This page will contain information and links to other sites for care on your 'bugs' and later even some on the different reptiles people keep as pets.
Information like why we feed frozen/thawed, so things like this do not happen.
Caring for your new "Bugs"
These pictures are of 2 different snakes we got in with rodent damage. The nose shot is a male Ball python that got his face gnawed on while trying to squeeze his mouse. (yea a mouse did that damage). He came in with huge scab covering his whole nose and into his mouth, could not smell or eat. We had to carefully get the scab off and clean out his mouth, but he is healed up now. Was afraid of rodents, even thawed for while but now will eat on his own, just shy about it.
The other snake is a dwarf red tail boa with rat bites on back. She finished healing and now is "thanking the food gods for food that does not fight back" and eats just fine.
Meal Worms
Keep your meal worms in container with wheat bran. (The one they come in is usually OK) Add a few slices/chunks of potato, apple, carrot or other similar fruit or vegetable for water. Make sure you remove the vegetable and replace with fresh produce.
Keep the temperature where you are leaving the meal worms around 45 degrees F. The meal worms will keep for a few weeks in this temperature. (Most people keep in refrigerator.) Every 4 days or so, bring out and let them warm up for 24 hours so they can eat. If you keep them warmer, they may pupate out and become beetles, which if raising them can be good, but if for feeding want to keep ‘worms’ as long as possible.
To feed, let them warm up, dust with a calcium/vitamin powder and feed to your critters.
If you do get some pupa or beetles and want, get a plastic tub, put wheat bran in the bottom, and place the pupa and/or beetles in it with potato chunks or cut carrot chunks and you may breed your own mealies. If you do not want to bother with raising them, just throw away in garbage, after squishing them. (Do not know of any reptile that will eat either the pupa or beetles.)
For more information on mealies please check out this general care sheet
http://abigalesedibles.com/mealworm-care/
Or just type in Meal Worm care into your search
Superworm care
Superworms are much more active than mealworms, which makes them more desirable in some cases, specifically, if your pet enjoys hunting or is a picky eater. Many insectivorous creatures are attracted to movement, which makes superworms a desirable choice. For your larger reptiles, superworms are also 3 times the size of mealworms so provide more food per worm. They can climb out of many food dishes so need some with lips to keep them confined, although some lizards enjoy chasing them around.
Food dish with lip. We will be carrying these soon in large and small sizes.
Superworms also last longer than mealworms in the pupae stage; superworms stay as pupae for upwards of three months while mealworms only last a few weeks. However, superworms do not last in a refrigerated environment, unlike mealworms, as cold temperatures don’t send them into hibernation.
We will give you your superworms a container with bran to keep them in. When you get home, add a chunk of carrot or potato for water, keeping an eye that is does not mold. Superworms are relatively easy to keep, just keep them at room temperature.
As said before, Do NOT refrigerate the superworms, they will die not hibernate.
Or just type in Superworm care into your search
Dubia Roaches
Most Dubias are fed smaller than adult size, although some of your larger lizards like the challenge. Bearded dragons can eat them if you get some that grow that big.
We usually sell small, medium and ‘large but not adult’ sizes of Dubias. We provide some food and water crystals to help keep them healthy. Although it may not seem like much of the crystals, they absorb 178x its weight in water so use plenty of water. (1 oz of crystals makes over gallon and half with water.) We put some pieces of egg carton in with the roaches, this is where they live. The food and water can be placed in the bottom of the container.
If you are getting a larger quantity (5 dozen), and you do not plan on feeding out quickly, you may want to go to a small ‘critter keeper’ type of container and add more of the cardboard egg cartons. (A Sterlite type box in the shoe box size also works well and are around $.98 at Wal-Mart)
Dubias also benefit from having some vegetation added to their diet; they are roaches so just about any non-toxic to your reptile vegetable will work.
Red Runner Roaches
Red runners are very fast and middle-sized roaches, dark brown or even black with reddish/orange markings.
-They don't climb on plastic and can be kept in the container they come in.
-They are less chitinous than other roaches, thus more digestible.
-They are readily accepted by many insectivorous animals.
