How to Choose the Right Size Dubia Roaches

This guide provides advice on selecting the right size Dubia roaches for your animal.

Whether you’re new to Dubia roaches or have a new animal and are unsure what size roach it needs, we’ll quickly help you find exactly what size Dubia roach feeder you require.

While it can be tempting to generalize Dubia roach feeder size by animal type, animal sizes vary greatly—even within a species. There may be a typical feeder size for groups of animals, but we avoid guessing for individuals because there are always exceptions.

Instead, we provide tools that enable you to determine the size of Dubia roaches you need based on your unique circumstances. And it’s easy. To get started, you only need to know two things:

1. The largest roach the animal can manage along with some Dubia-specific information, and
2. How we measure our roaches

We’ll cover all of this here. If you still have questions, please ask us a question below.

Here’s the TL;DR: Measure the distance between your animal’s eyes, make a note of the largest insect it currently eats comfortably, consider the insect’s shape compared to Dubia roaches, then use that information to choose a Dubia size. If unsure, err on the side of too small rather than too large—you can always grow them out and select a larger size next time.

Taking measurement and considering sizing

Step one involves determining what size of Dubia roach the animal can safely handle. The idea is simple: You want to identify the largest roach the animal can capture and eat without undue struggle or risk of harm. In short, eating the roach should be easy for the animal. Determining this size is often just a matter of measuring or estimating based on the size of another feeder insect you are familiar with.

To determine what size Dubia roach is appropriate when you lack experience with the animal, first use a ruler to measure the distance between your animal’s eyes. This measurement indicates the width of its jaw. Avoid feeding insects that are wider than this measurement, as this can cause swallowing difficulties.

Record the length of this measurement, then move to the next step.

If you know the size of feeders your animal typically eats, use this to select a suitable Dubia starter size. Because people often misjudge the size of feeder insects, always measure one to ensure accuracy.

Now you have two measurements—the width between your animal’s eyes and the size of one of its feeder insects. Consider these two dimensions and think about how easily your animal eats the feeder you measured. Could it go bigger? Does going bigger seem like a bad idea?

Now compare the Dubia roach shape to your current feeder. If you measured a cricket, use that size for Dubia roaches. If it was a superworm, that measurement may not apply, as Dubia roaches grow thicker with food. A one-inch Dubia roach, for example, is significantly larger (wider) than a one-inch worm.

Like every feeder insect, Dubia roaches have their own nuances. Awareness of these nuances can help you decide whether to opt for the maximum size you established with your measurement or the next smaller size. We recommend being conservative if you are new to Dubia roaches or have an animal that has not eaten them yet.

For example, unlike Dubia roaches, crickets grow fast at roughly the same rate. Dubia roaches grow slowly, and with much more size variation among nymphs of the same age. They are also different than mealworms, which reach a predictable size quickly and then maintain that size for a long time. Dubia roaches grow much more slowly, and their final adult size varies from roach to roach.

Dubia roaches also have a distinct shape compared to many other feeder insects. And they may behave differently. For example, and as mentioned above, the body mass of an inch-long mealworm is much less than that of an inch-long Dubia roach.

When someone is unsure, we often recommend starting with the next size down from their measurement—the animal may need some wiggle room. Picking the largest roach risks waste. It’s easier to make use of roaches that are too small than ones that are too big. More on this below.

What to know

Right off the bat, let us say this: If you need a specific size, start with our Dubia roaches in discreet sizes. We offer them in specific sizes such as half-inch and one-inch, and we work hard to size our roaches accurately to minimize variation.

On the other hand, if you’re okay with a little variation, start with our Dubia roaches in size ranges. These include extra-small, small, medium, large, and extra-large. You will see the size range for each roach on its respective product page. These tend to be cheaper because they take less time to process.

Here’s what you need to know about Dubia roaches as feeders, plus key tips on sizing:

• Given the right conditions, Dubia roaches will grow. And the smaller they are, the faster they grow. The lesson here is that when in doubt, we think it’s better to underestimate what size roach your animal can handle than to overestimate it. If you underestimate, the roaches will grow, and you can feed them off when they’re ready. If you overestimate, the roaches will grow, and you will still have roaches that are too big for your animal.
• In general, people tend to overestimate the size of Dubia roaches their animals can handle. When in doubt, pick smaller ones. Or…
• Buy just a few Dubia roaches to start or try our Dubia roach size sampler. You get a few roaches in two consecutive sizes, which helps you figure out what size works best with minimal waste.
• Expect some size variation between roaches. They are unlike most other insects, which grow fast at a uniform rate. Crickets are a good example of uniform growth.

  Dubia roaches also vary by feeding status. Their bodies elongate when they eat and shrink when they’re hungry. This is another reason to underestimate the size you need. If you opt for the largest size Dubia roach your animal can handle, you may end up with some that are too big. Choosing a smaller size allows for more flexibility.

• If necessary, we recommend looking at a ruler to refresh your view of what a quarter-inch, one-inch, etc, looks like in person. People who have not measured anything in a while tend to underestimate roach sizing when they go by feel.
• If you end up with roaches that are too big, you can shrink them. As mentioned above, the bodies of Dubia roaches elongate when they eat. So they can be made smaller by withholding food and water for a few days or a week. If your animal will not eat a stuffed roach because it is too big, you may have better luck when it is hungry and smaller. If you are concerned about what this will do to the roaches, don’t worry. It won’t hurt them. They can survive weeks without water and months without food. Cockroaches are famous for this, actually.
• When you have the right size Dubia roaches, you can maintain their size by feeding them regularly and keeping them between 50ºF and 70ºF. They will still eat and drink, but grow much slower without the high heat they need for full growth and reproduction. At the lower end of this range, they may grow ten times slower than when kept at their ideal temperature range.
• Species-specific Dubia roach sizing is something we have addressed in various places on our website. For example, our posts about Dubia roaches and bearded dragons and Dubia roaches and leopard geckos.

How we size our Dubia roaches

When choosing the right size for your animal, it may be helpful to know how we size our Dubia roaches. While seemingly straightforward, measuring Dubia roaches is part science and part art. There is a technique to it, and experience matters. Small nuances can make a big difference in the final outcome—especially with the smaller sizes.

We measure maximum body length, tip to tail. Dubia often curl when handled, so we measure them flattened out for accuracy. This is where experience helps.

We aim for accuracy and consistency in our measurements. However, the nature of insects and other living animals is that there will always be some error in measurement. Of course, we do what we can to minimize this, but when there is an error, it should be on the side of being too small. This is because roaches that are too large for an animal are usually ineffective as feeders, while those that are too small are not. They can be fattened up by feeding, grown out over days or weeks, or fed directly to animals as-is.

As we’ve mentioned, the size of Dubia roaches that are too large can be reduced by withholding food and water for a short time. Just as their bodies elongate when they eat, they retract when hungry. However, we view this as a last resort. The potential for growing out small roaches is much greater than for shrinking large ones, so again, it’s best to err on the side of too small.

If you find that a size is too small, you can always size up the next time. If you are completely unsure, you can order a small quantity (like 25) of the size you think would work best, or you can try a Dubia roach size sampler, which we created for this purpose. Our size sampler contains a small number of roaches in two consecutive sizes. You can feed them to your animal to see which one works best.

So these are our tips for selecting the right size Dubia roaches. As we mentioned, it’s quite straightforward, and we hope this information makes it even easier to understand.

Have a question?

If you have a question, please feel free to ask! You can use the comment form below.