Dubai Roaches

C

Chameleon Brothers

New Member
I have some Dubai Roaches and I have noticed that there are a couple that die every week or so. Obviously not good for the colony! was wondering if there is a superb set-up that I should be using and if an open lid 5 gallon bucket set-up might be better. Also looking to see if I should try some food that won't spoil. Do i have to put the food by the egg crates or will they move around to feed?

How to I keep the moisture minimal?

What's the best thing to do to encourage breeding? Should the adults be separate?
 
Fresh food daily, heat(85/95 ), space, and clean monthly. But make sure you pick the dead ones out. Also they need higher humidity. Hope that helps, there are also some great videos on YouTube.
Scott
 
I have my colony in a big blue Rubbermaid tote with a small square cut out of the lid. Then I have a red light on them for heat. Egg cartons fill half of the tub and on the other side (where the heat is cooler) I put a dry feed for them and normally a Weetabix or something and some water gel. I only give my breeders fruit/veg a few times a week.

My feeders get fruit/veg everyday plus the dry feed.

For humidity I put a small container of water under the egg cartons on the heated side...it has a lid on it with really tiny holes in it. That plus the water gel is enough humidiy for them. I have one or two die off every few months.

Good luck :)
 
THanks

So basically what are some more dried foods that they can be feed in bulk. I feel like feeding them wheat bix might get a bit expensive? Also is an open air container pretty necessary? What's the purpose of keeping the breeders separate from the feeders and feeding them separately? I assume if they get thirsty they will go to a water source in the cage right? Do they need a lot of moisture?

Right not I have them in a plastic container with some holes in it in the closet with some water crystals and fresh fruit every other day or so.
 
In my experience, I have had the best results with providing them with heat first and foremost. I keep them in a big tote with egg cartons totally filling the bottom half of the container. I put a dish of dry gutload in with a dish of water crystals. I feed them fruits/veggies occassionally. (I know I should give them more but I have been really busy lately). I keep the bin covered and the lid has a smallish area cut out for ventilation. Some of the problems they may have with a lower humidity is problems with their molts. I have not had any trouble though. They do love the heat and that seems to stimulate them to breed. Right now I have a ton of babies and smaller nymphs. So I haven't been able to feed too many to the reptile inhabitants at my house! The very cold weather we had broke my furnace and I had several days without heat so we had a bit of a set back with the bugs. I lost a lot of crickets but not too many roaches. The Turkistans are also breeding like crazy too. Now they just need to grow!
 
Thanks

Thanks for the advice. What size wattage do you think would be best? At the moment it's in a closet so warmth level is probably around 65 at the moment. I don't want them in my room really since they creep me out when they move.

I've been giving them some oranges and they are loving it!
 
The reason I separate mine is because I don't really have reason to gut load my breeders since they arnt being fed off...and they started having babies like mad so I put the babies into a separate bin when they are big enough to feed off....that way I can gut load them and feed them to my cham and beardy, I just reach in a scoop out a small container full and toss them to my boys...I don't have to pick through....that's just how I do it, its not detrimental to raising them by any means....Oh Wheatabix is cheap....I get ten in a sleeve for like under $2. I throw one in and they take like 3 weeks to a month to eat it all.

I also put oranges in now and then for hydration. You just have to be really careful because they mold easily and mold will easily kill your entire colony
 
They need lots of ventilation too because otherwise gases will build up from the frass and kill off your colony. So when you cut a hole it needs to be decent size in the top.
 
Molds can release toxins as part of their life cycle. Like the black mold. Aspergillis can cause infection and allergic reactions in humans. So it is probably not the mold itself but a byproduct of its life cycle. Some molds are good such as penicillin.
 
Andee said:
They need lots of ventilation too because otherwise gases will build up from the frass and kill off your colony. So when you cut a hole it needs to be decent size in the top.
Click to expand...
This is more for crickets than Dubia. They do not need near the upkeep that crix do. Their frass is almost odorless which is why they are preferred over crickets.
 
This is some great info, thanks everyone! Im also having a tough time with my small colony. I want to invest in another colony "bundle" but don't want to screw it up this time :eek:
 
I have a ceramic heat emitter that I hang over the top of the bin. I don't remember the wattage though. I also keep them near a floor vent so they get that heat as well. Some folks use flex watt tape either on the shelf or around the bin for heat.
 
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