Discouraging Dubias

[Pokersnake]

I'm just about done with my Dubia "colony." It feels like they're not producing anything.

I have 4 or 5 females and a male along with the 100 babies I bought after a month of seeing nothing. Some of the babies are getting big, but the majority of them are still tiny and will amount to almost nothing while feeding adult leos.


I have a heat mat placed on the side of their tub (a large critter keeper type enclosure ~5gal?) which keeps the place nice and warm. There's paper covering the exposed sides of the tank to diminish light. I have it in a canvas bag to keep in more warmth and humidity. There's water crystals and a high protein crushed cat food mix along with fresh carrots and orange to promote good breeding.

But it still feels like I'm not getting the results I want. Maybe I have the wrong idea about dubias? I know they're slow growing, but it's been 6 weeks since I got those babies, and they should be a lot bigger by now. Some are feeding size, but most are still tiny.

I'm thinking about switching to a meal worm colony...

 

[tastyworms]

I'm just about done with my Dubia "colony." It feels like they're not producing anything.

I have 4 or 5 females and a male along with the 100 babies I bought after a month of seeing nothing. Some of the babies are getting big, but the majority of them are still tiny and will amount to almost nothing while feeding adult leos.


I have a heat mat placed on the side of their tub (a large critter keeper type enclosure ~5gal?) which keeps the place nice and warm. There's paper covering the exposed sides of the tank to diminish light. I have it in a canvas bag to keep in more warmth and humidity. There's water crystals and a high protein crushed cat food mix along with fresh carrots and orange to promote good breeding.

But it still feels like I'm not getting the results I want. Maybe I have the wrong idea about dubias? I know they're slow growing, but it's been 6 weeks since I got those babies, and they should be a lot bigger by now. Some are feeding size, but most are still tiny.

I'm thinking about switching to a meal worm colony...

Mealworms are much easier than Dubia. I'll tell you this though - the Dubia are probably not eating as much as they should be. Believe it or not, bugs are picky. When I was experimenting with cat food, I found certain brands which certain insects would not eat, or did not like as much. There was one brand which contained special morsels that were supposedly high protein bits, and the mealworms would not touch them. Literally, they ate every last bit of food but those...

With superworms, I've found that they like potatoes more than carrots. Potatoes would be wholly consumed in a couple of hours, whereas carrots would dry out over several days... I mean who knew insects could be so picky?

Inspect the food. Does it look like it's being consumed? Are they constantly eating, or are they rooting around a lot looking for something tastier? Don't give up. But, it might be time to try some different food options. Maybe some of the Dubia growers could reccomend some brands to you that they've found work best?

 

[artgecko]

Pokersnake, I must have started my dubia colony about the same time as you.
I've been happy so far, I'm seeing small nymphs so I assume the adults are breeding.

I am feeding them Pro Gutload and Newman's Own Premium Adult Cat Food and a Ziggy (Kong dog treat). Along with some carrots and an orange quarter 1-2 a week.

I am using a medium (14 gal) Rubbermaid Roughneck storage bin with a screen inserted in the top. I have a heating pad under the bin. I stacked the egg crates horizontally with pieces of cardboard between them to keep them from collapsing.

hope this helps.

 

[jermh1]

you need way more. expect a few months to see adults. I say start with at least 50 females.

 

[Pokersnake]

Yeah. I am giving up on them. All 2 of my leos don't seem interested in eating the smaller ones, but the adults are too large for them to eat. So I will be feeding off the "colony" because by the time it becomes sustainable I'm going to be moving to be closer to my boyfriend... who doesn't like the idea of them anyway.

I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with superworms.