Dubia roach ?'s (Help me convince my dad!)

[hds1492]

My dad isn't too keen on me bringing roaches into the house, so if anyone who keeps/breeds dubia could answer a few ?'s for me to help convince him that it's not a terrible idea to have them, that would be amazing

1.) Have you ever had any escapees? If so, what happened? Were you able to find them?
2.) What is the best way to prevent escapees?
3.) Do they smell?
4.) Do they fly?
5.) How hard are they to keep/breed?


Thanks so much!

 

[telliott4]

1) Yes because there was a small gap between the tub and the rack. The only ones that escaped were males. Solution: keep adults in a tight fitting tub or container/ lid.
2) Keep them in a tub with a tight top and small air holes.
3) Yes, but it is not bad and you have to have your face near the tub. They have a smell but don't stink like crickets.
4) Only males have wings. They don't fly but they can flutter a little to help them get to slightly out of reach areas, which is how I had escapees early in my venture.
5) They are easy to keep. Give them food and water and pull veggies that are uneaten and rotting or beginning to rot. Something very important to keep in mind is they need space. I keep my adults in a 32 quart tub with lots of egg crate and toilet paper tubes. I sort them once a month to keep the sizes separate. I use a total of 4 28qt tubs and 1 32qt tub, this may not be feasible for everyone but it works well.

 

[Dinosaur!]

1. Yes, but it was because i dropped it when I was moving her to a new tub!
2. They can't climb high, smooth surfaces, so smooth plastic tubs and aquariums work well.
3. Mine only smell when you put your face in their tank. Otherwise it just stays contained in there.
4. The males have wings but can only glide short distances from high areas, or flutter as stated before.
5. I find them very simple to keep! I give them comercial gutload, whole grain cereal, bread crusts, water crystals, and carrots and apples. just watch out for mold! Keep the temps around 90 degrees, and mist the tank for humidity. very simple really! And they will breed and grow without much help from you! (besides the food and stuff )

I love my dubias! I just keep them in a 20 g long tank I had laying around. I have a heat bulb (not the best heating method, but it works for me ) and I covered the sides of the tanks with black poster board to keep out the light (plus I dont even have to see them, and the people who come over just assume its another one of my "weird" reptiles ) They have three egg cartons stacked horizontally, and a coffe jar lid with their food. I started with 10 females and 5 males about two months ago, and now I have well over 75 roaches! so I'm happy with the progress I hope that you can convince your dad! It took me forever to convince my mom, but she doesnt even notice them now. They are well woth the effort though!

 

[indyana]

1.) Have you ever had any escapees? If so, what happened? Were you able to find them?
Yes, but only because I dropped them! >_< One I never found and assume it died, and the other, my grandmother stepped on accidentally.

2.) What is the best way to prevent escapees?
Keep a lid on them, don't put egg crates within jumping/fluttering distance of the top, and check the inside of the lid when you open the container, just in case. I use four inches of clear, smooth packaging tape along the upper edge of all the container walls and grease the lip with petroleum jelly. I'm probably being a bit crazy, since I know they can't climb the smooth sides, but I don't need any pesky males escaping (not that the fat females would escape and breed with them...).

3.) Do they smell?
Only if they are too damp or you haven't cleaned them in several months. Watch the amount of fresh food you add and make certain it doesn't mold. Clean out excess frass 2-3 times a year.

4.) Do they fly?
Males can do a jump-and-flutter thing but no outright flying for dubias.

5.) How hard are they to keep/breed?
Not difficult at all. Large storage bin with smooth inner sides, cut a square out of the top and glue aluminum screening over it. Tape an extra large heat pad to the side. I keep it on a thermostat for safety, set to 80-94 F depending how much I want them to breed (warmer = more breeding). I then cut down egg crates so they don't reach too far toward the top and line them up inside. I feed mine HydroLoad gel from Repashy, Repashy Bug Burger or MS2 Premium Insect Chow, and lots of fresh, nutritious veggies. As mentioned, you do need to clean out the excess frass when it gets too deep or smelly, but it's seriously only a couple times a year unless you get too much rotting food in there.

Anyway, I find these guys a lot less creepy than crickets. Also, if you're like me and live in MA, the cooler weather will stop them from breeding if they did escape and kill them if they got outside.

 

[hds1492]

Thank you everyone for your answers!! My dad doesn't want to worry about it right now, as my gecko has been a bit ill, but it wasn't an outright no, so that's good, right?? I'll prob bring it up to him again when my gecko is feeling better Thanks again!!!