Are you a new leopard gecko owner, or are you just curious about what foods leopard geckos can eat? Well, look no further, as I have the answers you need. Some of the most common foods for leopard geckos are Crickets and Mealworms, however this question always pops up, “Can leopard geckos eat Dubia Roaches?”
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A leopard gecko can grow to around 15cm – 25cm in length and live for anywhere between 10 – 20 years as a pet. For your leopard gecko to live to such ages, and grow to a healthy side, it will need a varied, staple diet.
And its for this reason that, yes, leopard geckos can eat Dubia Roaches.
Leopard geckos will eat just about any insect, given it’s the correct size and looks edible. However, not all insects are safe for a gecko to eat. Fortunately for you, Dubia Roaches don’t come under this category and are completely done to eat. In fact, they have many dietary benefits which help towards a healthy lifestyle.
What is a Dubia Roach?
Dubia Roaches, also know as Blaptica Dubia, are part of the Cockroach family, which scale from medium to large in comparison with other roach species. They are native to Central and South America and make great foods for reptiles.
Out of all the roaches species, Dubia Roaches have one of the softest shells, which means they are easily edible and digested by reptiles. Unlike other roaches however, Dubia Roaches cannot climb flat surface, which makes using them as reptile foods that much easier. It sounds kind of harsh, but they cannot scar the enclosure walls to evade being eaten. This means your leopard gecko has a much better chance of catching them if they have no choice but to be on ground level.
Do keep in mind that all roaches do like to bury themselves. So make sure your gecko has actually eaten to roach before it finds somewhere to hide and burry itself. This should be done for all insects as during the night insects can feed on loose reptile skin, which in turn can lead to bacterial infections.
Dubia Roaches can usually live anywhere up to 2 years, depending fully on their care, with a size up to 2 inches. Males will commonly be larger than females due to their larger wings.
Where can you buy Dubia Roaches?
You should be able to find Dubia Roaches at any reptile store. Dubia Roaches are very common foods for reptiles as they have many dietary benefits. They will also vary in size, so be sure you get the correct size for your gecko. Too big and your leopard gecko won’t even attempt to eat them.
You can also buy Dubia Roaches online, which can be delivered straight to your door. This is great for when you simply do not have the time to stop by a reptile store. Reptile store are far and few in-between, so it’s understandable if you cannot find the time to drive out of town.
What benefits to Dubia Roaches have for Leopard Geckos?
There are 4 main nutritional benefits which insects posses for leopard geckos, these are; Moisture, Protein, Calcium and Fats. These four nutrients are the main spectrum of a leopard geckos diet, and each have to be carefully maintains for a healthy leopard gecko. Too much or too less of any of these nutrients can cause upset stomachs and dietary insufficiencies.
Moisture
First up we have moisture. You may not know this, but leopard geckos rarely drink water. Their main water source come from the foods they eat, so having foods which are high in moisture is essential.
Dubia Roaches hold 61% moisture, which is puts them roughly in the middle of the food chart amongst other reptile foods. So this is classes as normal, neither low or high.
Protein
Moving on to protein, Dubia Roaches hold a large 36%. This is a huge amount in comparison to other reptile foods which average around 15-20%. (That roughly 100% more than average).
Proteins are a leopard geckos main dietary requirement as they only eat insects, but this has to be managed correctly also, with the other three nutritional factors. Only Silkworms top Dubia Roaches for protein, coming in at 64%.
Calcium
Naturally leopard geckos need a lot of calcium. Dubia Roaches hold 20mg/100g of calcium, which unfortunately they need a lot more. They simply cannot usually get it from their foods alone. Calcium power is recommended to be sprinkled over the insects before feeding them to your leopard gecko, to increase their calcium intake.
Fat
Lastly we have Fat. Roaches in general do not hold a lot of fat, which is why Dubia Roaches are commonly a good food for leopard geckos. They hold roughly 7% fat which is very low. They only food to have a lower percentage are Crickets, which have 6%, so not much in it really.
Other foods such as Waxworms can hold up to 20% fat, which is way too much to be feeding your leopard gecko any more than once a week. A leopard geckos digestive system has evolved to work best on protein foods, as these are more common foods for a gecko.
Other foods to Dubia Roaches and their nutritional values?
The five most common alternative foods for leopard geckos are; Butterworms Crickets, Mealworms, Silkworms and Waxworms. They all have fluctuating nutritional values, so it’s important to very these foods and alternate them every so often to keep your geckos diet healthy.
Foods with a much higher percentage in its nutritional class compared to others should only ever be fed to a leopard gecko as a treat, once or twice a week maximum.
Butterworms
Moisture 58%
Protein 16%
Calcium 42mg/100g
Fat 5%
Crickets
Moisture 74%
Protein 18%
Calcium 14mg/100g
Fat 6%
Mealworms
Moisture 59%
Protein 10%
Calcium 3mg/100g
Fat 13%
Silkworms
Moisture 76%
Protein 64%
Calcium 34mg/100g
Fat 10%
Waxworm
Moisture 61%
Protein 16%
Calcium 13mg/100g
Fat 20%
Conclusion
There we have it. An article on “Do leopard geckos eat Dubia Roaches”.
Yes, leopard geckos so eat Dubia Roaches and you can incorporate these foods into their diets. Remember that Dubia Roaches are naturally very high in protein, so they need to be levelled out with other foods which aren’t so high in protein.
Also remember, when buying Dubia Roaches to check their size. Some roaches will be far too big for your leopard gecko to digest which can cause chocking problems. It’s always better to offer a leopard gecko a larger amount of smaller foods, than a smaller amount of larger foods.
A staple and healthy diet should ideally incorporate all six of these foods over a monthly period, with crickets being the main source of food.
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