How Do I Order Feeder Insects?

How do I order feeder insects for my pet reptile, amphibian or invertebrate?

While pet stores are great places to purchase feeder insects when you’re on a time crunch, it’s very easy to order live insects to feed your herp. Backwater Reptiles sells a variety of feeder insects in larger quantities and at better prices than you’ll find at your local pet store. The only potential catch is waiting a day or two for them to be delivered.

ordering feeder insects online
Did you know that it’s more cost effective and convenient to order your pet’s feeder insects online?

What kind of feeder insects can be ordered online?

Just about any type of insect you would want to feed to your pet lizard, frog, toad, spider, scorpion, et cetera can be purchased online. You can even buy pet insects such as walking sticks and praying mantids, although that’s a completely separate topic.

The most common feeder insects ordered are crickets followed by meal worms/super worms and dubia roaches.

Backwater Reptiles has a large selection of feeder insects available for purchase including the most popular ones mentioned above. However, we also sell horn worms which are juicy and help hydrate reptiles to wax worms, which are fatty and help make sure your pet receives enough calories.

If you wish to see all the available feeder insects that you can order from Backwater Reptiles, feel free to visit our feeder insects for sale page.

feeder crickets
Crickets are the most common feeder insect ordered online. Nearly all insectivorous pets will eagerly consume crickets.

How do I place an order for feeder insects?

Thankfully, it’s very simple to order feeder insects from Backwater Reptiles. It’s as easy as adding them to your cart and checking out.

In fact, it’s very likely that the hardest step of ordering feeder insects is choosing the quantity you want as well as the actual type of insect. We really do have that many to choose from!

If you’re ever concerned about what size of insect to order, there is a general rule of thumb that most herp owners adhere to: the insect should not be bigger than the space between the animal’s eyes.

Not to worry. If you ever have any concerns about what type of feeder insect is right for your pet’s particular dietary needs, our helpful customer service team would be happy to assist you with ordering the insect that is best for your pet. All you have to do is send a quick email to sales@backwaterreptiles.com and someone will get back to you as soon as they are able.

fruit flies as feeder insects
Most pet stores don’t carry fruit flies, so if you have a small pet that needs small food, your best bet is to order online.

Why should I order my feeder insects online?

Of course many people simply run out to their closest pet store and purchase feeder insects in person. We think that this is a fantastic method when you need something to feed your pet in a hurry. But overall, we think ordering them online is a much better option.

First of all, when you purchase online, you get a much better price for your feeder insects. Because we sell them in larger quantities, or in bulk, the pricing is more competitive than your average brick and mortar pet store.

The other reason we encourage online purchasing of feeder insects is convenience. Clicking a button on a screen means that you don’t have to get dressed, buckle the kids in the car and make a trip to the pet store. Your insects will arrive to your doorstep in no time when you order online. It’s such a streamlined process and we think it’s highly efficient in a world where everyone is constantly busy.

mealworms
Mealworms are another very common feeder insect. They do have harder exoskeletons, so we do recommend a varied diet when offering your pet mealworms.

When should I not order feeder insects?

Ordering feeder insects online is not the best option for everyone all the time. Sometimes there are reasons why someone might choose to purchase locally in person rather than through a website.

The main reason we would advise purchasing feeder insects at your local store rather than online is when you simply cannot wait a day or two to feed your pet. If you’ve suddenly run out of crickets and your Bearded Dragon is hungry, we definitely don’t advise ordering online. We recommend that you head to your nearest store and pick up a small supply until your online order arrives to your doorstep.

Another time when it might be wise to purchase a smaller supply from a pet store would be if you are trying a new type of food for your pet. It’s highly unlikely, but there could be the chance you have a picky eater. It could be a smart move to grab a few super worms at your local store rather than ordering in bulk if you are unsure that your pet will eat them.

Finally, it might be easiest and safest to grab feeder insects at your local pet store if you are experiencing extreme cold or hot weather where you live. Sometimes we have to delay shipment of feeder insect orders or have them held at a post office or other shipping facility when the weather is too dangerous for the insects. Dead insects are no good to pets who want to catch and eat their prey.

What happens once I place an order for feeder insects?

