Dubia Set up

[Pinky81]

Ok so I have my dubia set up. 66qt rubbermaid tub, egg crates stacked verticle, water crystals, roach chow and Im feeding lots of oranges (I heard it helps with breeding) carrots and anything else I have going on. I have a 40-50gal UTH on the bottom. a 8X8 mesh area up top.

I have 190 mixed and 10males, 50 females give or take. I just ordered another 10 breeding pair.

What are the best temps for breeding...Ive seen 80degrees Ive seen 90degrees! my bin goes from 82 up to 91. I have a digital probe maybe half way down the egg crates.

Also how do you know they are breeding? And is there anything else Im missing to get this colony going quickly?

 

[Pinky81]

Bumping this...any help guys???

 

[Chestersmom]

It took me about 2 months before I started noticing babies. I kept my bin at about 88* . I put fresh oranges in every other day. Now I keep them at room temp and they are still breeding like crazy. I also keep mine in a dark closet.

 

[im faster]

In for more info also....


another questoin..

what is growth rate?
from baby to adult?

 

[theCREECH]

I didn't start noticing babies until I put in water crystals, even then it was only a few. I thought I would see at least 25. I thought litters were fairly large. It's seems like it's been months for me.... very slow start. But to me it sounds like you have a great set up.

I would try adding water crystals. Also I've read that cat food or dog food is easier for them to eat if it's crushed.

 

[houseb]

I've been keeping my roach bin at about 92-95 F and I keep my feeders and main colony separate. It seems like the colony does better when it isn't frequently disturbed. I think baby nymphs mature between 3-5 months. There is some great care info at http://theroachranch.com/care_sheet.html, hope this helps.

 

[ElapidSVT]

you'll know they are breeding when you either see new babies or sooner if you see a female with an ootheca. your setup sounds great.
good luck!

 

[Designer Geckos]

90 degree temp is important for successful breeding. We try to stay away from oranges and apples as they might make the dubias/supers/etc. sour tasting.....plus they ferment and mold quickly at 90 degrees...not good.

We do not use water crystals either.

Our colony has been hugely successful. We only use fresh organic carrots, large, sliced lengthwise, and place at a 45 degree angle along the side edges of the bins. Our food is Science diet adult dry cat food (not ground). Carrots are replaced daily, or at the very most every other day.

Our dubs thrive and breed like crazy. They are awesome feeders, 36% protein (double of crickets). Not all geckos like them but those that do go nuts over them. We tong feed ours so they don't escape or make the geckos stressed.

Good luck Pinky. That's a pretty big colony you are starting so be prepared for tons of dubs going forward. Hope you have plans to sell them...unless you have about 500 geckos to feed!

 

[Pinky81]

90 degree temp is important for successful breeding. We try to stay away from oranges and apples as they might make the dubias/supers/etc. sour tasting.....plus they ferment and mold quickly at 90 degrees...not good.

We do not use water crystals either.

Our colony has been hugely successful. We only use fresh organic carrots, large, sliced lengthwise, and place at a 45 degree angle along the side edges of the bins. Our food is Science diet adult dry cat food (not ground). Carrots are replaced daily, or at the very most every other day.

Our dubs thrive and breed like crazy. They are awesome feeders, 36% protein (double of crickets). Not all geckos like them but those that do go nuts over them. We tong feed ours so they don't escape or make the geckos stressed.

Good luck Pinky. That's a pretty big colony you are starting so be prepared for tons of dubs going forward. Hope you have plans to sell them...unless you have about 500 geckos to feed!

No water crystals?? So the carrots keep the humidity high enough? Do you have egg crate filling all the space and then carrots againest the sides?

Also the food in there is roach chow from the Roach Guy.

And yes I planned on hopefully having enough to sell. No one around me sells them so Im hoping to have some takers!! No one even on CL!!!

I attached some pics....Ray do you have any pictures of your tubs set-up?
Thanks guys!

 

[im faster]

We try to stay away from oranges and apples as they might make the dubias/supers/etc. sour tasting.....

