Dubia Escapes

[Fencer04]

So I have a dubia colony in a rubbermaid tote and so far have had 3 escapes. I found 2 adult males and the third I'm not sure of since my wife found it. As you can imagine I'm not very happy about it and my wife, while understanding is much less so.

From all the videos I've seen I keep them in a standard way with a vent on the top, egg flats inside. I haven't begun feeding from the colony yet and I don't leave the container open without me looking directly at it.

I have included pictures of my setup. Would you guys be worried about finding these escapees? Has anyone else had an issue? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm very nervous about the whole situation.

 

[WhiteStone30]

I have aluminum foil (shiny side up) wrapped around the inside of my rubbermaid tub, they can't climb that plus it keep it warmer in there.

 

[Fencer04]

Thats an idea I've never seen before. My real question is do you think there is anything wrong with my set up and what has been others experiences with escapes. Has anyone had a Dubia breed outside the tank?

 

[katie_]

Thats an idea I've never seen before. My real question is do you think there is anything wrong with my set up and what has been others experiences with escapes. Has anyone had a Dubia breed outside the tank?

They are illegal in a lot of places because of this exact situation lol!

 

[Fencer04]

From what I understand they are only illegal in Florida.

 

[katie_]

From what I understand they are only illegal in Florida.

And all of Canada.

 

[tjmphx]

Ill take some pics of mine tonight. I've never had an escape. Although they'd die here in az real fast out of the tub. It's way too dry here.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Any chance they could be escaping from geckos' enclosures, as in climbing silicone corners in tanks?

 

[andrew5859]

I have had the same situation! I changed their tub to a 10 gallon from a 5 gallon and put on the screen top and havent had any problems. I do however find them (mostly adult males) on the floor every so often. I think this is because I keep them in one of those sterilite drawers and they slip through every now and then. I either end up squishing them under the rug on accident or my cats like to eat them lol if not I just throw em' back in the bin. I dont worry too much about them as up here in the north east it gets cold and dry and they cant survive for long. I suggest either checking the handles on the tub to see if they get through or as Laney suggested they could be getting out of the gecko enclosure.

 

[Cosmo]

yeah i wouldnt worry at all where you live1 i read up a ton about these guys! they aren't fit for survival unless your house has medium humidity level, readily available food source and is routinely above 85 degrees or so! and you live in NY, scared of raoches? lol

 

[Cosmo]

is your tub a smooth inside or roughed up one? Serilite are smoother!

 

[animeavatar]

And all of Canada.

I don't understand why dubias are illegal. It's a bit cold for them to breed here( aside from the summer).

 

[MarkXS]

The Dubia roaches are nice in that they are a tropical species and won't reproduce in the temperatures that most people have in their homes (unless you like to keep it really really warm) However there are a number of websites that sell these roaches that tell you that while the males have wings, they can't fly. This is complete baloney. They 'rarely' fly, but it does happen. Once I was down working in my herp room and heard a buzzing sound, I turned around just in time to have an adult male dubia hit me in the chest after escaping from the roach tub and flying across the room. They don't fly well, but they CAN fly and fortunately it's only the males that do this. If you're really worried about it, get a tub with a tight fitting lid, cut a large hole in the lid and hot glue a piece of 1/4" hardware cloth over the hole. If you're still finding escapees they might be getting out of your lizard cages so check those over for possible escape routes too.

Also, is that flexwatt heat tape I see in the first picture sticking out of the inside of your tub? If so, that may be their escape route. If you use heat tape on them it should be underneath the tub not on the inside.

 

[StellarExotics]

I think your escape route may be the clear tape on your lid. On one side, the tape reaches the edge of the lid. with the lid on, they can reach this by climbing up the egg crate. then as you lift it, and turn it over to check the lid, they vanish, and make a break for it.

Other than that I'd say "from tank" escapee's. Are you POSITIVE that you've never fed from the colony? you never fed off a couple of extra males from the colony when you first got it?

Did you check all orange peels, or debris from the bottom of the tub or soiled egg crate,paper towel etc.. when throwing this stuff away? Check all egg crates while cleaning the tub? Babies can hide almost anywhere.. and now are adults.

 

[katie_]

I don't understand why dubias are illegal. It's a bit cold for them to breed here( aside from the summer).

Roachs can survive in worse condition than you think..

 

[gothra]

Exactly as MarkXS said. Dubia males CAN fly short distances, I can often hear fluttering sounds from my roach bin. Looking at your set up, I would lower the egg crates, and put a mesh to cover the top openning. That'll stop them from flying out at night (they won't attempt to fly in broad daylight).

 

[Fencer04]

The flex watt is taped to the outside so that isn't it. I have moved them into a steralite container and put that container inside another one. I have also put packing tape around the inside of both the containers. If I don't find anything getting out of the first container I'll go back to the single container.

After doing a lot of research and speaking with Greg at GregsExoticInverts.com I'm not worried about it, I just know I need to finish my herp room in the basement so if they get out they'll be down there.