After your order has been processed, our insect team packages your bugs up safe and sound with supplies to last them through their journey. This typically means a water source, although some feeder insects do actually come with a built in food source, such as fruit flies and horn worms.

Please be aware that if you order insects at the same time that you order your live animal/pet from us, the feeder insects will be delivered separately from the animal. The time frame for arrival will vary based on the insect you order and the carrier who is delivering it.

BONUS: All feeder insects ship for free!

How should I care for my feeder insects prior to giving them to my pet?

Depending on the type of insect you order, you may or may not have just a tiny bit of maintenance to perform in order to keep the insects that your pet isn’t ready to eat yet healthy.

For instance, our most popular feeder insect ordered is crickets. We often get asked the question of how to care for the remainder of the crickets that the pet will eat throughout the week. With crickets, we recommend housing the extras in a bin or bucket with slick, tall sides. You can put some type of disposable hiding area (i.e. some egg crate pieces or toilet paper rolls) inside the enclosure. You can provide a combo water/food source if you put a piece of potato or carrot inside the tub for the crickets to munch on.

Because crickets are our most popular feeder insect ordered, we’re including a link to an article we wrote on how to care for them. Feel free to check it out if you plan to order a large quantity of crickets.

Some of the insects we sell actually come with everything you need to care for them. Horn worms are packaged in a container with food supplies and so are fruit flies and Dubia roaches.

If you want to know more about Dubia Roaches as feeder insects, Mealworms as feeder insects, hornworms as feeder insects and how to dust feeder insects with vitamin supplements, we’ve written articles on all of those topics!

If you have specific questions about caring for an excess of feeder insects, our customer service team is happy to assist. Please email them at sales@backwaterreptiles.com with any questions.

antilles pink toe tarantula
Even invertebrates such as this Antilles Pink Toe Tarantula eat feeder insects.

Conclusion

It is safe and cost-effective to order feeder insects for your pet reptile, amphibian or invertebrate online. We highly recommend it!

Backwater Reptiles even offers live arrival guarantees on our feeder insects, just as we do with the pets we sell. If you ever encounter any issues, our customer service team is happy to assist.

If you have any specific questions about caring for your feeder insects, feel free to ask in the comments section!

Dubia Roaches (Blaptica dubia) As Feeder Insects

Introduction to Dubia Roaches

Many reptile, amphibian and invertebrate owners commonly feed their pet(s) crickets. It’s a very common husbandry practice and crickets are most certainly an acceptable, affordable, and convenient feeding option. But did you know that exotic pets need a varied diet just like human beings and shouldn’t subsist solely on a diet of crickets?

So, what other insects should you should feed your reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate besides crickets? At Backwater Reptiles, often times when we don’t feed our animals crickets, mealworms, or commercially prepared food, we turn to dubia roaches (Blaptica dubia).

In this article, we’ll answer some very commonly asked questions about dubia roaches and their usefulness as feeder insects such as:

-What are dubia roaches and do they make good feeder insects?
-What types of exotic pets eat dubia roaches?
-Why should I feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate dubia roaches? What are the benefits?
-How do I breed and raise my own feeder dubia roaches for my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?
-What is “gut loading” and how does it affect my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?
-Where can I get dubia roaches to feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?
-I’ve received my order of dubia roaches. What do I do with them now?
-Are there any downsides to feeding my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate dubia roaches?

Dubia Roaches as Feeder Insects

What are dubia roaches and do they make good feeder insects?

Dubia roaches (Blaptica dubia), which are also referred to as Guyana spotted roaches, Orange spotted roaches, and Argentine roaches, are a species of cockroach that are commonly used as feeder insects in the exotic pet industry.

dubia roach
Dubia Roaches make very nutritious meals for all types of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. They are full of protein and low in fat. They also contain a reasonable amount of moisture. We highly recommend them as feeder insects for all types of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates.

Dubias range in size from one eight of an inch in length as nymphs to two inches long as mature adults. Interestingly enough, if they are not eaten by another animal, they typically have a life span of between one and a half to two years. They are also edible during their entire life span.