STOP EATING THE ROACHES

 

[Pinky81]

STOP EATING THE ROACHES

LMFAO!!!!!!! :main_laugh: :main_laugh: :main_laugh: :main_laugh: :main_laugh:

 

[im faster]

Oh and 1thing i thought of..

to keep the eggflats seperate. i take a tooth pick and put it through 2 flats to keep them from getting so close the roaches dont get in between.

 

[ReptileWorld]

TRY not to over think it or make it complicated. their roaches. There are 1,000,000 ways to keep them you just have to try a few different ways before you find what works for you.

I keep mine just like you keep yours. 64QT tub and a under tank heat pad for the 30 to 40 gallon tanks. it covers about 80% of the bottom of the bin. i keep the egg flats stacked but sloped a bit on a angle. and i sliced the tops off them to keep it between a inch to 2 inchs under the lid. I do find them climbing on the lid ( only where the screan mesh is ) and i just smack it they get scared and jump off before opening. i keep a dish of water gel ( works great for me and i found it extremely cheap ) 6.25 per pound ( 16oz's ) and i keep a dish of my dubia chow which is cat food based along with a few other things. ( normally whatever is laying around in the house )
Also i feed apples, oranges, banana's, carrots, plums, peaches and whatever else i happen to have in the fridge at the time. i offer this to them about 3 or 4 times a week depending how busy i am. i know some people worry about mold. I dont because once your colony takes off they will kill off whatever you put in there over night.

ideal temps for breeding is 85 to 95f 90 is a happy temp and leaves room for up and down and you wont have to worry. sadly i only get mine from 77 to 88F and mine are breeding faster then i can feed them off so im not overly worried about the temps.

humidity 40 to 60 % works great for me. under 40% i find some dead ones mid shed over 70% i notice the bin smells a little bit more.

i keep cut up egg crate in chunks tossed on the bin floor i find babies hide in them and females drop babies in them in clusters.

so again HEAT + FOOD + DARK = Happy Dubia :main_thumbsup:

oh and if you have a small colony pull out any fruit after 24 to 48 hours even if they didnt finish it just toss it better safe then sorry.

 

[Pinky81]

TRY not to over think it or make it complicated. their roaches. There are 1,000,000 ways to keep them you just have to try a few different ways before you find what works for you.

I keep mine just like you keep yours. 64QT tub and a under tank heat pad for the 30 to 40 gallon tanks. it covers about 80% of the bottom of the bin. i keep the egg flats stacked but sloped a bit on a angle. and i sliced the tops off them to keep it between a inch to 2 inchs under the lid. I do find them climbing on the lid ( only where the screan mesh is ) and i just smack it they get scared and jump off before opening. i keep a dish of water gel ( works great for me and i found it extremely cheap ) 6.25 per pound ( 16oz's ) and i keep a dish of my dubia chow which is cat food based along with a few other things. ( normally whatever is laying around in the house )
Also i feed apples, oranges, banana's, carrots, plums, peaches and whatever else i happen to have in the fridge at the time. i offer this to them about 3 or 4 times a week depending how busy i am. i know some people worry about mold. I dont because once your colony takes off they will kill off whatever you put in there over night.

ideal temps for breeding is 85 to 95f 90 is a happy temp and leaves room for up and down and you wont have to worry. sadly i only get mine from 77 to 88F and mine are breeding faster then i can feed them off so im not overly worried about the temps.

humidity 40 to 60 % works great for me. under 40% i find some dead ones mid shed over 70% i notice the bin smells a little bit more.

i keep cut up egg crate in chunks tossed on the bin floor i find babies hide in them and females drop babies in them in clusters.

so again HEAT + FOOD + DARK = Happy Dubia :main_thumbsup:

oh and if you have a small colony pull out any fruit after 24 to 48 hours even if they didnt finish it just toss it better safe then sorry.

Thanks!!! I have found two dead adults so I was alittle concerned I was missing something!

