What do Dubia roaches eat?

Last Updated on July 10, 2021 by Jeffery Jago

Whether your thinking about breeding Dubia roaches for your lizard or just keeping them alive as a feeder insect, it’s important to know the dietary needs of these roaches.

Dubia roaches are used as feeder insects and what you feed them can have a significant impact on the quality of your insect population and the health of the animal eating the insects.

In this article, I’m going to cover what they eat and what type of commercial food is available for these bugs.

Dubia roaches are classified omnivorous by entomologists.

The Dubia roach is a scavenger and an opportunistic feeder. They aren’t picky and will eat just about anything that can be eaten.

That doesn’t mean you should throw in some cardboard and call it a day though.

Really the main goal here is to keep them happy enough to breed, and healthy enough to feed to your animals. So it’s important they are getting a well-rounded diet and maybe even being gut loaded with commercially available nutrient mixes before being fed to your pets.

Dubia roaches will readily consume meat proteins such as fish, beef heart, chicken carcasses, or parts from mealworms that have been gut-loaded with protein-based foods.

it’s not uncommon to find large breeders using dog and cat food for their Dubia roaches. This is due to the readily available supply as well as the low cost for such a balanced vitamin and protein source.

It’s important not to overdo the protein though, as that should only be part of their diet. When a roach breaks down excess protein it creates uric acid, which isn’t harmful to the Roches themselves, but it is harsh on the lizards and other pets that will eat them.

You should also supplement any diet with fresh vegetables and fruit. These have high water content which is good for the roaches, as well as helps vary their diet and make ’em healthier while keeping uric acid low.

So to recap

Protein sources should include:

• Dried dog and cat foods (Mostly for breeding tanks)
• Commercially available roach food
• Other feeder insects (preferably gut-loaded)
• Homemade roach chow (tons of recipes online)

(Remember not to overdo the protein)

The rest:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Oats, cereals, bran, etc
• Gut loading formulas

How long can a Dubia roach live without food?

Dubia roaches can live roughly five months without food. However, this does not mean that you don’t need to give them a constant source of nutrition. Dubia roaches can’t go more than 10 days without water.

Special considerations for nymph roaches

Baby Dubia (also known as nymphs) require water the moment they are born. If they do not have access to some sort of water, either in the form of a shallow dish, a sponge, or watery vegetables, they can dry out and die. This will happen in the blink of an eye, so always be prepared with fresh water sources for your nymphs.