Choosing the Best Food When Feeding Reptiles

If you’re a reptile owner, you already know how important proper nutrition is for your pet. If you recently became an owner of a reptile or you simply are not sure what is the best diet for your loving pet, soon you are going to get all the answers you need. 

Here’s a guide that explores the best feeder insects, and you are going to find out which options are the best among many available because not all insects provide the same level of nutrition, and here is the explanation why.

Understanding Feeder Insect Nutrition

First, you need to know what are the most important nutrients in reptiles diet. They need to have a balanced diet rich in protein, then also healthy fast and some essential vitamins. Feeder insects usually have everything said, but not all of them have the same percentage of protein, fat, etc. 

If you want to know exactly what your reptile can get if you feed him with certain insect, here is a table that is going to clarify that:

As you can see in the table above, dubia roaches (Blaptica dubia) are the best choice for your reptile because they have the highest protein content, but they also have a balanced calcium-to-phosphorus ratio and low-fat percentage.

5 Reasons Why Dubia Roaches Are the Best Feeder Insect

1. Superior Nutrition: When you compare them with, for example, crickets you can see that they contain nearly twice the protein.
2. Easier to Digest: In comparison with mealworms and superworms they are easier to digest, thanks to their softer exoskeleton.
3. Longer Lifespan: It is important for your reptile to have fresh insects and dubia roaches can live up to two years, unlike crickets that die quickly.
4. Odor-Free and Law Maintenance: They require minimal care and don’t produce strong odors.
5. No jumping or Escaping: Crickets and mealworms are known for their unwanted escaping abilities, while dubia roaches stay put in enclosures.

How to Incorporate Dubia Roaches Into Your Reptile’s Diet

Although it is pretty easy to feed dubia roaches, there are things you should know if you want your pet to get the most out of its diet. Here are some steps you should follow in that case:

• Size Matters: Roaches shouldn’t be longer than the width of your reptile’s head.
• Gut Loading: You should feed roaches with leafy greens and vegetables 24 hours before feeding them to your pet.
• Dusting with Calcium: You can sprinkle calcium powder on dubia roaches before giving them to your reptile. This is good for his bone health.
• Feeding Schedule: You should adjust this to your reptile’s species and age:

Juvenile reptiles: Daily feeding

Adult reptiles: Every 2-3 days

Fun Facts About Reptile Diets

• Bearded dragons have a big shift phase in their diet. When they are juveniles they need at least 70% insect protein, and when they are adults they need around 80% of vegetables.
• Leopard geckos do not eat fruits and vegetables, only live insects.
• Some species of frogs and lizards can recognize prey only based on movement.

Choosing Quality Feeder Insects

As already mentioned, it is important how feeder insects are fed, but it is also important if they are raised in optimal conditions. If you buy poorly raised feeder insects and feed your pet regularly with them, it is going to affect the percentage of nutrients that your reptile gets from them. 

Here’s an explanation why: Poorly raised feeder insects can lack essential nutrients. Also, they can affect your reptile’s health because they can carry parasites, or be exposed to pesticides. 

If you’re looking for dubia roaches for sale, make sure that you choose reputable breeders who feed them high-quality diets. This is crucial to ensure your reptile is getting the best possible nutrition.

Here is a further explanation of why high-quality breeders matter. First of all, they focus on gut-loading their roaches with the right food for them like fresh vegetables, grains, and protein sources. This is important because in that way your pet is going to get optimal nutrition from them. 

Also, roaches can harbor harmful bacteria or pathogens that are causing health risks for your pet, and that is less likely to happen if they are well-maintained.

Conclusion

The whole point of providing your reptile with the right insects is their long-term health. As you learned so far, dubia roaches are the best choice for three reasons: superior protein levels, easy digestion, and minimal maintenance. 

All you need to do in order to get your reptile the best nutrition you can is to buy dubia roaches from reputable breeders and continue to feed them properly before giving them to your reptile. If you follow all these steps, you will support your pet’s growth, vitality, and overall well-being.