Bearded dragons are among the most peaceful and easy-to-handle reptile pets. They are omnivorous meaning they feed on both plants and insects. These pet reptiles prefer feeder insects that supply them with high nutritional contents. Dubia roaches are among the feeder insects that most individuals are lack information on whether they suitable for bearded dragons.
Fully grown bearded dragons eat between 3 to 5 dubia roaches in 2 to 3 feedings per day. Baby bearded dragons eat 25 to 50 dubia roaches a day fed over several meals. Ensure that the size of the roach is small enough for the dragon to avoid impaction and death. Also, feed the dragons a balanced diet.
What are Dubia Roaches?
Blaptica dubia, Guyana spotted roach or the dubia roach, is a medium-sized cockroach species that can grow between 40-45mm. Over time, dubia roaches have been considered suitable feeder insects due to some notable benefits.
They have high nutritional contents of proteins, moisture, fat, calcium, ash, and phosphorous that provide pets with nutritional benefits. Also, they are odorless and have a thin exoskeleton, making them better than other feeder insects. This makes them suitable for insectivore pets, including amphibians, reptiles, and arachnids.
Dubia Roaches Nutritional Value
Dubia roaches’ nutritional contents vary depending on their size. The table below summarizes their nutritional components at various sizes:
| Content | Extra Small | Medium | Extra Large |
| Moisture (%) | 71.5 | 70.8 | 65.6 |
| Fat (%) | 6.1 | 6.7 | 7.2 |
| Protein (%) | 21.4 | 19.6 | 23.4 |
| Fiber (%) | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
| Ash (%) | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Calcium (mg/kg) | 700 | 700 | 800 |
| Phosphorous (mg/kg) | 2600 | 2600 | 2600 |
Can Bearded Dragons Eat Dubia Roaches?
Bearded dragons can eat dubia roaches. They even love the roaches. They have a high nutrient content that supplies beardies with their constant nutrient needs. Notably, they are easy to keep for any bearded dragon farmer.
Also, dubia roaches are slow and quiet insects that do not climb or fly. This provides some stimulation to bearded dragons when feeding on them. However, dubia roaches need to be gut-loaded to supply beardies with the correct nutrients.
Are Dubia Roaches Good for Bearded Dragons?
Dubia roaches are good for bearded dragons. Here are some benefits they offer to bearded dragons:
1. High Nutritional Benefits
Dubia roaches provide all-around nutrition to bearded dragons. Their high protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorous contents provide health benefits to beardies. Specifically, these nutrient intakes minimize the risk of metabolic bone disorders.
2. Provide Hydration for Bearded Dragons
Beardies have been reported to suffer from dehydration frequently. Dubia roaches have a high moisture content that foods like vegetables, fruits, and watered-down roach chow can provide. As cockroaches, dubia roaches can survive for too long without water.
However, they will acquire a sufficient amount when fed with some food. The gut loading process is an effective way to give the hydration required by bearded dragons.
3. Less Harmful than other Feeders
Dubia roaches are odorless and less harmful. They are quiet and easy to handle your beardie can easily feed on that. Also, they don’t attack or bite beardies, as other feeder insects can do.
Notably, they have not been reported to bring digestibility issues. This makes them suitable for young and mature beardies.
4. They are Easy to Keep
Dubia roaches are easy to keep and maintain as feeder insects. They only require placing them in a container with food, moisture, and harborage material. This shows that they are readily accessible for your beardies since you do not need to buy them from your pet store.
When raised as feeder insects, store dub roaches in a dark area as light will easily stress them out.
5. They are Nutrients–Customizable
You can reliably alter the nutrient composition of dubia roaches by gut-loading and dusting them. This enables you to provide your beardie with desirable nutritional components. This can be a great feeder insect that ensures a balanced diet.
In general, avoid insects such as the striped knee tarantula which can hurt your pets if they try to eat it. Dubia roaches are among the best feeder insects as they are generally harmless.
Can Dubia Roaches Hurt Bearded Dragons?
Feeding bearded dragons with giant dubia roaches can hurt them. It is advisable to measure the appropriate size by ensuring they have the same size as the distance between the eyes. This ensures you don’t feed them with hard-to-handle insects. Also, excess dubia roaches can cause obesity to your beardie due to the high-fat content.
When Can Bearded Dragons Eat Dubia Roaches?
The frequency of feeding dubia roaches to beardies varies with age. Younger beardies should be fed once or multiple times per day. Adult beardies should be fed much less – once per week.
What Do You Feed Dubia Roaches for Bearded Dragons?
Dubia roaches should be gut-loaded before feeding them to your beardie. They have a stomach and digestive system that holds food. Once gut-loaded, dubia roaches provide beardies with high nutritional benefits.
Also, dusting them with nutrient supplements balances the nutrient content. You can easily control the nutrients for bearded dragons using live feeders for pets such as dubia roaches.
Gut-loading involves feeding these feeder insects with foods and vegetables at least 12 hours before feeding them to your beardies. The gut-loading foods may include apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash. These provide your beardies with high nutrient value.
How Many Dubia Roaches to Feed a Bearded Dragons?
The number of dubia roaches to feed your bearded dragons varies with their age. Adult bearded dragons can be fed with dubia roaches once or twice weekly. It is advisable to mix the diet, but dubia roaches can be a staple food.
Baby beardies feed on dubia roaches, and it is a recommended food for young beardies. The suitable size of dubia roaches should always be proportional to the distance between your beardie’s eyes. Notably, they have less chitin, making good food for young bearded dragons.
To determine the appropriate roaches to feed to your beardie, allow them to feed on them and eat within ten-minute intervals. You put them in a bowl. They will eat one at a time.
How Many Dubia Roaches Should a 1-Year-Old Bearded Dragon Eat?
A 1-year bearded dragon should be fed with 3-5 adult roaches of 1 inch once a week. Since these feeder insects contain a high-fat content than other feeder insects, feeding them daily can cause obesity. If necessary, you can skip a day or two when feeding them frequently.
How to Feed Dubia Roaches to a Bearded Dragon
Bearded dragons only feed on live dubia roaches. Feeding them is easy since you need to gut-load them 1-3 days before and add nutrient supplements by sprinkling them on their surface. Place the appropriate roaches on a container ahead of the beardie’s mouth.
The right size should equal the distance between your beardie’s eyes. Place one roach at a time, supply more at an interval of 10-15 minutes. Later, remove the feeder insect after the beardie stops feeding.
Bottom Line
Bearded dragons can eat dubia roaches. They are less harmful, easy to handle and provide nutritional benefits to your beardies. You only need to choose the appropriate size using the distance between eyes rule. This proves that dubia roaches can be used as primary feeder, secondary feeder, or treat for your beardies. However, bearded dragons will only feed on live roaches. Now, with this helpful information, you can reliably feed them to your bearded dragon.
References
Bowling Green State University. Rankin’s (Lawson’s) Dragon, Black Earth Bearded Dragon (Pogona henrilawsoni).
Bowling Green State University. Inland or Central Bearded Dragon (Pogona vitticeps).
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. When Your Pet Has Eight Legs.