat?


Don't know if you can really crust the meat lol, so i'd suspect biccies? : victory:


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## SCI (Feb 28, 2006)

Get it in a blender.


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## imginy (Jun 14, 2009)

Freakinfreak said:


> Don't know if you can really crust the meat lol, so i'd suspect biccies? : victory:


Oh ok then I crush mine with a rollin pin on the a choppin board they love it


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## ljkenny (Mar 5, 2007)

Excellent, cheers chaps.

I think I'll give it to them 'as is' for now.


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## gravitation (Nov 4, 2009)

What are your roaches being fed to?

I've never used cat/dog food but i always assumed i should be using whatever the species eats to gutload.

My roaches get everything my beardies do, bok choy, carrot etc.


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

i feed mine premium crushed catfood, blended and mixed with blended sinking pellets for fish, and then mixed and blended with a cuttle fish. makes a very healthy and protien and calcium rich staple for them, i put it on on livefood tub lids either side of a RUB, and put veg in weekly and they love it. just bought a huge orange today since people recommeded it


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## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

*Elephant talk*

I know this isn't answering the question BUT I have 5 very large cultures of dubia roaches. I have many, many thousands of adults let alone the young. They are doing very well indeed. I have been breeding them for several years now. Mine get chicken mash and veg/fruit. To put things in perspective my roaches eat more chicken mash every day (about 5 times more) than my 10 chickens !

It is possible that they would do better with cat biscuits. But I suspect animal protein is unnatural for roaches. I see no evidence that they need cat biscuits, and they certainly thrive without it.


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## Rico (Jan 5, 2007)

Blaptica said:


> I know this isn't answering the question BUT I have 5 very large cultures of dubia roaches. I have many, many thousands of adults let alone the young. They are doing very well indeed. I have been breeding them for several years now. Mine get chicken mash and veg/fruit. To put things in perspective my roaches eat more chicken mash every day (about 5 times more) than my 10 chickens !
> 
> It is possible that they would do better with cat biscuits. But I suspect animal protein is unnatural for roaches. I see no evidence that they need cat biscuits, and they certainly thrive without it.


I think alot of the protein in cheap cat biscuits is veg protein. Youre probably right about not needing much animal protein but they would probably scavenge the odd dead animal in the wild. Whats in chicken mash?


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## ljkenny (Mar 5, 2007)

gravitation said:


> What are your roaches being fed to?
> 
> I've never used cat/dog food but i always assumed i should be using whatever the species eats to gutload.
> 
> My roaches get everything my beardies do, bok choy, carrot etc.


They are being fed to Geckos, who are primarily insectivores. 



Blaptica said:


> I know this isn't answering the question BUT I have 5 very large cultures of dubia roaches. I have many, many thousands of adults let alone the young. They are doing very well indeed. I have been breeding them for several years now. Mine get chicken mash and veg/fruit. To put things in perspective my roaches eat more chicken mash every day (about 5 times more) than my 10 chickens !
> 
> It is possible that they would do better with cat biscuits. But I suspect animal protein is unnatural for roaches. I see no evidence that they need cat biscuits, and they certainly thrive without it.


Chicken mash sounds expensive. I wouldn't know where to get it from either.

I'm fairly sure that most people, both here and the US feed their Roaches cat or dog food and seem to do very well on it.


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## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

Rico said:


> I think alot of the protein in cheap cat biscuits is veg protein. Youre probably right about not needing much animal protein but they would probably scavenge the odd dead animal in the wild. Whats in chicken mash?


I could be wrong but I think it is pretty much all animal protein. Cats unlike dogs are not good at absorbing veg proteins.

Chicken mash here includes maize, wheat, soya meal (high protein & easily absorbed) barley, sunflower seeds, oyster shell (calcium source) and various vits.


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## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

ljkenny said:


> Chicken mash sounds expensive. I wouldn't know where to get it from either.
> 
> I'm fairly sure that most people, both here and the US feed their Roaches cat or dog food and seem to do very well on it.


Chicken mash is hideously expensive at around 12 euros (£11) for 25 kilos ! Backyard chickens are getting very popular in the the UK so I have read. I bet its fairly easy to get now.

I am not suggesting anything is wrong with using cat/dog foods but I wonder if anybody has ever set up two identical containers with the the same heating and same no. of roaches and compared two seperate diets. I keep hearing the advice and am just saying it MIGHT not be the the best way.


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## ljkenny (Mar 5, 2007)

Blaptica said:


> Chicken mash is hideously expensive at around 12 euros (£11) for 25 kilos ! Backyard chickens are getting very popular in the the UK so I have read. I bet its fairly easy to get now.


The reason I'm breeding my own Roaches is to save money.

I want to do this the cheapest way possible.

Do you think dog food would be better than cat food then?



Blaptica said:


> I am not suggesting anything is wrong with using cat/dog foods but I wonder if anybody has ever set up two identical containers with the the same heating and same no. of roaches and compared two seperate diets. I keep hearing the advice and am just saying it MIGHT not be the the best way.


Agreed.


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## Blaptica (Jun 26, 2008)

ljkenny said:


> The reason I'm breeding my own Roaches is to save money.
> 
> I want to do this the cheapest way possible.
> 
> ...


"Breeding your own" It is also a good opertunity to produce better quality food for your reptiles than you can buy. So cheapest isn't always the best. Not sure on dog food vs cat food. Somebody needs to do some tests !!

Its worth noting though that professional cricket breeders use chicken mash as far as I know. They should know what they are doing. I would suspect that black crickets and silent crickets in particular are more likely to eat animal protein in the wild as compared to dubia roaches.


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## imginy (Jun 14, 2009)

Blaptica said:


> I know this isn't answering the question BUT I have 5 very large cultures of dubia roaches. I have many, many thousands of adults let alone the young. They are doing very well indeed. I have been breeding them for several years now. Mine get chicken mash and veg/fruit. To put things in perspective my roaches eat more chicken mash every day (about 5 times more) than my 10 chickens !
> 
> It is possible that they would do better with cat biscuits. But I suspect animal protein is unnatural for roaches. I see no evidence that they need cat biscuits, and they certainly thrive without it.


Hey thanks I was going to ask you what you feed yours I will get some chicken mash and see how that go's I should imagine a kilo of it would go along way and I think over here it is only about 1.50 a kilo :2thumb:


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## lottus321 (Oct 16, 2007)

Mine have just about everything going. I have recently introduced meat to there diet, At the moment they are finnishing off a few peices of KFC. 
The dubia roaches are muching away on this as they do with most things, but ive also given it to my Turks and ive never seen them so active and reproducing quicker than ever.

Dont know if this is down to meat being introduced to the diet but i will keep it in the diet.

I dont crush any of the food, they seems to eat it just fine as it is.


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