Todays post is one of those creepy posts which include many gross, craeling, and weird photos... So as you read this remember: this is not for the faint of heart...
Roaches:
Dubia Roaches are a species of roaches form central and south america. They are around 2 inches in adult length. Dont be afraid. They are high in protine and have an amazing meat to shell ratio. That sounds nasty but it is still very important to know how much actual food your pet is getting. Another creepy plus is that Dubia roaches are soft shelled so impaction is less of a problem. Dubias do not climb smooth surfaces but they have been known to jump as high as 8" but this isn't common. Make sure you have a lid if your container is lower then about 10". All you need is fruit and egg cartons. Some use substrate which is nice for the roaches but hard when you are trying to fish them out of the dirt for feed its a bit anoying. They can either eat somekind of roach chow and water crystals or fruit and veggies.
Pros: one roach = 4-5 crickets, High protien, easy to breed, not smelly, easy to breed, they live for a long time, and have soft shells
Cons: They need heat, they need moisture, they die in the presence of mold, their ROACHES!
Crickets:
These little things are annoying! Crickets are the classic feeder insect but they are one of the most annoying. They are a good baseline amount of protien and fat and are easy to buy. But they do jump, smell like the dead, escape, and have a short lifespan. They will eat just about anything so as long as they have a sorce of water which isnt in a dish ( they'll drown). Crickets are good to start with but are NOT good for breeding. Breeding is easier to do then wax worms and super worms but the nymphs are a nightmare to keep contained. And the nymphs can climb smooth glass so no matter what people tell you they will climb the glass
Pros: Easy to buy, easy to find and modiratly easy to care for.
Cons:Extreamy Smelly!, climbers, jumpers, and they chirp... loudly...
Mealworms:
Meal Worms are the larve of the Darkling beetle. they are about an inch long and are very thin. First DO NOT go down the mealworm path. Meal worms have a lot of chitin in their shells. Chitin is a hard to digest and meal worms have a LOT of chitin. This can cause impation which is when food builds up in the digestive system until theres enough to block the system. Its nasty stuff so if you need to get meal worms only feed your lizard the freashly molted ones. You can tell this becuse they will be a waxy white color. You need to also take your mealies out of the fridge and into a special container which where the can fill with wheat bran and a slice of potato.
Pros: Extreamly easy to care for, simple to feed to your lizard, and are easy to breed.
Cons: They escape the feeding dish, Way too much chitin, And they have a slightly short life span.
Wax Woms:
Wax worms are catapillers of the wax moth. There abou 1/2-3/4 inches long and are waxy white. Be careful with these becuse they are very fatty. Also make sure to check the container that you get becuse there a bit expensive and somtimes the container is full of dead ones! O_O T
hey are mostly fat and have little protine. These are good treats for little lizards but arew too fatty for adults.
Pros:
fatty, delishous, and nourishing
Cons:
Too fatty, die easily, impossible to breed/
Pill Bugs/Sow Bugs:
These are... an odd choice of food. Ive used these a few times when Ive run out of food but don't use these. While they will work you need a very strong lizard to eat them. There shells are very hard and are filled with chitin so try and stay away from these.
Pros: none.
Cons: too much chitin, possible parasite risk, etc
Lizards:
Leopard geckos are SUPER easy to care for. There are five main things to take care of :
Heat, Food, Water, vitamins, and the tank.
Heat: You need two lights. a day and a night light. Depending on your climate and tank size you will need a diffrent wattage. The lights must not BE UV! These will KILL your lizard! A night light can be one of two things: A clay light or a red glass.
Food: Read above for the correct food choices.
Water: So You need water conditioner. This basicly takes out chemicals which can damage you lizard.
Vitamins: You need calcium dust which you can either leave in a dish in there tank or dusted on crickets. You also need D3 vitamins used the same way as the calcium.
Tank: So the rule is that you start with a 10 Gallon tank and add 2.5 gallons per lizard.
3 lizards = 15 gallon. 1 lizard = 10 gallons
But you can keep two lizards in one 10 gallon tank. Another rule to keep track of is that you should never have more then one male while you can have as many females as you like.
Becuse of my limited knowlage of other species I am not writing more. I will update this.