Dubia Roaches for Red eyed tree frogs

[Dannysxu]

Hello everyone!

I was interested in getting a red eyed tree and I currently have a pretty huge colony of dubia roaches and I was wondering if they would be ok for the tree frogs to eat, I know they are attracted to movement and I'm not sure if they would just ignore them since they are obviously much slower then crickets.

[Sunshine]

Dubias should be fine. Just make sure they are no larger than the length between the frogs eyes. I don't know about using them as a staple, but they can be supplemented in the frogs diet. All frogs need variety. I would suggest alternating between crickets, roaches, baby hornworms, silkworms and if you can get them to eat appropriately sized cuts of nightcrawlers, those are good too. I would suggest trying to get them to tong feed so you can monitor how much they are eating and make sure there are no changes. It can be very difficult though, and some frogs wont ever take to tongs, but it is worth a try. etc. (hornworms and silkworms will have to be ordered online, or can usually be found at reptile shows) Butterworms and waxworms can be fed sparingly as treats. Food should also be dusted with calcium D3 and multivitamin powder a couple times a week.

[killerecho]

I agree with Sherry that you should try to tong feed your frogs. That way you get to make sure they eat, as well as how much they eat. This is especially useful with dubias, should you decide to try them, mostly because dubias tend to hide very well, and unlike crickets, when disturbed, would rather play dead than run, so they are much less likely to attract a frog's attention. If your frogs refuse to feed from tongs, another option is to introduce the feeders in a bowl. You don't want roaches (or even crickets for that matter) loose in a vivarium with so many hiding places that your frogs may never find them.

The other thing about dubias is that they quickly grow too big for red eyed tree frogs. The average red eyed adult will eat items an inch long at most, and dubias reach twice that size. So, unless you have other animals that will take the larger roaches, their window of usefulness as feeders is limited. Still, it's worth having at least one or two alternate food sources around the house, in case you run out of primary feeders (which, as far as tree frogs are concerned should still be crickets imo), and dubias have the additional advantages of being highly nutritious, easy to breed/care for and not nearly as odorific as crickets.