Things roaches in general won't eat:

Matt K

Eurycotis
For some reason any roach I have seems to not eat these items:

Tofu

Parsley

Cilantro (occasionally will)

...can anyone add to this list? I normally try to feed them anything I eat if its whole and fresh.... I am not inclined to eat "junk food" but on very rare occasion.

 
I put some cantelope in my roach tanks last week. I thought they would love it since it's soft and sweet but they barely touched it. I gave it to b. fusca, peppereds, hissers, banana roaches, etc. The only roaches that ate it were my dubias. :(

I have yet to find a food that dubias won't eat though.

 
I had some leftover pineapple the other day and tried it (thinking about the same thing that Roachsmith did-lol)... only a few of my colonies messed with the small piece I placed in each cage. Suprisingly- It looked like the rhino roaches chewed on the piece a bit... hmmm... all my colonies are still small though so this could have something to do with it.

Graham

 
I couldn't get mine to eat any tomatoes. Some one gave me some so thought I would try. In fact I don't think they like the dog food I am giving them either. Any suggestions for food? Also, I need to get a fewer more G. portensa(?) (hissing cockroaches) for the school I work at anyone have a few to sell?

Thanks,

Tina

 
I couldn't get mine to eat any tomatoes. Some one gave me some so thought I would try. In fact I don't think they like the dog food I am giving them either. Any suggestions for food? Also, I need to get a fewer more G. portensa(?) (hissing cockroaches) for the school I work at anyone have a few to sell?Thanks,

Tina
For dog food try Beneful brand...some roaches like it all and others like select pieces of it. Or you could switch to a catfood. I also offer floating fish food sticks that they all seem to nibble or grab up like little thieves...

 
I put some cantelope in my roach tanks last week. I thought they would love it since it's soft and sweet but they barely touched it. I gave it to b. fusca, peppereds, hissers, banana roaches, etc. The only roaches that ate it were my dubias. :( I have yet to find a food that dubias won't eat though.
My Discoids will inhale cantalope! Strange little buggers.

 
I tried cumquats once, and had very little nibbling on it. but I kept carrots in the enclosure at all times for a water source, I dunno if that had anything to do with it though.

Chris

 
For dog food try Beneful brand...some roaches like it all and others like select pieces of it. Or you could switch to a catfood. I also offer floating fish food sticks that they all seem to nibble or grab up like little thieves...
That is actually the kind I have been feeding them. That is what I feed my dogs. I may try the float fish food sticks. :D

 
I've tried dog food, cat food and pond sticks.... and I've seen roaches prefer pond sticks over all...

 
Has anybody tried monkey chow? I have Zupreem monkey chow on hand as a treat for my parrot...I feed it to my crickets, and I know they'll eat it, but I haven't tried giving them anything else yet.

 
Hmm, mine eat everything that everyone one has mentioned. I have a very large lobster colony and they ate a small rat that my burm wouldn't eat. They will eat beets, carrots, dark greens, tortoise food, ig salad, cantaloupe, watermelon, dog food, mice, mouse chow, rat chow, fruit loops, raison bran, egg yolks, dried fruit mix, potato chips, wood shavings, grass clipings, yogurt, cheese, cherries, oranges, strawberries etc.... I heard that orange heads ate live insects so I tried it with crickets and well they do. Most of mine will eat earthworms...

I always thought that they will eat anything, one thing I haven't tried is the glue on the back of post-it's which is a common urban myth, but since mine will eat their egg crates if they run out of food while I'm at school I am assuming they will eat paper and the glue along with it.

 
**Note: My Blatta lateralis eat anything. My lobster roaches and orangeheads eat just about anything. But the many other species I keep seem to vary in how particular they are so the title of this thread is "roaches in general", and not speciefically which will what. ;)

Hmm, mine eat everything that everyone one has mentioned. I have a very large lobster colony and they ate a small rat that my burm wouldn't eat. They will eat beets, carrots, dark greens, tortoise food, ig salad, cantaloupe, watermelon, dog food, mice, mouse chow, rat chow, fruit loops, raison bran, egg yolks, dried fruit mix, potato chips, wood shavings, grass clipings, yogurt, cheese, cherries, oranges, strawberries etc.... I heard that orange heads ate live insects so I tried it with crickets and well they do. Most of mine will eat earthworms... I always thought that they will eat anything, one thing I haven't tried is the glue on the back of post-it's which is a common urban myth, but since mine will eat their egg crates if they run out of food while I'm at school I am assuming they will eat paper and the glue along with it.
 
ive found that when you feed your roaches like everyday the become picky like dogs and cats are...however if you feed them like once or twice a week which i plenty for a hisse colony they will eat pretty much everything.....i feed mine exactly the same stuff i feed my beetles, and my meal worms....which is pretty much anything i have on hand which is usually carrots and random letuces but they have readily taken my leftover brockly, crickets, lettuce, green beans, dead meal worms, baby pine trees, and anything else i put in with them.....lol

 
This is a good point. I have noticed that also with several species. Some people have theories that roaches will only eat what they need or select what they need to eat to stay healthy, and other people think they feed indiscriminately.

Does anyone else have observations or thoughts on this topic ??

This could really be a whole other thread if someone wants to start one.

;)

ive found that when you feed your roaches like everyday the become picky like dogs and cats are...however if you feed them like once or twice a week which i plenty for a hisse colony they will eat pretty much everything.....i feed mine exactly the same stuff i feed my beetles, and my meal worms....which is pretty much anything i have on hand which is usually carrots and random letuces but they have readily taken my leftover brockly, crickets, lettuce, green beans, dead meal worms, baby pine trees, and anything else i put in with them.....lol
 
Somebody said that roaches won't eat tomatoes...I found that they will eat cherry tomatoes but not beefsteak. I grew white cherry tomatoes and Dubia, Giganteus, Lateralis, Fusca and Discoid all eat them. I think it is the higher sugar content in the cherry tomatoes.

 
Roaches don't like onion. I've been cooking lots of veggies. lately so I've been giving them my leftovers and I hadn't tried onion yet. They also won't eat bok choy stalks. Too tough maybe.

 
I've got one: pesto. I've tossed a jar which was already a little bit moldy with the dubia's. Normally they are the waste bin for all food that is not eaten by the other roaches or the cat, and mold is no problem at all. The next day I've found about then dead roaches in the jar, and the amount of pesto was diminished but it's not totally eaten.

 
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