Every feeder-guide page on this site gives a version of the same warning: don't feed an insect too big for your pet. The exact yardstick changes species to species, but the underlying rule is identical everywhere we sell live feeders.
The One Rule That Shows Up Everywhere
Oversized prey is the single most repeated feeding mistake across every category we carry: no wider than the eye gap for leopard geckos and bearded dragons, no wider than the mouth for Pacman frogs and chameleons, no wider than the head or body for a tiger salamander, and never larger than the abdomen for a tarantula. The reasoning is the same in every case: prey too big to swallow or subdue causes impaction in swallowers, and fights back against ambush predators.
Invertebrates Get an Even Tighter Rule
Predatory invertebrates like emperor scorpions and praying mantises size prey against their own body length, not just width — young scorplings should never get prey more than half to three-quarters their own body length, and mantis nymphs take prey at roughly a third to half of theirs. Small invertebrates molt frequently and are briefly defenseless every time, so a feeder that's merely "not too big" for a resting animal can still be dangerous for one about to shed.
How Nymph Sizing Maps to Life Stage
This is exactly why we sell dubia roaches in five nymph sizes instead of one. Hatchlings and slings across nearly every species on our feeder guides start on X-Small or Small nymphs, step up to Medium through the juvenile stretch, and move to Large only once the pet itself is adult-sized — the same progression whether you're raising a leopard gecko, a tegu, or an emperor scorpion.
Bottom Line
"Right size" always means sized to the animal, not the feeder bag. Check your species' feeder guide for the specific measurement that applies, then size up gradually as your pet grows.
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