Making the jump. Roaches

[hoppslover]

I have been raising my own mealworms. It has been going well. No issues with having these in my house. I have been kicking around the addition of a Dubia roach colony. Been doing my research and have seen that they dont crawl and dont fly. So in theory they should be no different to me than the mealworm beetles. So now a couple of questions.

1. Has anyone started a colony with reservations and decided that dubias were ok after getting it going? Not worried about escapies or just the fact that they moved roaches into their home.
2. How are you feeding these guys to your leos? Is there a special bowl that you are using or are you just throwing them in and removing the ones that the leos dont eat in like 15 mins?

From what I have seen I think it would be good for me to have the roaches for variation in the diet. Just not sure yet about having these things in my house.

 

[hoppslover]

Anyone?

 

[Sprucedude]

Just bought some today! I let you know, so far I'm considering just throwing them in as they don't seem as lively as crickets.

 

[nats]

I ordered my very first batch of dubias too (very expensive, this better work!!) and I too had reservations about having them in my home.

I have been assured by the good folks here that it's OK!

So, when I receive my batch and find out if my leos like them, I will decide if I want to breed them.

So, the jury is still out on the roaches!!

 

[nats]

Just bought some today! I let you know, so far I'm considering just throwing them in as they don't seem as lively as crickets.

If they dont move as fast as crix, that would be a big plus.
Of course, if even one of my 2 leos wont eat them, why bother!!??

 

[Sprucedude]

After two days of feeding them I'm hooked ( so is the gecko! ) just toss them in after some dusting and it's over. They're not very quick and the colony I'm starting doesn't smell and there are no escapes at all.

 

[tommyburgerz]

I have a very small colony housed in a 6 quart plastic container with a large hole cut in the top for ventilation. I've had them for a week now and they do not smell at all. You can't even tell they are there.

It takes a little getting used to, to get over the creepy factor, but once you do it's not bad.

These little buggers are strong though. They are hard to pick up with tongs, and they will grip your finger for dear life, then you will feel how strong they are.

As far as feeding a gecko with one, not sure yet myself. My frog eats them and he loves them now. My gecko still hasn't eaten since I brought him last saturday.

They are definitely better then crickets in all respects, but very expensive to purchase, so starting your own colony is the way to go.

For tips on care "The Roach Guy" is the best I've seen and he has the best prices too. Here is a link to his site: http://www.theroachguy.com/caresheet.htm

 

[Kristi23]

I usually put in 4 small to medium ones at a time. If they eat them all, then I add a couple more. I take out whatever isn't eaten in 20-30 minutes. It's more work than feeding mealworms, but some of my picky geckos love them. They won't touch mealworms. I've had a couple slow growers gain 20+ grams since I switched them to roaches. I still have some that don't like them though and they eat mealworms still. Roaches still gross me out a bit, but not as bad as before. My husband takes care of the breeders,etc, so all I have to do is feed them. I use tongs to handle them. We've been using them for more than 6 months and have never had one escape.

 

[dprince]

I used to have a colony of dubia's............they ended up creeping me out so badly (after several months) that I sold the whole kit and kaboodle.

I only fed them to my knobtails and one leo I had purchased from someone else that wouldn't switch to mealworms. She's all switched now. They seemed to like them somewhat, but they seemed to like the crickets better. *shrugs*

 

[hoppslover]

Well I went ahead and bought some. Theroachguy.com. One of his starter kits. should be here next week. I bought a nice big 50gal sterilite tub for them to be in. I hear under the right conditions they reproduce pretty quickly. So hopefully in 6 months I will have a self sustaining roach colony to go with my almost self sustaining mealworm colony.

 

[nats]

My FIRST Dubia order!! Joy Joy!

Allrightythen!!

I received my Worm Man order of 50 small dubias.

I transfered them to a 10g glass terrarium and put some egg carton things in there along with some water gal stuff, some ground up cat food, and some carrots. Any other recommendations would be very helpful :main_yes:

Oh yeah, I remember reading that dubias like warmth. So I put a UTH under their tank. Did I do the right thing? My basement does get quite cool, like mid 60's to 70's.

My leos dont even know I have this things yet, so it will be a first time for them too. A dinner SUPRISE!

The first thing I noticed was, wow, these guys are really FLAT!! I hope Newpy and Slinky will be able to pick these up when they pounce on em'!!