Although they might come with a slightly higher price point than traditional feeder insects like crickets and mealworms, dubias are also much higher in nutritional value. This means that YES, dubia roaches do indeed make excellent feeder insects!

What types of exotic pets eat Dubia Roaches?

The answer to this question is short and simple. Virtually all types of exotic pets, including reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, will eat dubia roaches.

Because dubias are available in so many sizes, they can be eaten by pretty much all sizes of carnivorous or omnivorous animals.

Reptiles that are particularly fond of dubia roaches include: bearded dragons, chameleons, and many species of gecko. Amphibians that eat dubias include mainly frogs and toads, although larger species of salamanders with hearty appetites (a la tiger salamanders) will readily consume dubias too. Finally, scorpions and arachnids are known to have a hunger for dubias as well.

Why should I feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate Dubia Roaches? What are the benefits?

Although crickets, mealworms, reptiworms, wax worms, and other similar feeder invertebrates all make great feeder options for various reasons, dubias are known for their highly nutritious nature.

Dubia roaches have very high protein levels compared to many other chitinous feeder insects. They pack a whopping thirty six percent protein percentage and also contain a lower fat content than many of the “worm” insects such as wax worms, reptiworms, and silk worms.

The calcium level present in dubias is also slightly higher than that of crickets and considerably higher than that of mealworms. This means that although we do still recommend dusting your feeder insects, there is a better chance that your pet will need vitamin supplements less frequently.

Finally, dubia roaches are 61 percent moisture, which is a reasonable amount. While most reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates do acquire moisture through other means, it is good to feed them an insect that contains a good moisture balance.

These nutritional ratios make dubia roaches quite possibly one of the most well-rounded nutritious options when it comes to herp health.

Aside from the obvious health benefits, dubia roaches are also relatively easy to maintain and keep. They are far less noisy, messy, and for lack of a better word, stinky, than crickets. Plus, as we’ve already established, they are edible to herps at all their life stages.

Unlike crickets, which are the most common feeder insect, dubias are not known escape artists. Crickets can and will jump out of holding containers, whereas dubias aren’t inclined to fly and they cannot climb on slick surfaces such as glass or plastic tubs. This means that temporary holding pens as well as long term housing for dubia breeding projects are easy to come by and you’ll never have to worry about a dubia “infestation” in your home from escaping roaches.

Another benefit that most herp owners probably haven’t even considered is the safety of their animal. Crickets are known “nibblers” and can actually injure your pet by gnawing on it if you leave them unattended with your herp. Dubia roaches, on the other hand, are not aggressive and won’t harm your pet if you leave them unattended in the animal’s cage.
How do I breed and raise my own feeder Dubia Roaches for my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?

While dubias are an excellent nutritional option for feeding your reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate, they are not as readily available via pet stores and they are also a bit costlier than traditional crickets. Luckily, dubias are actually relatively simple to breed and maintain. All you’ll need to raise your own dubias at home is a ventilated enclosure, heat source, food, water, and hiding space(s).

dubia roach breeding
Luckily, dubia roaches are very easy to maintain in captivity. They are edible at all life stages and breeding them is a breeze. You won’t need many supplies, just an enclosure, food, water, hiding spaces, and a heat source. You don’t even have to clean their enclosure frequently!

The first thing you’ll need to start your own breeding colony is of course the dubia roaches themselves. Luckily, Backwater Reptiles does sell starter breeding colonies! Each colony also comes with the supplies you’ll need to begin keeping your dubias including: instructions, roach food, water crystals, and egg crates.

The good news about keeping dubias is that they do best if you just leave them alone. You should regularly check to make sure that they have fresh food and water, but other than that, maintenance is very simple. In fact, dubia roach enclosures only need to be cleaned two to three times per year! Leaving the droppings and other accumulated detritus in the bottom of the enclosure is actually beneficial to the roaches for many reasons.

Once your colony has been established, you should remove feeder roaches at regular intervals and keep them housed separately from your growing roaches and breeding roaches.

Naturally, dubias are scavengers like all cockroaches and the good news for breeders is that this means you can feed them a variety of things. We recommend a food that is dry and doesn’t encourage rot, mold, or fungus to grow inside the roaches’ enclosure. Cereal, dry pet food, and chicken feed are all acceptable options, but you can also give them house scraps such as bread.

