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From: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.pets
Subject: Re: Vivariums
Message-ID: <11081@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 28-May-85 13:15:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.11081
Posted: Tue May 28 13:15:40 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 30-May-85 06:47:28 EDT
References: <2234@decwrl.UUCP> <2780003@acf4.UUCP>
Reply-To: wmartin@brl-bmd.UUCP
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Summary: Cockroaches as lizard food

In article <2780003@acf4.UUCP> lwe3207@acf4.UUCP (Lars Warren Ericson) writes:
>Do the smaller lizards eat cockroaches?  Might be more amusing than
>Roach Motels.  Of course, it means catching the little buggers and 
>transporting them to the vivarium -- the important question is whether
>cockroaches are nutritious.
>Lars Ericson

Actually, I would think the main trouble with this would be that cockroaches
in todays urban environment contain a store of various insecticides
and poisons, to which they have developed immunity, but which would be 
passed along to any animals eating them, and which would probably kill
your lizard, or cause it ill-health. Maybe if they only got one every now
and then, it would cause no trouble, but a steady diet would be dangerous.

As far as nutrition, I would think most insects of similar size would be
roughly equivalent. (Another thought -- urban bugs probably have large
amounts of lead and other trace elements, again to which they have bred
tolerance, but which would harm animals ingesting quantities of them.)

Might be worth an experiment if you have a source of free lizards, and
no concern about using some up...

For pet-store-bought (e.g., costly) and really "pet" lizards, I'd
avoid giving them "wild" food in a city. If you can harvest country
bugs that haven't been dosed with agri-chemicals, maybe that would be
OK. (Where would you find organically-grown bugs? :-)

Regards,
Will Martin

USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin     or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA