After ordering the first batch of dubias, they arrive to you in the best condition and health, often raised on a nutrient-dense diet. But, when it comes to breeding or preparing these roaches for beardies, it’s important to gut-load them with the right food or proprietary feed blend. The gut loading process is vital to ensure that your beardie gets the most nutritional benefit possible from each meal. That said, you might wonder, “What to feed dubia roaches for bearded dragons?”.

Undoubtedly, gut loading dubia roaches for bearded dragon becomes super easy when you know what’s healthy and best to feed. Many people simply choose any veggie or fruit that’s high in nutrients to gut-load dubias. But gut-loading dubia roaches requires consideration of nutrient density and freshness. Many don’t know the fact that loading Dubia roaches up with high-protein foods may cause health-related problems in beardies.

This guide is to help you learn what to feed dubia roaches for bearded dragons and how to gut load them properly. So without wasting any more time, let’s learn what’s the best feed for dubias.

What To Feed Dubia Roaches For Bearded Dragons

Most beardie owners feed roach chow, sliced 50/50 with steel-cut oats to their dubia roaches for bearded dragons. Gut-loading roaches require fresh quality produce. Hence some people even try offering organic fruit & veggie slices when available/possible. Some common fruits & vegetables that can be fed to dubia roaches include:

Fruits	Vegetables
Apple	Beets
Banana	Cauliflower
Grapes	Carrots
Pear	Zucchini
Oranges	Broccoli

A few of the other safe options that can be fed readily to dubia roaches for bearded dragons are alfalfa sprouts, mustard greens, gut-loading flakes, steel-cut oats, whole grain breads, cereal grains, and broccoli stalks. Gratefully, you’re completely free to experiment with different foods & their combination as per your liking or the item’s availability to feed roaches.

Roach Chow & Nutribites: The Best Options

I love to stick with roach chow and cut it into halves, while mixing it with steel-cut oats, preparing a 100% dry food that’s 24 hours available to roaches. As an add-on, I sprinkle some Arcadia fuel on the top for Dubias to eat it dry so I can determine if that’s good enough.

If you’re planning to keep dubias, the combo of “Roach chow” & “Arcadia fuel” is probably the best to help them grow & reproduce. Here, you can learn more about “how to breed dubia roaches for bearded dragons”.

Remember to clean & remove uneaten food at least every 48 hours if not 24.

Hopefully, you’ve received your Dubia feeders at or near the size you need them to be. If yes, focus on feeding them food based on your beardie’s nutritional needs. The key here is to feed the roaches based on your animal’s nutritional needs, instead of prioritizing the roaches’ health or growth.

Unless you ordered too many dubias, you need to keep them alive until your pet gobbles them up. Here, you can learn: How to keep dubia roaches for bearded dragons.

Below are few answers of questions you may have!

Why Is It Suggested To Add Arcadia Fuel?

Arcadia Fuel can address potential nutritional gaps in dubias for beardies. Moreover, Arcadia Fuel often includes calcium and D3, which are a must for bearded dragons. Adding Arcadia Fuel in roach chow contributes to the overall well-being of end consumers’ bearded dragons.

Is There A Specific Ratio Of Roach Chow To Steel-Cut Oats To Use?

As mentioned, an equal proportion of both creates a healthy mixture that serves as a 100% dry food for dubia roaches.

Can I Mix And Match Different Roach Chow Brands Or Should I Stick To One Type?

It’s better to stick to one type of roach chow for dubia roaches to ensure a balanced and consistent diet. Undoubtedly, different brands often have varying formulations and nutritional value. Hence, mixing different Roach Chow brands can be a bad idea as it may lead to an imbalance in their diet or nutrition.

Focus On The End Consumer, Not On Dubias!

Another interesting fact is that dubia roaches can survive for a long period without any food, with the help of their specialized bacteria, allowing them to eat items that contain almost no nutritional value, like cotton or paper. Since these roaches eat almost anything, you can offer any food item that is fresh & organic to keep them alive.

Here, the most common & obvious choice will be food items like fruits and vegetables that not only keep these insects healthy & strong but also nutritious for bearded dragons. This is why you should be focusing on supporting the nutritional needs of your pet (the end consumer), not the roaches.

Although these roaches can eat anything, the concept of gut loading is supplementing them which we highly recommend. Even though they don’t ‘need much’ or ‘have’ simple & basic needs, you should feed your roaches healthy foods with the nutrients you want your dragon to consume. Hence, I highly recommend starting with roach chow to keep dubia roaches living up to their reputation as superior feeders.

Feed Gut-loaded Dubias To Beardies within 3 days

It’s important to avoid offering meat, citrus or beans. Think of it like this: would you feed that to your bearded dragon buddy?

Whether your dubias are feeders or breeders, you shouldn’t feed dubias anything you wouldn’t let your pet beardie eat. This is a must to follow. This is especially important in the days leading up to when your dragon gets to enjoy a dubia feast.

