Best insect to breed for pacman frogs!

[froghub]

Hello guys.
So I was thinking of breeding crickets, which now i don't want anymore as i already noticed that they smell bad and die fast.
I was thinking about red runners, or dubia roaches, but i'm afraid they might escape therefore i've my restrictions.
Red runners were my choice, but i do understand that they can easily infest the house as they're able to reproduce at outside temperature. Dubias on the other hand are tooo expensive here.
What else would be easy to breed, would not be susceptibles to infest the house, and would be good for the frog at the same time?
Thanks for the advice.

[daybr4ke]

Apart from those I don't know. There are other roaches you could breed, but they're more likely to escape than Dubias or Red Runners lol...
I might save a bit for the Dubias or get red runners. Depending on the climate Dubias won't be able reproduce and infest bery effectively. I haven't had one escapee yet.
Earthworms are iffy. I don't know how to breed nightcrawlers. I've been thinking about breeding hornworms, but from what I've read it's not an easy breeding project. I'll add any more ideas after some looking later.

[froghub]

Apart from those I don't know. There are other roaches you could breed, but they're more likely to escape than Dubias or Red Runners lol...
I might save a bit for the Dubias or get red runners. Depending on the climate Dubias won't be able reproduce and infest bery effectively. I haven't had one escapee yet.
Earthworms are iffy. I don't know how to breed nightcrawlers. I've been thinking about breeding hornworms, but from what I've read it's not an easy breeding project. I'll add any more ideas after some looking later.

Yeah, worms would be hardcore has it already involves low temperatures and substrat, and that takes time.
I believe that the infestation part for the dubias is correct, being I in France which is cold for them. I might put a big container in the garage one of those days with some of those. The red runners make me afraid, cause those are known to reproduce very well in all temperatures, so if a pregnant female got lose it would be complicated. Other than that i guess i could just feed the males to the frog and leave the females alone reproducing.
Any other insects that might be suitable for my project, one which aren't roaches and don't smell bad, and live quite a bit maybe? No ideas?
Thanks Bryce, you're always here answering

[Herpin Man]

I recently started working with dubia. I was a bit skeptical of them myself, but now I can honestly say that they are my favorite feeder insect. They do not stink, and they are poor climbers. I keep them in plastic sterilite bins, and have not had any escapes. They're not going to infest your house. They are very nutritious compared to other feeder insects. Although I don't keep horned frogs (the proper name for "pacman" frogs), the herps I do keep absolutely love them. The down side of dubia is that their price makes it impractical for most people to purchase and feed them off directly- you need to start a breeding colony. They need to be kept very warm to breed, so you'll need a heat pad, and it may take several months to get them going to the point that you can feed them off. They also need to be checked every couple of days or so for food, water, etc.
Another feeder insect that I have had good success with are superworms. They are a good size for horned frogs, easy to feed and breed, prolific and much lower maintenance. The downside is that they are not as nutritious as the dubia, and they may burrow into the substrate before your frog can catch them.
It's best with any species to feed a variety, so even if you do culture one or two insect species, you still should supplement that with crickets and other prey items.

[daybr4ke]

I agree with Herpin Man! Dubias take some time to get going, but I really like them! One thing I really like is if I forget to give the crickets water i see dead crickets pretty quick. If I forget about my roach colony for a day or two, I usually don't find any dead roaches at all. Not only do they live linger than crickets, I find they're generally lot tougher.
Superworms are also an okay solution. Some people don't like them as feeders because of chitin/shell concerns, and comparatively low nutrition, but all my frogs love them and I've never had impaction problems from them. I've heard superworms have thinner shells than the smaller mealworms, but am not sure about that.

[froghub]

I agree with Herpin Man! Dubias take some time to get going, but I really like them! One thing I really like is if I forget to give the crickets water i see dead crickets pretty quick. If I forget about my roach colony for a day or two, I usually don't find any dead roaches at all. Not only do they live linger than crickets, I find they're generally lot tougher.
Superworms are also an okay solution. Some people don't like them as feeders because of chitin/shell concerns, and comparatively low nutrition, but all my frogs love them and I've never had impaction problems from them. I've heard superworms have thinner shells than the smaller mealworms, but am not sure about that.

Well... Dubias opinion are pretty the same to everyone, they're the best. I'll buy 100 of those and make them breed then.
What kind of heat source do you guys use? UTH or something like a CHE?

[daybr4ke]

Some people like Red Runners more. I'm happy with my Dubias. I use a single lamp with a red heat bulb. I need to get a thermometer or two in there to measure temperature. I'm planning to upgrade soon to give them more heat soon, though. I use a 60w red heat bulb, I think Exo Terra brand. It only cost me about 6$ or so. The lamp was about 13. I might get a CHE soon for that upgrade I mentioned though. I might also just be adding insulation to the sides to keep it warmer, like a towel wrapped around the outside. Others have said they put it in a closet with a space heater to keep them hot. That's probably fine, but I feel like it's be a fire hazard lol.One peice of advice; the dark/opaque bins have enough texture for them to climb sometimes. The clear bins are best, since they are smooth enough that the roaches can't climb them. When I first set up my colony I used a dark blue bin since they prefer the dark. I wanted to block out the light for them, but they started climbing the sides. It was rather unnerving, but it was fixed once I switched them to a new clear bin. This may seem like common sense, but it surprised me. Good luck!
Edit: Oh, right, I have a thread I've been meaning to update about my roach colony. I plan to add current numbers and how many roach purchases I had to make. I can also take a picture of my setup, and I'm sure other users would be happy to take pictures of their setups, too.

[Herpin Man]

I keep my herp room 75-80F. The superworms do not need additional heat. The Dubias are on a heating pad from Reptile Basics. A thermostat is optional, but preferable.

[froghub]

Alright guys thanks, so i've a spare CHE and a spare thermostat i'll be using those. By what i understand you use undertank heating for the dubias right? Or do you put it on the sides?

[Herpin Man]

I have the pad underneath. I used a piece of plywood large enough to set two bins on. The heat pad is on that, and the bins rest on top. I put casters on it, like a giant skate board. I slide it back into a dark unused corner, and slide it back out when I need to get in there.

[froghub]

Okay, thanks. But anyway, they need the bottom to be hotter or a top ceramic heat would be as fine? Thanks