Dubia help

[jxl22]

Hey guys!
I have little bit of a problem. i placed an order of dubia last week. i had just set up a start to a colony. basically just getting a bin and cutting out a hole and putting screen on it.a ton on the dubia seemed to start dieing off in masses. instead of feeding them to my BD i fiugred id leave them alone for a while and see if they all died off to be safe. well i looked today and it seems i have a decent amount that is alive.

So heres my problem, im going to be placing another order for dubias. But theres still a mix of dead and alive roaches in the bin. I really dont want to go 1 by 1 and just grabbed all of the dead ones. is there a easy way to get all of the dead ones out of the colony?

Also they all seem to stay in the little grooves on the bottom of the bin, they wont go onto the couple small egg crates i have.

Thanks, john
EDIT: if youll be at the MA expo next weekend let me know. thinking about going.

 

[kingkung]

I've seen some online roach sellers, like west coast roaches, sell what they call a cleaning crew, which consist of another type of insect that thrive with dubias. Supposedly they eat all the dead roaches. I'm not an expert, so someone correct me if I'm wrong

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[jxl22]

Yeah discoid roaches I beleive. Wcr sells 25 for $33. Thats way too much for me and theure out of stock anyway.

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[OnlineGeckos]

Toss a slice of carrot in the bin on top of a feeding dish or egg-crates, give them a bit to gather around to munch on the carrot. Then go in, say "surprise!", and move them into another bin

This should reduce the amount of live dubias in the bin for you to have to fish out. It's why it's a good idea to have a 2nd bin ready so you could do this.

 

[Phoenix1115]

I will be at the show vending

 

[jxl22]

Thanks guys. I dont think putting the carrot in will work. i'd have to wait a while i would think and do it numerous times. i guess its better than nothing.

Phoenix could you give me an idea of what you are bringing to the expo? looking for a F Juv Leo. Right now i'm thinking of giants, blizzard, and sunglows? if you have a SCHTB ( i know its wrong can't remember the acronym ATM) that your bringing that isnt very expensive i'd love to see a pic of it.

 

[njnolan1]

There's a beetle larvae that is almost always in with the crickets at the stores. It's called Dermestes maculatus. See if you can find that beetle or something similar. They're also used to clean bones. Here's a site I found that sells them but I don't know if this site is up to date or not. Clean-Up Crews - Roach Crossing

A post I found about these creatures on a roach forum. Dubia Roach colony is infested!! - Health Issues - Allpet Roaches Forum

Sorry if posting this is against the rules, thought it would be helpful.

 

[jxl22]

There's a beetle larvae that is almost always in with the crickets at the stores. It's called Dermestes maculatus. See if you can find that beetle or something similar. They're also used to clean bones. Here's a site I found that sells them but I don't know if this site is up to date or not. Clean-Up Crews - Roach Crossing

A post I found about these creatures on a roach forum. Dubia Roach colony is infested!! - Health Issues - Allpet Roaches Forum

Sorry if posting this is against the rules, thought it would be helpful.

Thanks, i purchased a Starter colony from WCR and it comes with some of the cleaner roaches. I think i'm going to scrap the first setup and get a new bin this week. just not sure how to get the alive ones out to feed.

 

[LepoInc]

SaSobek has a video about sorting dubias; its quite helpful and if your colony grows large, it will help in the future too

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[DrCarrotTail]

Do you have the dubia on heat? They don't do well if your room temp is below 70 and don't really breed or grow if they're not above 85.

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[jxl22]

Do you have the dubia on heat? They don't do well if your room temp is below 70 and don't really breed or grow if they're not above 85.

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No heat yet. Theese are the feeders that I bought. Figured I should setup the bin before buying the colony.
Just ordered the colony from WCR. Ill be buying a new bin and a heater tomorrow.

Should I huy the large heating pad? Will that put out enough heat?

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[DrCarrotTail]

The roaches definitely die off below 70 degrees and don't breed at all below 85. They also seem to be a bit particular about where their heat comes from as I had mine under a heat lamp for 6 months as adults before I gave up and switched to UTH. Now I have them on a human heating pad and they are exploding. In fact I've only had 2 adult females die in the 18 months I've had the colony. Pretty impressive creatures!

I think if the heating pad covers 1/3 to 1/2 the bottom of the bin you'll do fine with it. You might need to regulate it in some way to keep it from getting too hot

 

[jxl22]

The roaches definitely die off below 70 degrees and don't breed at all below 85. They also seem to be a bit particular about where their heat comes from as I had mine under a heat lamp for 6 months as adults before I gave up and switched to UTH. Now I have them on a human heating pad and they are exploding. In fact I've only had 2 adult females die in the 18 months I've had the colony. Pretty impressive creatures!

I think if the heating pad covers 1/3 to 1/2 the bottom of the bin you'll do fine with it. You might need to regulate it in some way to keep it from getting too hot

What do you mean by human heating pad?

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[DrCarrotTail]

Like one that was made for humans to put on aches and pains. I had to hunt one down online that doesn't have the 2-hour auto-off safety feature though. I'll see if I can hunt down a link to the one I bought. It''s been running fine (knock on wood and check the fire alarms and house insurance!!!) for 11 months now!

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I have this: Amazon.com: Sunbeam 731-500 Moist Heating Pad: Health & Personal Care Set on low under a big Sterilite bin in my guest bathroom. I also have a large stack of towels to place on said bin when guests come over. What they don't know won't hurt them....right?

 

[jxl22]

so you think that its the temps that are killing the dubias and not because of the cleaning chemicals i used?

I'd rather not buy a new bin and i rinsed it out numerous times.

Thanks for the heat pad, i unfortunately can't wait for it to ship.

 

[LepoInc]

I had some Dubia's that didn't do crap but then I added a heat mat and all the magic you hear about started happening. Misting, heating, and feeding make a worlds difference

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[jxl22]

I had some Dubia's that didn't do crap but then I added a heat mat and all the magic you hear about started happening. Misting, heating, and feeding make a worlds difference

Sent via Tapatalk whilst caring for Eublepharis macularis'

Awesome! Im going to keep the same bin, empty it out* and add the large UTH. My starter colony will be in today!

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[kingkung]

Misting? I didn't know they needed that.

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[LepoInc]

The misting helps them molt easier