How do you measure your humidity? i have yet to do that...and if you use a gauge where do you put it in the bin?

Thanks guys for all the help...soon I hope to be OvErFlOwInG with the little creepers!!! :main_thumbsup:

 

[ReptileWorld]

i use the one made by flukers it does both the temp and humidity on the same device and i have it placed in the front of the bin agenst the plastic in the dead center just so i have an approx idea. because remember the heat pad under the bin right under the egg flats is very hot and the egg flats actually trap heat which is why i have them sloped a bit. so i know whatever the reading is its a bit warmer where they are hiding.

You will find dead ones all the time i dont even pull them out anymore. some are older roaches some are some that just couldnt survive in the colony for whatever reason. Just make sure food is available as much as possible and it should be fine. because mine finish a bowl of chow over night and im sure not all of the thousands had a chance to eat so re fill the bowl before i start my day. also i allow the bowl of chow to over flow and fall to the floor of the bin the babies will feast on all of the food that drops to the bottom.

My buddy keeps his Dubia in a trash pale filled with paper towel rolls and egg flats cut up and he feeds his dubia with a small childrens bucket that he scratched up so they can climb in and out and he feeds them left overs from dinner, fruits vegies, meats he prob has about 5 or 6 thousand in there and i asked about if he worries about any types of food molding like mash potatos and such he says no they finish all the food before it even has a chance to mold. ( the bucket is so the food doesnt sit on the egg flats and rolls and get them wet to create mold. ) and he keeps the pale outside during the summer months and inside in the winter months with no heat source.

once every other month he goes in and sorts them out and feeds them to his large monitors and bearded dragons. He says the secret is to neglect them just leave them feed them and they will do the rest. :main_laugh:

 

[im faster]

out side huh.. sounds good but im sure in a tub temps get well over 100 degrees wouldnt they

 

[Wowoklol]

out side huh.. sounds good but im sure in a tub temps get well over 100 degrees wouldnt they

Well the Are native to Guyana.. I have a similar setup Pinky and I notice very small roaches now. You'll also start noticing heavier density on some of the egg crates and more "feeder sized" roaches. We started with 50 adult pairs and 100 smalls. I'm feeding a total of 25 small nymphs a night to two female geckos. It won't take long with more adult pairs. Some that you'll buy may be ready to birth. Can you weigh your bin and gauge growth that way? My scale doesn't go up high enough

 

[ReptileWorld]

out side huh.. sounds good but im sure in a tub temps get well over 100 degrees wouldnt they

we live in new york our highs average 85 to 90F doesnt go any higher then that unless we have heat waves. some of our summer days are in the high 70's so we dont worry about anything we keep outside dieing off due to high heat temps. if we know we are going to have high temps move the feeders to the shade by the shed or under a tree

 

[Pinky81]

He says the secret is to neglect them just leave them feed them and they will do the rest. :main_laugh:

I love this!! Here Im trying to be neat and tidy with the roach chow!

So I got my shipment today!! 10breeding pairs and 200small. all for $24 bucks!!!! These I got from a seller on ebay!! I bid on both won them and he was awesome enough to combine my orders for cheaper shipping and I counted he gave me 3 extra females!!! I could see extra males but extra females!!!! :main_thumbsup: and 10%overcount and let me tell ya..he definitly gave it...and maybe a couple DOA! VERY IMPRESSED!!!!!!! Happy Dubia males too...they were stuck like glue on those females LOL

Im gonna go out and get a hydrometer (sp?) but im using a zoomed digital thermometer probe in side the pile of egg crate reading 85 right now!

I have to say guys Im super impressed with my experiences ordering feeders off of ebay!!!! Anyone wanny know the sellers handle lemme know!!!!

Oh also I did a major "hee bee gee bee" dance....one of the males grapled onto my finger as I was trying to get him off of the piece of egg crate and Im sitting there shaking my hand and he would come off....Every hair on my body was standing on end after he finally got off!!!!!! YUCK! what we do for our Gecks!!!

 

[im faster]

24 shipped?