I can't believe I took the plundge in the roach nation!!! lol

[LizMarie]

Last night at approx. mid-night I ordered atleast 117 Dubia Roaches.

I've been saying I was going to do it for awhile but had an issue with spending $30 on a 100 roaches to start my own colony I just couldn't justify it, lmao. But when I saw the Roach Guys "sale" I decided to do it. It was originally 90 mixed dubia oaches for $25 BUT his "April Sale" is that you get 30% more roaches with every order, free sample of his Roach Food + Free Shipping and 2 adult pairs to get things started.

I have an extra under tank heater and 10 gallon tank but doubt that the tank will be able to hold that many roaches so I think I'll use one of my extra rubbermaids. I'm ready to take on the challenge!

I'm might be nuts for wanting to breed with owning one leo but I think this is a good enough reason to get that Bearded Dragon I was promised in high school :main_yes: and I can no longer stand buying mealworms and half of them dying or going through a feeder shortage and having to pay ridiculous prices for a something thats just going to be eaten in a few days anyway.

So I just have a few questions!?
--Should I let all the roaches become adults and let them breeder while weeding out the extra males here and their OR should I start feeding off some of them because it's just WAY to much?
--How big should the rubbermaid be?
--I know that the droppings (frass i believe is what you call it) are good for the colony especially the babies since they feed on it. Should I clean every 6 months, more, less?

They ship out Monday! Omg I'm so excited in a weird kinda of way. And I already ordered some water crystals from ebay I just hope they get here BEFORE the roaches. I'm on a mission to find egg crates but I also found an old cardboard box and those that I could leave the square outline and use the extra flaps to create little shelves or cubby holes. I also have a small collection of paper towel/toilet rolls I've been saving and hopefully they're be enough.

Thanks

 

[laurlaur12]

you are much braver than me! i also only have 1 Leo (hopefully soon to be 2), but having a colonie is an amazing idea. I havent had to buy mealies in months!

 

[LizMarie]

you are much braver than me! i also only have 1 Leo (hopefully soon to be 2), but having a colonie is an amazing idea. I havent had to buy mealies in months!

I tried the mealie colony thing but after having a 1,000 of them infront of me I would get all itchy, sneezy and my throat got all funny and I had only 30 successful beetles. All the other ones had beetle heads but pupae bodies it was pretty disgusting to see. :main_no:

 

[Neill]

Just got my roaches yesterday. Don't think I will be able to feed them to my leos. Don't want to touch them... There big and kinda fast.

 

[daleo]

lol welcome to the roach club! lol i have dubias and LOVE them!! no noise, no smell, and they dont jump! lol you can keep several hundred roachs in a standard 10 gallon tank. i have over 100 in a midium kriter keeper. fresh vegies every 3 or 4 days and some roach food and thats it! let them be for a month or two and they will start breeding! as for the UTH as long as the place they will be stored at is 70 degrees plus you dont need it.

dale

 

[Neill]

How quick do they breed? and do they bite?

 

[Chewbecca]

you DO need higher temps if you want them to breed.

They DO NOT bite.

I just ordered 200 feeders and 12 breeders to start my colony (but I also have a total of 9 geckos I wish to feed these roaches to.).

If your water crystals do not get there in time, go to a pet store and get "Cricket Quencher". They can drink that.

I use Repashy insect gut-load on my roaches, plus they get fruits and veggies.
REAL easy.

I'm thinking about misting my colony because if you keep heat on them, you'll need to keep humidity up. They don't require TOO high of a humidity (I think it's 40-60%, don't quote me, though), but if using heat, that's only going to take that much more humidity away. Some people keep a smooth cup of water in their tank to keep humidity up.
If you go that route, make sure it's completely SMOOTH so that the dubias cannot climb up the cup and fall in and drown.

If you do not wish to touch them, try these:
http://www.petsolutions.com/Feeding-Tongs+I97662210+C40002002.aspx

 

[Digby Rigby]

just pick them up

If you can pick up crickets which are disgusting as opposed to feeder, not pest species of roaches, then the roaches should be easier by far to pick up. Also if they are moving fast they arent dubia roaches. Blaptica dubia roaches sometimes even play dead. Now just put on your big girl panties and be a man and pick them up yee hee hee. As the longest established bulk roach feeders in the USA no one we have soldd to has ever regretted getting roaches, the only complaints we have had are "Why didnt I get these sooner" and "They dont climb so I have to hand feed my arboreals"

Digby Rigby [email protected]

 

[gothra]

Liz, if you only have one gecko, I think 20-30 breeding adults will produce more than what you'll need. If you have ordered more than 100, I'll definately feed off some the smaller ones; otherwise you'll be overwhelmed with roaches in no time...>_<

p.s. When I received my first batch of roaches, I was so reluctant to open the lid of the deli cup that packed with roaches, thinking they'll all rush out and climb on me or something, so....good luck! LOL

 

[LizMarie]

Liz, if you only have one gecko, I think 20-30 breeding adults will produce more than what you'll need. If you have ordered more than 100, I'll definately feed off some the smaller ones; otherwise you'll be overwhelmed with roaches in no time...>_<

p.s. When I received my first batch of roaches, I was so reluctant to open the lid of the deli cup that packed with roaches, thinking they'll all rush out and climb on me or something, so....good luck! LOL

Thank You very much! I was going to keep a few but wasn't sure how many.

Lol.. I did the same thing when I got like 10-15 dubias to try on my gecko. Oh Lord my heart was racing just opening the box then I left it open for like 20minutes because I was waiting for them to come crawling out, lol. Once I get the out of the box and laid eyes on them in the deli cup it took another 20minutes to get them out of the container into the rubbermaid, lmao.