When it comes to roach feeding, it’s also recommended that you provide a “fresh” food source at least once or twice per week. Fresh food includes everything from leftover greens, citrus fruits, potatoes, and even fruit such as apples or grapes.

Just be very mindful when feeding your dubias fresh food items. You’ll want to make sure that the food you’re giving them is not harmful or toxic in any way to the species that will be ingesting the dubias. You’ll also want to remove any uneaten fresh food remnants from the enclosure to avoid bacteria, rot, and mold from forming.

What is “gut loading” and how does it affect my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?

Gut loading is the process of giving your feeder insects highly nutritious food in order to pass that nutrition on to your pet that will be consuming the roach. Keep in mind that your pet is essentially eating whatever your feeder insect eats, so gut loaded insects of all varieties, whether crickets, roaches, reptiworms, or any other type of invertebrate, are directly transferring the nutritional value of what they’ve eaten on to your pet. Ever heard that common saying that you are what you eat? Well, in the case of gut loaded feeder insects, this is literally true!

One thing to keep in mind when gut loading your dubias is that this species of roach has a slower digestion process. Unlike crickets and some other species of feeders which produce a lot of waste in very short amounts of time, the food given to a dubia will stay in the roach’s system for much longer, thereby providing more residual nutrition to your pet.

The bottom line is that you should feed your dubias well because their health is directly correlated to the health of your pet.

Where can I get Dubia Roaches to feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?

As we’ve already mentioned, dubia roaches are not readily available in most commercial pet stores.

However, the good news is that even if you are not lucky enough to have a store in your area where you can buy dubias, you can purchase them online.

bearded dragon adult
Bearded dragons are one species of lizard that will virtually never turn down a dubia roach. They love eating them and have quite large appetites!

Did you know that Backwater Reptiles sells feeder dubia roaches of all sizes and ages? And shipping is absolutely one hundred percent free!

I’ve received my order of Dubia Roaches. What do I do with them now?

If you have no intention of starting your own breeding colony of dubias, maintaining the dubias you ordered online is still just as easy.

The growth rate of dubias compared to crickets is much slower, so the good news is that whatever size roach you order should stay the same size for the duration that you have it before it gets fed to your pet.

We recommend providing the same elements you’d provide for your breeding colony – food, water, enclosure, heat element, and hiding space – only on a smaller scale.
Are there any downsides to feeding my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate dubia roaches?

In reality, dubia roaches are one of the most nutritious and “healthy” options for your pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate. There are not many downsides to mention in terms of nutritional worth.

Virtually the only cons we can think of when it comes to feeding your herp dubia roaches are the costliness of the roach and the availability of the roach.

As we’ve mentioned already, dubias are not commonly sold in stores, nor are they the cheapest insect you can feed your herp. However, if you can offset cost and availability by either breeding your own colony or making your roach orders last you for a while by practicing good husbandry habits, then feeding your pet dubia roaches is well worth the extra effort!

Conclusion

Dubia roaches are excellent choices as far as feeder insects are concerned.

Dubias are a very healthy and nutritious option for exotic pets and herps of all types! Scorpions, lizards, frogs, and even tarantulas all love to eat them. And the good news is that because dubias pack such a nutritional punch, you ultimately end up having to feed your pet fewer of them than you would if you chose another species of feeder insect.

Do you have any special tips or tricks to offer readers when it comes to dubia roach husbandry? List them in the comments! We’d love to hear your experiences!

Are Crickets Good Feeder Insects?

If you’ve ever had a pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate, you’re likely aware that many of these animals eat insects such as meal worms, crickets, and roaches at meal time.

Crickets are actually a very common insect that are eaten by virtually all types of insectivorous exotic animals. We’d even go so far as to say that they are a “staple food” when it comes to reptile feeding.

In this article, we’ll touch upon some commonly asked questions about feeder crickets such as:

-Do crickets make good feeder insects?
-What types of exotic pets eat crickets?
-Why should I feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate crickets? What are the benefits?
-How do I breed and raise my own feeder crickets for my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?
-What is “gut loading” and how does it affect my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?
-Where can I get crickets to feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?
-I’ve received my order of feeder crickets. What do I do with them now?
-Are there any downsides to feeding my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate crickets?

