We're giving the roaches a shot a the title..

[MichaelJ]

After doing research on different feeders for the past 6 weeks we decided to give Blaptica Dubia - Orange Heads a shot.

I like that the are non-climbing, high meat to shell ratio, and that they are something new for our brood. We'll see how it goes.

My wife is terrified and it looks like i've volunteered myself for feeding duties for a little while. We're not doing the whole colony thing yet, just experimenting with new feeders to give variety and options to the gang.

I'll keep you posted. :main_thumbsup:

 

[2.1SRR.YYC]

From those who have tried it...

Have a read of this so you're fully informed...you may need to setup an account?

I've never kept roaches so I can't comment on the thread...

Maybe the GF knows best?

 

[MichaelJ]

Maybe the GF knows best?

yeah i read that wrong I was an idiot and it was late when I read it and wrote back.. my bad..


i'm reading the thread now..

 

[MichaelJ]

Have a read of this so you're fully informed...you may need to setup an account?

Well I appreciate you scarring the living begeezus out of me and the idea of infesting my house, it's already too late because they've already been ordered and paid for.. LOL

The thread you mentioned talks about lateralis, which are extremely fast moving and prolific breeders. Dubia are known to be rather slow and not as prolific, not to mention a larger size. I'll also be keeping them in the half bathroom in my garage where I currently house our crix. I raised crix for about a year without a problem of escapes and have a good setup and practices ready and waiting.


We've used the sticky pads for a long time just in case of escapes of adults crix during feedings.

I'll be using a 60 gallon aquarium for them that is almost three feet from lid to bottom, plus since they cannot climb it shouldn't be too much of an issue. If they escape it's really my fault..

just don't remind my wife of that last statement..

 

[MichaelJ]

The Dubias Rock!

I got them Monday and they have been nothing short of amazing.

They are extremely slow as far as roaches go, so you can pick one up at a time without a problem. There is NO scent, not a single one is dead, and they are already starting to breed.

I got 100 mixed (some were actually gravid females) and 8 pairs of adults.

I put them in a rubbermaid roughneck 45 gallon container I soldered air exchange holes in; just like a Leo tub, and then placed them in my 1/2 bath that its the garage and we never use.

I leave the lights off and the door to the bathroom closed, so they are in complete darkness at all times, it's warm and moist in there (like most garages) and they are very happy little vermin!

I fed a few to some of my finicky eaters and some of my monsters who'll eat whatever you through in their tub.

They ALL tore them up in seconds. I have a female LVPA that would only eat crix and is skinny because she'd only 1-2 every other day. She powered down 3 good sized roaches and has each day since.

We're very excited about these guys and the prospects of weight gain, money saved on feeders, and adding variety to our leos diets. Plus, if you're not too squeemish, they are also extremely interesting to watch. They are very active and interact with eachother. The young seem to follow the older females around like a family. You can also watch them molt, mate, and although I haven't witnessed birth, i'm sure I will. I've seen at least eight females that are getting an extended thorax.. Indicating eggs being housed in the body to incubate.


They are as simple as it gets. Put them in their tub, food, water, hides, dark and warm. DONE!

They won't breed if you disturb them too much so it's best to leave them alone unless necessary.

I've attached some pics..

Right now I'm feeding them the "roach buffet", and water crystals that came with them and put in an orange slice in the other day; it was compelety gone aside from a bit of rhine by morning.

Once I'm done with the buffet I'll switch over to my ProGutload (the best stuff in the world) and use crystals still for fluid..

check em' out..

I know it's gross at first but try to keep an open mind..

 

[98bcobra]

I have love my dubia's. I made switch about 3months ago. Ordered around 500 and now have way over 1000+ Im guessing. Both my Bearded dragon and my 2 babies leos love them! My Bearded won't eat anything but them lol. You will be happy and cleaning them up is really easy just vaccum up the poopes and NO SMELL unlike crickets.

 

[TheHiddenGecko]

Hey Mike is that dogfood in the one dish? I feed mine dogfood as well but they don't seem to eat it.

 

[ALGeckos]

Yikes! Those look so scary, I would never want any of those in my house - no matter what Leon says LOL!!

I remember reading something from Olivia of BugChick.com about having a couple escapees that ended up breeding in the house - I can't find it BUT I did read this in her FAQ:

4. Do you have a problem with escapees?

I've had lobster roach escapes happen for a few reasons. The first is that I've left the roaches in some of my animals' cages, assumed they would have gotten eaten overnight, only to be surprised when they scurry out from under the substrate when I'm cleaning cages. The second reason is that I have a few get flung out sometimes when I pack orders. The third type of escape I've had is from roaches that accidentally got thrown into the trash during cage cleanings, then climb their way out before I've taken out the trash.

I also have escapes happen from some roaches like B. lateralis and B. discoidalis that are able to get enough lift to fly out of their cage. Fortunately, it's only the males that are that eager to escape, which I consider to be natural mate-seeking behavior.

- from Olivia @ BugChick.com, breeder of 70+ species of roaches.

 

[98bcobra]

Hey Mike is that dogfood in the one dish? I feed mine dogfood as well but they don't seem to eat it.

Try ground up cat food with oats mine love it. When I refil the dish they come out in the masses to eat it. I don't even have time to finish refilling everything and all my roaches are waiting lol.

 

[MichaelJ]

The dish in the picture is Roach Buffet that I got when I purchased them. It smells a lot like Crested Gecko Diet..

I've used Cody's progutload also and they love it..

 

[MichaelJ]

Yikes! Those look so scary, I would never want any of those in my house - no matter what Leon says LOL!!

I remember reading something from Olivia of BugChick.com about having a couple escapees that ended up breeding in the house - I can't find it BUT I did read this in her FAQ:

4. Do you have a problem with escapees?

I've had lobster roach escapes happen for a few reasons. The first is that I've left the roaches in some of my animals' cages, assumed they would have gotten eaten overnight, only to be surprised when they scurry out from under the substrate when I'm cleaning cages. The second reason is that I have a few get flung out sometimes when I pack orders. The third type of escape I've had is from roaches that accidentally got thrown into the trash during cage cleanings, then climb their way out before I've taken out the trash.

I also have escapes happen from some roaches like B. lateralis and B. discoidalis that are able to get enough lift to fly out of their cage. Fortunately, it's only the males that are that eager to escape, which I consider to be natural mate-seeking behavior.

- from Olivia @ BugChick.com, breeder of 70+ species of roaches.

The escapes she talks about are the exact reason why I went with the Dubias. She described lobsters and lateralis. Lobsters are adept climbers and lateralis are extremely fast on their feet.

Dubia are neither. In fact they play dead often when frightened or thrown in the enclsoures. They are also actually pretty clumsy and take a few seconds just to flip back on their feet if knocked over. So slipping out of the enclosure is very unlikely with dubias.

As far as the tactics she spoke about I saw those coming after dealing with crickets for 4 years. Left over crickets were always, crushed with a paper towel or my hand (depending on my mood ), if not eaten by the next time we feed. They never make it to the trash to have a chance to crawl out.

Their wings are non-functional, so there isn't the possibility of them fluttering their way out. I'm also using very tall tubs just to be careful.

I think these are the best choice overall, but there is always a risk of escape. So you really have to be careful, think ahead, and think fast.

It's really a matter of preference if you want to try these guys; but i'm very pleased and it took me a few months to come around as well.

If you've dealt with crickets than you know what can happen and have to act accordingly..

 

[98bcobra]

Yea Dubia's very easy to handle. Way easier than crickets. I tried Lobsters and I HATED them! So fast and climb anything. I was scaried of them getting out so I froze them lol.