So, tell me some more about what I should know when
it comes to feeding Roaches to my lizards and amphibians?
By: the Pet Editors at Pet Care Tips


Roaches are excellent food for carnivorous and
insectivorous lizards, amphibians and some birds. They are
very nutritious, easy to keep and breed, and one roach
usually provides more food than one cricket or other live
food insects.

The best species of roaches to keep for pet food are the
ones that don't fly and can't climb glass, as they are not
only much easier for your insect-eating pet to catch but you
will have many fewer problems in caring for them and
avoiding escapes.

One species that is highly recommended by experienced roach
breeders is Blaberus craniifer, commonly known as the
Death's Head Roach for the strange skull-like markings
on its thorax. Some live pet food providers sell a hybrid of
this species that is apparently a much better and faster
breeder than the wild variety, grows up to three inches
(eight centimeters) long, and can't climb glass, doesn't
fly, bears about thirty live young after a one month
gestation period, has no odor, does not bite, and makes good
nutritious lizard food.

Housing A large plastic container or a twenty gallon
aquarium with a very tight fitting fine-mesh screened lid is
the best housing for your roach colony. Line the cage
bottom with a substrate of a few inches of peat, and add
small bark tunnels or empty paper rolls for hiding places
and breeding boxes and you have your roach home.

Unless the temperature of your home stays well above
seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit (twenty-five degrees
Celsius) or higher (up to the high nineties F.), you will
need to provide heat for your tropical roaches. The simplest
method is to place a heating pad under about three quarters
of the cage, so that the roaches can have a variation of
warm to warmer in different parts of the tank. A thermometer
that can be easily viewed from outside the tank is also a
good idea.

Roaches will eat most grains, fruits and vegetables, and
a healthy varied diet of these will make the roaches much
more nutritious for your pets. A good diet for a roach
colony, for example, would be bran, oat or wheat flakes
along with small pieces of very ripe fruits and vegetables
like apple, banana, sweet potato and carrot. You can also
dust the roaches with vitamin and mineral powder just before
feeding them to your pets if you wish.

Like crickets, roaches can drown in their drinking
water. Either purchase an upside-down hanging drinking water
bottle at your pet store or simply put a shallow bowl or jar
lid filled with a sponge or cotton balls into the cage and
keep it filled with water. The sponge or cotton will soak up
the water and your roaches can drink without falling into
the water.

If you supply your roaches with warmth, plenty of high
protein food, fresh vegetables or water crystals or a water
dish for water, and adequate hiding places, they will take
care of breeding and keeping your pets well supplied with
live food. Roaches reproduce well, and females hide egg
packets, carry the egg packets around with them, or give
birth to live babies, depending on the species. Gestation is
usually around a month.


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