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Dog and Cat food?


Dubias4Canada

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I am pretty sure I could find info on the forum about this matter if the search feature would work properly, but I'll harass you guys some more cause I really want to know!!!

I saw a lot of people stating that dog and cat food wasn't good for roaches, and specially for the animals you feed to roach to. Is that true? I would really like to have facts instead of opinions please!

What about fish flakes? Is that good?

I have dubias btw if you couldn't tell :P I am currently feeding them carrots, broccoli, lettuce and mostly any fruits and veggies I buy, dog/cat/fish/rabbit food!

Thanks in advance!

Charlotte

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Personally, I have a mixture of all three (dog, cat, and koi pellets because they were all free). I've noticed certain species pick out different pieces first though. I do not believe it's bad for the 'roaches since they are omnivorous, most anyhow. The only thing I can possibly think of why it would be dangerous to feed the ‘roaches off that have been eating this food is that melamine deal that happened quite a while ago. I’d ask myself a few questions if I was concerned: WHAT am I feeding the cockroach to? What is the natural diet of the predator? What do the other possible prey species feed on in culture and would these be a safer alternative? What other types of food besides ‘roaches and alternative feeders would whatever predator I’m feeding eat?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

I can tell you from my own research & raising rats (and other rodents) as feeders that the reason that MOST dog & cat foods are considered "bad" is because of the added red dye. This is something that builds up in their livers (and the livers of the predator they are fed to) and while it will not harm the feeder animal, it becomes fatal to reptiles when it builds up to a sufficient (toxic) quantity. Another thing to watch out for is copper in the ingredients...this is used in the dog/cat food as a preservative, but copper has been shown to be toxic to rodents (not sure about roaches, though) goats, sheep & chickens (which is why it is fine to feed rats chicken or sheep food, but not pig food.)...also, if you choose dog/cat food, it might be wisest to choose the most "all-natural" stuff you can find, but also look for high-protein, but low-fat food...remember that your predators are going to be consuming the same things vicariously through the feeder animal, so you don't want them to end up fat too! Supposedly, most reptiles also have a hard time digesting corn derivatives (with the exception of Leopard Geckos), so that is another ingredient to watch for.

I have been using IAMS for our rodents for sometime, but because of the copper content, I mix it half/half with a regular rodent block diet...I have been pleased with the results so far. For the roaches, I am using a mix of IAMS dog food & cheap cat food (will get better stuff next time, though!)...I've only just started with the roaches, though, so I have nothing to report on whether they are doing well or not. I have already seen new babies in both the Orangeheads & Ivories, though, so I presume all is well!

Hope this helps! (I know *I* like to know the "whys" too!) ;)

-Carey Kurtz-

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I feed an all natural dog food turtle pellets and fish flaks that I recived free samples of from a pet expo I ground all this up together. I use freash fruit and veggies for moisture and my colonly is growing real good.

OH! That reminds me! Our local "feed store" often has free dog/cat food sample packets...I should go check for some! Thanks for the reminder! :D

-Carey Kurtz-

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