If you’re keeping dubia roaches for a short while,  here’s the golden rule: carbs (like roach chow) and fresh produce (like organic fruits & vegetables). A good quality roach chow will give them the carbs they need and works best for gut loading (packing your dubias with extra nutrients).

Just make sure you feed the gut-loaded dubias to your bearded dragon within three days to get the most out of it. That way, your beardie gets the most out of all those yummy fruits and veggies!

Supplement For Dubias: Is It Worth It?

Water is a must for every living being. Hence, providing water to dubias is a good idea. But if we focus on supplementing them the best, you can offer them water in the form of gel or crystals. Even though your dubias are getting plenty of moisture from juicy fruits & veggies, gel or crystals are a good backup plan.

I’ve heard a lot of people from the reptile community wondering if adding supplements to the roach food will supercharge their nutritional value for your pet. Is supplementing dubia roaches with additional nutrients worth it?

Well, the truth is there’s no scientific evidence that supports or challenges the idea of enhancing the nutritional value of dubia roaches by adding supplements to their food. Hence we can say that dusting your pet’s food directly with supplements like calcium powder is far better than loading up dubias with it.

Find out why I chose and stuck with this best calcium supplement for Bearded Dragons.

Currently, no one’s sure whether anything extras get passed on from the roaches to your pet when you feed them. Dust your beardie’s food directly for better results, and enjoy control of the exact amount you’re pet gets. So, save those supplements for dusting and keep your roach buffet focused on roach chow, and yummy fruits & veggies.

Watch out on Protein

Did you know that these roaches naturally evolved to deal with the scarcity of food, especially protein, by storing uric acid when it is plentiful, especially during times when it’s not?

This uric acid is a natural byproduct of protein digestion produced in roaches. According to research, it is rich in antioxidants but can be toxic at very high levels. Hence, it is better to avoid Dubia roaches when feeding them with high-protein foods.

After knowing what to feed dubia roaches for bearded dragons, you might wonder “How much food should I give my dubia roaches each day?” Here’s what you need to know!

How Much Food For Dubia Roaches Each Day?

Depending on how big your roach colony is, the type of food, and how long you plan on holding off before treating your bearded dragon, the feeding routine may vary. Feeding roach chow to dubias once a day works well for beardies! Of course, life happens, and it’s cool to skip a day occasionally. 

The fact is, these roaches are excellent at regulating their own intake and won’t go on a binge. Hence, it’s cool to leave some roach chow in their tank all day, but don’t forget to tidy up any uneaten food before night.

How To Tell If Your Beardie Is Getting Enough Nutrients From The Gut-Loaded Dubias?

If your dragon is getting enough nutrients from the gut-loaded Dubia roaches, he’ll have clear, alert eyes accompanied by smooth, vibrant skin and scales. Also, he’ll have firm, strong, and well-defined muscle tone & bones, indicating proper growth. A well-nourished beardie stays active with healthy bowel movements!

How Often To Feed Dubia Roaches?

When it comes to food portions, it’s a bit of a size game. It’s better to start with a small amount of food, like a few slices of fruit/veggies, or a sprinkle of roach chow—enough to match the size of their little bodies. And if you’re in the breeding game, you might want to toss them a bit more food to support reproduction.

By the way, if you’re looking for more tips, check my guide: How To Breed Dubia Roaches For Bearded Dragons?

FAQ

Are There Any Alternative To Gut-Load Besides Dubia Roaches For Beardies?

Indeed, even though dubia roaches are the most preferred option chosen by 74% of beardie owners as a protein source for their pets, you can gut-load several other feeder insects like crickets. Compared to worms for bearded dragons, cricket is not very nutritious. Some of the best worms for bearded dragons include:

• Silkworms
• Waxworms
• Mealworms
• Hornworms
• Superworms

If I Don’T Have Roach Chow, Can I Just Feed My Dubia Roaches Fruits & Vegetables?

If you don’t have specific roach chow for Dubia roaches, you can use fruits & vegetables and gut-load them. In fact, gut-loading with fresh produce is a common & effective practice. Also, vet recommends adding organic, fresh vegetables & fruits for bearded dragons.

Conclusion

Wrapping Up: I hope now you have all answers & clarification around the question “what to feed dubia roaches for a bearded dragon. Offering organic fruit & veggie slices works well. But what’s best is feeding roach chow, sliced 50/50 with steel-cut oats. Since these roaches eat almost anything, it’s better to focus on your pet’s nutritional needs, not the roaches.

Final Thoughts: I find roach chow to be a best option for dubia roaches. Now, Arcadia fuel on the top of roach chow & steel-cut oats mix is my dubias everyday diet. Occasionally, I also offer fruits & veggies slices. Thanks for reading & support. If you have any other recommendations, tips, or anything better to feed dubias, let me know below so I can add that information to this article to make it more informative for beardies’ owners and their pets’ well-being. Gut loading feeder insects is a must for bearded dragons to make the most out of it. So, check out my other helpful guides shared on this website on feeder insects for bearded dragons.

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