As a gecko leopard owner you must have thought it is cool feeding your pet live crickets and mealworms, which is a good idea. Online stores like topflight Dubia explains why you should also consider feeding your geckos Dubia roaches to keep your pets healthy and lively.
Leopard geckos are quiet pets that grow 1.5 to 2 inches long and live for up to 20 years. They love feasting on live insects, and often ignore insects that don’t move. Dubia roaches are suitable for your geckos because they provide excellent nourishment and ensure your pets remain healthy.
How Many Dubia Roaches per Day?
The next question is, how many Dubia roaches can you feed your gecko per day? Now, that will depend on your pet’s age, weight, body length, and health condition. If you have a baby leopard gecko, your pet needs to be fed daily. They can gobble up to 5 to 7Dubia roaches in a day. You can keep providing the same quantity of Dubia roaches until your pet grows four inches long. Ensure you feed them small Dubia roaches, making it easier for your little gecko to eat them up. Once your leopard gecko grows up, you can provide two Dubia roaches per day on alternate days.
What Size should the Dubia Roaches be?
You can shop for Dubia roaches in various sizes, again, depending on the age of your gecko. You don’t have to search far and wide; Look at renowned online stores like top flight Dubia roaches where the roaches come in various sizes, starting from 3/8 inch, which is perfect for a baby leopard gecko. Once your pet grows slightly bigger, you should start feeding it Dubia roaches ¼ inch long. For fully grown leopard geckos, you can feed medium-sized Dubia roaches, which are approximately 1.5 inches long, and one every other day is sufficient for an adult gecko.
Do Dubia Roaches have more Nutritional Value than Crickets?
Firstly, Dubia roaches are easier to find and maintain; they are also odorless and make a perfect meal for leopard geckos. Most pet-owners feel their geckos remain healthier while eating Dubia roaches instead of crickets. Moreover, Dubia roaches are easier to digest when compared to crickets as they contain less chitin than crickets. Moreover, Dubia roaches are easier to breed and rear and reproduce at a rapid rate.
Do the Dubia Roaches need to be Calcium-Dusted?
Calcium-dusting your Dubiaroaches before feeding them to your gecko is an excellent idea. Although Dubia roaches have high nutritional value, your gecko needs more calcium than Dubia roaches offer. Hence, calcium-dusting the Dubia roaches ensures your geckos get enough nutrition, make sure the calcium is free of phosphorus and lead, which are toxic for geckos.
Is Gut-Loading Necessary?
Gut-loading is essential to ensure your geckos get enough nutrients to keep them healthy. As they live on an insects-only diet, they do not have any other source other than gut-loaded insects. The Dubia roaches need to be gut-loaded at least a day (24 hours) before being fed to your gecko. You could use leafy greens and Vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables like carrots, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes. While fruits are good for gut-loading the Dubia roaches, avoid citrus fruits as the citric acid makes geckos sick.
Summing it Up
More people are taking to rearing leopard geckos as they make cute pets, are not fussy, are quiet and live longer. Care needs to be taken while feeding geckos to ensure they are provided the required nutrition.
