Dubias vs. Discoid Roaches - What's the Difference?
The vast majority of reptile pet owners use one of just a few feeder insects for their pets. The most common feeders out there are crickets, mealworms, and occasionally, dubia roaches.
But just because these are some of the most popular options doesn’t mean they’re the best, and it definitely doesn’t mean they’re right for you. Most importantly, the dubia roach has some legal restrictions on where you can and can’t keep it that have caused some pet owners to find another option.
In this article, we’ll talk about two great roach species, the dubia roach and the discoid roach. We’ll lay out the main differences and help you pick the right feeder based on your pet’s needs and where you live.
What Dubia Roaches and Discoid Roaches Have in Common
Dubia roaches are popular for a reason. They make great housemates, they’re nutritious, and they’re easy to keep. And all those things go for discoid roaches as well, for the most part.
And that matters, because having a stable colony of feeder insects on hand is the best way to keep a reptile pet long-term.
Different insects have different upsides and downsides. Some people recoil at the thought of keeping roaches in their house, but roach species are actually some of the best bugs to have around.
For example, dubia and discoid roaches are both renowned for how bad they are at flying and climbing. This makes them terrible escape artists. They also both produce very little smell, especially compared to crickets.
And possibly best of all, both kinds of roaches are very easy to keep and require little maintenance.
While some insects need different containers for their different life stages or special foods, roaches do just fine with some egg flats in a plastic storage bin. They will eat just fine on stale bread or breakfast cereal. And they thrive at room temperature and moderate humidity.
Dubias and discoids also have similar nutritional content: they’re both high in protein and low in fat, which makes them a good staple feeder insect. Although, as with any feeder insect, it’s important to remember that variety is key, and you’ll want to mix in high fat insects (like superworms) as well.
Here are some more details.
Dubia Roach Biology and Nutrition
Dubia roaches (Blaptica dubia) are a terrestrial roach species native to South America. They live in temperate forests, and spend all of their time in the leaf litter on the forest floor. This is why they don’t fly, because they just don’t need to. Everything they need is on the ground. Adults will reach about 1.5” in length at adulthood.
Dubia Roach Nutrition Facts
Protein: 22%
Fat: 7.7%
Moisture: 60%
Ash: 1.7%
Fiber: 2.9%
Calcium to Phosphorus ratio: 2:3
As you can see, they have a high ratio of protein to fat, with lots of moisture and low fiber. They’re higher in calcium than most feeder insects, but you should still dust them to get them to the ideal 2:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus.
Their size makes them appropriate for most reptile pets. Large, elderly bearded dragons may do better with something bigger like a superworm or a hornworm.
Discoid Roach Biology and Nutrition
Discoid roaches (Blaberus discoidalis), also called false death’s head roaches, live in more tropical climates around Central America, the Caribbean, and Florida.
They spend their time on the ground or in trees, but they don’t have functional wings and still aren’t great climbers. Discoid roaches are slightly larger than dubias, reaching 2” long at a maximum.
They’re also slightly more active than dubia roaches. Depending on how much your pet likes to chase its prey down, this might be a benefit or a downside.
Typically, juveniles have more energy for active hunting and older reptiles are content to scoop their prey right out of their food bowl.
Discoid Roach Biology
Protein: 17%
Fat: 8%
Moisture: 66%
Ash: 1%
Fiber: 3%
Calcium to Phosphorus ratio: 1:3
Discoid roaches are very similar to dubias nutritionally. They have a little less protein, a little more fat, and a little less calcium.
But these numbers can vary depending on what you feed your feeders, anyway. We recommend gut loading your feeder insects to give them a nutritional boost right before feeding them to your pet.
The Downsides of Dubias and Discoids
So in general, dubias and discoids are pretty similar. The main differences lie in their legal status, which is because of their biology.
As we mentioned, discoid roaches are native to the US, while dubias only live in South America. Normally, if a dubia roach escaped captivity, it would die of cold before it could reproduce.
But in a climate like Florida, an escaped dubia roach could possibly survive to reproduce. This could lead dubia roaches to become a widespread invasive species in Florida.
So naturally, dubia roaches are illegal in the tropical states of Florida and Hawai’i. In Florida, your best choice is to go with a discoid roach. Most other places, dubias are much easier to come by.
However, in Hawai’i, both dubia and discoid roaches are illegal. So if you live in Hawai’i, you’ll need to find another solution altogether.
The other major downside of both roach species is that they can’t give your pet everything it needs. You need a mix of protein and fat with lots of moisture and calcium. There really isn’t a feeder insect out there that can do all that.
What we recommend is picking one “lean meat” staple feeder like a dubia or a discoid, and supplementing it with a fatty “snack” feeder like a superworm to round your pet’s diet out. You can also boost their nutritional content by gut loading them.
What’s the Right Choice?
Both dubia and discoid roaches make great lean protein feeder insects, when mixed with another fatty feeder and some calcium supplement. If you live in Florida, you will need to pick a discoid roach. If you live in Hawai’i, you will need to steer clear of both.