Crickets as Feeder Insects

Do crickets make good feeder insects?

The short, sweet, simple answer to this question is YES! They make great feeder insects and we highly recommend them for feeding virtually all types of animals.

crickets as feeder insects
As you can see, we keep a lot of crickets at Backwater Reptiles because we have many mouths to feed! All crickets need in order to thrive is a container to live in, a food source, and some egg crates or other similar “furniture.”

Crickets are probably the most popular option when it comes to feeding insectivorous and omnivorous reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates and for good reason. We’ll go into more detail as to why they make such nutritious meals later on in this article.

What types of exotic pets eat crickets?

As we’ve already mentioned, virtually all insectivorous reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates consume crickets.

Omnivorous lizards such as bearded dragons, some skinks, and even iguanas will all happily eat crickets. Carnivorous lizards such as young monitors, chameleons, geckos, and many species of agama also love to eat crickets on a daily basis.

Amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders are also insectivores and will therefore gladly eat crickets for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.

Believe it or not, even other invertebrates such as scorpions and tarantulas eat crickets.

Why should I feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate crickets?  What are the benefits to using crickets as feeder insects?

Crickets are extremely nutritious food for pet herps. They possess a ton of protein and a fairly decent water content as well. However, we will say that because they are both smaller and less dense than other feeder insects, like dubia roaches for example, your pet will need to consume more in a single sitting to get the same nutritional value.

We do highly recommend crickets as feeder insects due to their ubiquitous nature. Not only can you order feeder crickets in bulk online from many sellers, you can also pick up as many as you need from virtually any big box, commercial pet store in your area. Crickets are very, very commonly fed to exotic animals of all types, so they are very easy to purchase at a physical store front when necessary. This is a huge benefit in our book because if you accidentally run out of crickets and your pet is hungry, food for them is usually very easy to come by on that same day. No need to wait for them to arrive in the mail while your pet goes without food for a day or more.

Another added bonus to feeding your pet crickets that has nothing to do with nutritional value is that crickets are inexpensive. While other species of feeder insects most certainly are beneficial to your pet’s health, crickets are generally the cheapest option. This tends to be true whether you purchase them in bulk or on a case by case individual need basis. Because crickets are everywhere as a food source, the market for them is fairly inexpensive and this appeals to many exotic pet owners.

Not only are feeder crickets nutritious, ubiquitous, and inexpensive, they also come in a variety of sizes. You can purchase pinhead crickets to feed smaller reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates such as dart frogs, baby chameleons, and anoles, but you can also purchase full-grown adult crickets to feed to large pets such as mature bearded dragons, adult frogs of many species, and large scorpions and tarantulas.

How do I breed and raise my own feeder crickets for my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate? 

We’re going to be up front and state right off the bat that breeding and raising crickets to save money on purchasing them as feeders is quite a pain in the rear end! In most cases, it is actually more cost efficient and time efficient to just order your crickets online or purchase them locally from a pet store.

Raising and breeding crickets requires space, time, effort, and a tolerance for the cricket’s smell, noise level, and propensity to escape.

For these reasons, we don’t even breed and raise our own crickets at the Backwater Reptiles facility, and we feed hundreds of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates on a daily basis.

However, if your mind is set on breeding feeder crickets of your own, there are some very handy tutorials online. A quick Google search will reveal a multitude of videos and written instructions on how to do so, but we’re going to steer clear of this topic for the purposes of this blog article.

What is “gut loading” and how does it affect my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?

Gut loading is a term used to refer to what the feeder crickets are themselves eating at meal time. It essentially means that the crickets are being fed a specific diet that ensures that they are as nutritionally dense as possible for the animals that will be eating them.

Feeder crickets are essentially an empty vessel. Whatever the crickets eat is basically what your pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate will be eating. The process of gut loading feeder crickets ensures that your pet gets the most out of meal time.