-Their bright color and fast moving attract many lizards.
-They like the dark. They will come on egg crates chunks and if you keep them very long you will need to change those as the roaches will defecate a lot on those.
-They will come with some roach food and water crystals. Carefully put in the bottom of their container after adding the water to the crystals.
-Adult red runners are about an inch long, it is easiest to use forceps to feed them to animals. You can also feed the smaller non adults to your smaller lizards or frogs.
If they are too fast for your animals, simply crush them a little.
CAUTION: NEVER let ONE of them escape. They will breed at room temps anywhere.
-Never let such roaches wander inside a reptile tank. They are not harmful to reptiles but will use the narrowest way out to invade your house or flat. F.E. Exo-Terras are not secure enough unless you only feed the roaches through forceps and make sure they are swallowed.
Pallid Roaches
Other name: pallida roach, palida roach (spelling can vary from country to country)
They are an excellent cricket replacement roach.
All ages of this roach climb. The tub we give you them in will have Vaseline around the top to keep them from escaping. It will also have egg carton chunks for them to climb on, just be sure does not touch top. (Hopefully they can’t get out the small holes in the lid.) (Escaped individuals will not infest houses and desiccate quickly when out of the protective micro-climate of the roach bin.)
They will also have roach chow and water crystals; just soak the crystals before using. They like it warm so keep at least room temp.
Food: Chow, oranges, apples, carrots, banana, squash and water crystals.
Red Flour Beetles
Also called Confused Rice Flour Beetle
Generally, Red flour beetles larvae are fed to your pet reptiles or amphibians. The adult Red Flour Beetles have chemical defenses that make them unappetizing to many reptiles and amphibians, but some will take them.
When we send them out because of their small size, we do our best to be sure that you get at least the 100 in your order. Because of their size, you will get some adults. If you put them in a container of flour, there is good chance you will be able to grow some of your own. Be sure they cannot escape; make sure they have a good lid with cheese cloth covering. They can climb but not fly. They can infest your home if not careful. Be sure to squish any adults you throw away very well.
Tweezers or tongs are almost a necessity to picking these out of the flour, but they are an excellent replacement to pin head crickets without the hassles. (a very find sifter/strainer doesn’t hurt either. You have to remove them from flour after all)
Madagascar Hissing Roaches
Although the basic care is the same for both of the Hissers, keeping them as pets is a bit different than for food source.
General care
The Dwarf Madagascar roach is a very neat little creature and is easy to distinguish from other hisser species by the small size and v-shaped horn formation on the male and smaller size. If you are raising small roaches of a glass/plastic climbing species, you will/ may want to rub a 2 inch layer of petroleum jelly around the upper area of the habitat. This species does not have a defensive smell and is not very fast.
The ‘Normal” Hisser is much larger as adults but if using the nymphs (babies) as food can be kept like the Dwarfs.
One of the really great conveniences about keeping roaches as pets is how easy they are to feed. Roaches are omnivores, so they eat pretty much anything and everything. Everything from fruits and vegetables to grains are breads are eaten. You can experiment with offering them leftovers from your dinner table. Some people even keep roaches exclusively to reduce the amount of garbage that would otherwise end up in a landfill! Roaches can definitely compost your leftover dinner scraps. Probably should stay away from meat scraps, as they can grow bacteria and mold really fast, not good for them or you.
When you get your Hissers, if the dwarf for food they can stay in the container we give them to you in. They will have some roach food and water crystals for you to put In the bottom, but other than offering some vegetables occasionally if you don’t feed out fast enough, they are easy to care for.
Normal size for pets
Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are the most popular pet roach and are one of the largest species in the hobby (both in terms of length and weight/mass). A ten gallon glass aquarium from your local pet store could easily house a pair with room to spare. Even a 5 gallon aquarium or one of the larger ‘Critter keepers’ would be a good home for 1 or 2. They do need some either egg carton chunks, bark or other climbing/ hiding places.
The feeding of the Normal big hissers it pretty much the same as for the dwarfs although if you are keeping them as pets will want a larger home for them. You will need to get water crystals to provide them humidity and water. (The water crystals insure they cannot drown)
