Picking a feeder size does not need a chart or a scale. For bearded dragons and most lizards, you can do it by looking at the animal's face.

What size dubia roach should I feed my bearded dragon?

Pick a feeder no wider than the space between your dragon's eyes. Look at it head-on, find the gap between the eyes, and match a feeder to that width.

It is the same measure we sort on, and it scales on its own. A young dragon has a small gap, so it takes small feeders. The same dragon a year later has a wider gap and takes bigger ones. Check again every few weeks and the rule keeps working. It holds for bearded dragons and most lizards. Snakes, chameleons and tortoises feed differently, so ask a vet or a keeper who knows that species.

How do I measure the gap between my reptile's eyes?

Wait until your dragon is calm and facing you, then look straight at its face rather than from the side. The gap you want runs across the top of the snout, from the inside edge of one eye to the inside edge of the other.

You never need a ruler. Take a feeder out of the tub and hold it up next to your dragon's face. If it looks wider than the gap between the eyes, it is too big.

• Look at your reptile from the front.
• Find the space between its eyes.
• Pick a feeder no wider than that space.
• When your reptile grows, move up a size.

Why does the width of a feeder matter more than its length?

A roach is longer than it is wide, and your reptile swallows it across rather than lengthwise. Width is what has to fit.

That is why we sell feeders by length but sort them by width. Length is how you order. Width is what your animal has to get down. Our sorters are built around that: a bug drops through the first hole it fits, which is what puts it in a size.

What are the six dubia feeder sizes?

Our six sizes are extra small, small, medium, large, extra large and adult. Smaller steps between sizes mean that when a dragon outgrows one, the next one up is not much too big.

• Extra small: hatchlings and tiny geckos, just out of the egg.
• Small: the step up once a hatchling is eating steadily.
• Medium: juveniles.
• Large: grown bearded dragons and adult geckos.
• Extra large: big adults that need a full meal in one bite.
• Adult: large reptiles, and keepers who breed their own.

These are rough starting points, not a chart to follow. The eye-gap check decides it.

Adults are our breeding stock, so we sell those in small numbers and usually alongside other sizes. Extra large goes out the same way.

What happens if a dubia roach is too big for my dragon?

A feeder that is too wide is a real risk, not a small one. We raise the bugs, so we are not the right people to tell you what an oversized one can do to your animal. Ask a vet or a keeper who works with your species.

Too small costs you nothing. Your dragon simply eats more of them. So when you are between two sizes, round down.

If you are unsure, tell us what you keep and how big it is, and we will help you pick.