Gut loaded crickets are fed a variety of foods that are healthy for exotic animals. Most will eat a commercial cricket chow that is specially formulated to deliver nutrition, but often times this staple food is supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s not uncommon to give feeder crickets items such as: carrots, dark leafy greens (kale, collard greens, romaine lettuce, mustard greens, etc.), squash, sweet potatoes, wheat germ, prepackaged reptile foods, fish flakes, and regular potatoes (peel included). Your pet should have a varied and balanced diet, and because gut loaded feeder crickets usually do, the nutritional benefits are passed along.

Where can I get crickets to feed my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate?

As we’ve already mentioned, feeder crickets are very, very easy to come by both online and in physical store fronts.

In our opinion, where you buy your feeder crickets depends upon how many you require at a time, how many animals you’ll be feeding, and what’s most cost effective for your budget.

If you are a serious herp hobbyist with many pets to feed, we highly recommend ordering in bulk from an online retailer. It is not only more cost efficient, but it saves you time because you don’t have to trek to the store to purchase what you need. The crickets will be shipped direct to your doorstep, just like with any other type of online purchase.

scorpion eating a cricket
As you can see, crickets make excellent food items for invertebrates as well as reptiles and amphibians.

If you only need to buy a small amount of crickets because you’re just feeding a single animal, we don’t recommend ordering in bulk. This is because not only will your single animal probably not be able to eat all the crickets you order, but the crickets will likely grow and end up being too large for your pet to eat, especially if you buy juvenile crickets. There’s also the possibility that your crickets will die before they even get the chance to become your pet’s dinner.

If you’re looking for a reliable feeder cricket bulk supplier, Backwater Reptiles has certainly got you covered! Simply click here and select a quantity of either 500 or 1,000 from the drop down menu. Your feeder crickets will be shipped overnight for free direct to your doorstep. So convenient!

Smaller quantities of feeder crickets can be purchased from chain pet stores such as PetCo or PetSmart. Many smaller mom and pop feed stores and pet stores also sell feeder crickets in manageable quantities.

I’ve received my order of feeder crickets. What do I do with them now?

You can expect your feeder crickets to live about a few weeks, depending on the age and relative size that you purchase. Obviously, younger crickets will live for a bit longer as they are farther from the end of their life cycle.

Because your pet will probably not be eating all of the crickets you purchase in a single setting, there are things you should do in order to keep your remaining feeder crickets alive and healthy for your pet’s next meal time.

First of all, you will need a holding container for the crickets. Depending on the number of crickets you purchased, a bucket or tall tub should work just fine.

Next, make sure there is some sort of hiding space/crawling space that your crickets can call home for the brief remainder of their life cycle. Generally, when you purchase crickets from the store, you will get a piece of cardboard egg crate. This will usually suffice for the few days that you keep the remaining uneaten crickets.

Lastly, you’ll need to provide a food source for your feeder crickets. If you only have a few crickets to care for, you can just toss a carrot or a piece of potato into the container where your crickets are being held. There’s no need to provide a water dish as crickets get all the water they need from the food they consume.

Now that you’ve provided them with food and some “furniture,” your crickets have everything they need to survive for the next few days while you continue to feed them to your critter.

Are there any downsides to feeding my pet reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate crickets?

Although crickets are excellent food for many exotic pets, they are certainly not perfect. There are definitely some downsides to feeding them to your pet, although these are not because they are not nutritionally poor or lacking.

First of all, crickets can be quite smelly. This is one of the main reasons many people prefer to simply order and/or purchase crickets as needed rather than breed and raise them on their own. The digestive tract of crickets is rather short and simple, so they process their meals in twenty-four to forty-eight hours, and therefore create and eliminate waste rather quickly, which is what causes the distinctive odor that usually accompanies their housing arrangement.

newborn parsons chameleon
Because feeder crickets are available in multiple sizes, you can even find crickets small enough to feed to tiny animals like baby chameleons.

Secondly, crickets are actually rather mean insects. This doesn’t mean that they will bite you and you certainly have no need to fear your feeder crickets, but they can be quite nasty to your pet if left unattended. This essentially means that when you feed any reptile, amphibian, or even invertebrate crickets, you will need to stick around for the duration of the feeding and make sure that any crickets that are not consumed are removed from the enclosure. Otherwise, crickets can actually bite and injure many animals, no matter how unlikely it seems.

Crickets are also known for being escape artists. It’s pretty much inevitable that some will escape from their enclosure, especially if you keep large quantities.

And one final thing we’d like to mention about crickets as feeder insects is the noise they make. As you’re likely aware, crickets are known to chirp and this behavior stays with them even in captivity. So if noisiness bothers you, you might want to think twice about trying to maintain your own personal feeder cricket colony and just purchase feeders as needed.

Conclusion

We hope this blog article has been helpful in laying out the pros and cons of crickets as feeder insects.

While there are certain drawbacks to breeding and maintaining your own colony, we personally think it’s more cost efficient and less time-consuming to just purchase your feeder crickets as needed.

Overall, crickets make excellent meals for all sorts of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates!

Mealworms as Feeder Insects

If you have an insectivorous pet reptile or amphibian of any variety, odds are you have at least heard of mealworms. But just in case you haven’t, you should know that in the reptile enthusiast world, mealworms are feeder insects that are commonly consumed by virtually every type of critter that needs protein in its diet.

In this article, we’ll touch upon the life cycle of the mealworm, tell you why you should feed your critter mealworms, and even discuss how you can raise feeder mealworms of your own.

What are feeder mealworms?

Mealworms are the larval form of a beetle called the mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor). They essentially look as their common name describes them – like worms. If you examine them closely, however, you will be able to see that they do have segmented bodies with short legs towards their heads.

When in the larval state, mealworms are light brown and can have darker brown accent bands. Standard size worms will range in size from a quarter of an inch up to three quarters of an inch. There are also giant mealworms available, which measure approximately an inch long on average.

In their natural habitat, mealworms can be found in dark, damp and warm places such as underneath decaying logs or compost. They are composters by nature  and will essentially eat anything that is decomposing, including garbage.

mealworms as feeder insects
These mealworms are being kept in a container that is too tall for them to climb out of.

Why should I use mealworms as feeder insects?

Mealworms are readily available at pet stores and are extremely common feeder insects for all types of exotic pets. This is mainly because they are extremely high in protein content which makes them very nutritious to reptiles and amphibians.

Reptiles and amphibians such as bearded dragons, frogs, chameleons, leopard geckos, and even some turtles enjoy eating mealworms. In fact, pretty much any carnivorous reptile, amphibian, and even tarantulas and scorpions on occasion will consume mealworms.

Because mealworms can vary so much in size, we do recommend that you carefully assess whether or not the mealworm in question is too large for your pet. Generally, if the invertebrate is not larger than the space between the eyes of the animal that will be consuming it, it is safe to feed to your pet.

Interestingly enough, mealworms can also be frozen or dried as a means to preserve them. However, we want to make it clear that not many reptiles or amphibians will recognize dead insects as a food source. The movement of the invertebrate is usually what triggers the food response in your pet, so a dead mealworm is not usually a viable option for most owners, even if it might be more convenient. We’ve really only seen dried/frozen mealworms work as feeders for aquatic eaters like some species of turtle.

How can I raise mealworms of my own to feed to my pet?

mealworm
On this close up photo of a single mealworm, you can see that this “worm” has small legs near its head.

Once they have stored up enough energy to transform into the next phase of their life cycle, a mealworm will become a pupa and then a beetle afterwards. If you want to continue the life cycle of your mealworms on your own, it won’t really require much effort on your part.

If you intend to prolong the shelf life of the larval worm stage, keep uneaten worms in the refrigerator and take them out every few days to feed them. The cold will slow their metabolisms and hopefully give you more time with the worm phase (i.e. the edible phase).

Once you are ready to start the worms breeding, all you need is a container, substrate, food, water, and approximately a hundred worms to start your colony.

A container tall enough that the worms can’t crawl out is all you need. Your mealworm’s substrate will be its food. Wheat bran, oatmeal, corn meal, and other dry grainy foods are all options.

Don’t put a water dish in the enclosure as the worms will just drown. Instead, some water-heavy veggies are the way to go. Try putting some potato slices, carrots, or apples in the mealworms’ home for the best results.