The second thing I thought; OMG! if my family found out that I spent $36.00 on a handfull of roaches, I will be wisked off by the men in white coats for a psych eval!!!

Anyway, after dinner time, I will let you guys know how it went! :main_yes:
I am REALLY keeping my fingers crossed that this idea works!! :main_rolleyes:

 

[ataber]

i love dubias...i started my colony a few months back with 50 then added another 500 and now im somewhere between where i started and 1000 lol They are very easy to take care of and my beardies and most of my geckos love them.

 

[thekooliest]

they love them. uth is great idea. i would cover up the aquarium with black paper cause they are scared crazy of light...even if you have lights off they wont come out and eat (for me).

 

[nats]

they love them. uth is great idea. i would cover up the aquarium with black paper cause they are scared crazy of light...even if you have lights off they wont come out and eat (for me).

Hi Sam I never thought of that, the light thing I mean.

They are in a terrarium, and I never see them! they dont even come out to
eat!!

I guess I'm so used to crix running and hopping around. Buy comparison, these guys are like in a COMA or something!! :main_huh: how do I even get
these critters to eat!

Since they have been in there, I havent even seen them walking around, they
just hide in their egg cartons.
You think if I cover them, they will come out and eat??
I do think there pretty cool though. I was playing with them last night to get
an idea how fast they move (not very!!).

 

[LadyGecko]

Hi Sam I never thought of that, the light thing I mean.

They are in a terrarium, and I never see them! they don't even come out to
eat!!

I guess I'm so used to crix running and hopping around. Buy comparison, these guys are like in a COMA or something!! :main_huh: how do I even get
these critters to eat!

Since they have been in there, I haven't even seen them walking around, they
just hide in their egg cartons.
You think if I cover them, they will come out and eat??
I do think there pretty cool though. I was playing with them last night to get
an idea how fast they move (not very!!).

They most definitely do not like light and are a great food source for insectivores

The beauty of having the colony is that you always have the right size feeder insect for each individual reptile

I would cover the sides of the tank with paper as suggested and put it in a dark corner

Mine eat like pigs even though I do not have the sides covered but it I generally do not see much if any movement from them until dark

My colony also has been in existence for a couple of years so they are probably used to their location
They might get stressed-like anything else that is uprooted and moved and they should settle down and eat and eventually reproduce for you

In addition to having another food choice for your lizards-you will also save money
I still feed supers and crickets for variety

God Luck with them

Sandy

 

[thekooliest]

You just said it, Stan. They will come out. Just leave them with it covered for a bit. When I got mine I kept checking in on them (which brought light, and they were almost constantly scared)...So I just left them for a week in dark and I came back with 10 babies in my food/water dishes. But a lot of them still hide under the carton. I usually have about 20% out and eating at a time.
Good luck, Leos love them.

 

[boutiquegecko]

I just started our colony, but my leos love them. I love the fact I won't have to keep spending money on feeders and that I'll have a constant supply of different sizes for what I need. They are exp to get started compared to other feeders, but I feel in the long run worth it.
My other half was creeped out until I told him about them and they're only in the house for feeding. I keep thier bin in the garage. I'm weird, but I think the non adults are sort of cute-they look like giant pill bugs.

 

[hoppslover]

I was told by the person that gave me advice about them that they keep theirs in a garage bathroom. Darker the better for these guys. I am planning on keeping mine in my furnace room. Hoping that between the furnace and the hot water heater that it keeps them warm enough. If not I am planning on giving them a UTH.

 

[nats]

You just said it, Stan. They will come out. Just leave them with it covered for a bit. When I got mine I kept checking in on them (which brought light, and they were almost constantly scared)...So I just left them for a week in dark and I came back with 10 babies in my food/water dishes. But a lot of them still hide under the carton. I usually have about 20% out and eating at a time.
Good luck, Leos love them.

OK, I found some old black shopping bags and put them around the tank.
So now it really dark in there!
I know mine are too little, but what do I have to do to get them to breed?
After spending $36.00, I want to get a good return!

 

[thekooliest]

Ummm. They breed faster when warmer (with your UTH). But pretty much just feed them and they will grow into adults (from the little nymphs), and will breed. If you didn't buy any adults I would just keep feeding them.