Allow the life cycle to continue on and remove any new beetles and pupa as they accumulate.

Conclusion

Mealworms are very tasty treats for reptiles and amphibians of all types. If you own a carnivorous pet, odds are it will avidly consume mealworms.

Backwater Reptiles sells feeder mealworms of various sizes and in various quantities.

Are Hornworms Good Feeder Insects?

Tobacco Hornworms (Manduca sexta), or Goliath worms, are caterpillars that transform into the Carolina sphinx moth. They are green with seven diagonal markings along their sides and a red, spiked “tail” adorning their rear ends, which is where they get their common name.

These caterpillars, which are more commonly known as just plain ol’ hornworms, feed on both tobacco and tomato plants, which means they are widely considered to be pests by farmers and gardeners.

Hornworms make excellent and nutritious meals for many animals sold through Backwater Reptiles, but many people don’t know much about these juicy little feeder insects.

In this article, we will answer the questions:

-What types of animals eat hornworms?
-How do I care for my feeder hornworms?
-What is the nutritional value of hornworms?
-What is the difference between the two species of hornworms?

Hornworms as feeder insects
This is a tobacco hornworm. You can tell by the red horn on its rear end.

What types of animals eat hornworms?

Hornworms are great feeder insects for virtually all types of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates including, but not limited to, turtles, frogs, scorpions, spiders, and lizards.

When you receive them, your hornworms will not be full-grown. At this smaller size, they can be fed to smaller animals or juvenile animals.

Once they have grown a bit and plumped up, your hornworms will be especially great feeders for animals that live in dry, arid environments where getting water from food is a requirement. Examples of these types of desert species that love to eat hornworms are: uromastyx lizards, collared lizards, agamas, tarantulas, and even scorpions.

Chameleons are also big fans of hornworms. We can’t stress enough that hornworms contain lots of water, so they are great to help your chameleon stay hydrated.

How do I care for my feeder hornworms?

When you place an order for feeder hornworms, you will receive a container that holds caterpillars that are either one inch or two to three inches long, depending on what option you select when you checkout.

Your hornworm pod will contain food for the hornworms on the top. It will also contain a screen for the hornworms to climb on to reach the food. The food will sustain the worms until they reach about four inches in size. This will usually take two to three weeks.

Feeder Hornworm Pod
This is what your hornworm pod will look like. The bottom is removable.

The hornworms you receive are basically in their own little ecosystem. Your hornworms are self-contained and have everything they need to thrive for a few weeks. All you need to do is remove the bottom of the container and empty out the hornworm droppings every few days.

What is the nutritional value of hornworms?

Hornworms are very high in calcium so they make excellent nutritional supplements for animals that need regular vitamin dusting such as leopard geckos.

As previously mentioned, hornworms are very succulent and high in water content. This makes them excellent food items for desert critters.

They are also great food for animals that are finicky eaters. They are even good for enticing animals on “hunger strike” to eat once more. If you have a picky eater on your hands, we suggest giving hornworms a try.

What is the difference between the two species of hornworm?

There are actually two types of hornworm that appear very similar – the tomato hornworm and the tobacco hornworm. People commonly confuse and mistake the two.

The tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) is the type of hornworm sold by Backwater Reptiles. They differ from the tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) slightly in physical appearance. Rather than diagonal lines on their sides like the tobacco hornworm, the tomato hornworm has “V” shaped markings. In addition, the tobacco hornworm’s tail spike is red, while the tomato hornworm’s tail spike is black.

Large hornworm
This is an average-sized feeder hornworm.

Both species feed on the same plants in the wild and we do not recommend capturing wild hornworms of either species to feed to your reptiles. This is because tobacco hornworms are actually capable of collecting and storing the toxin found in the tobacco plant, which means they could be fatal if ingested by your pet. So if you don’t know the difference between the two caterpillars, we suggest avoiding wild-caught hornworms altogether.

Conclusion

Pretty much any reptile, amphibian, or invertebrate that is large enough to eat a hornworm will find it a tasty treat.

If you have a desert-dwelling critter, picky eater, or spoiled rotten pet reptile, Backwater Reptiles has feeder hornworms for sale. Order some today – your herp will thank you!