Dubai Roaches

[JohnnyD]

Has anyone had an issue with escaped Dubais infesting their house. I really want to get some because they seem better than crickets in every way. Talking my wife into using them is my issue. She takes care of the feeding of our Panthers most of the time but hates the cricket smell. If I could assure her they would not be a problem, I think me, her, and our chams would be happier.

 

[ajacobson]

Everyone talks about the cricket smell....I don't think they smell. I must be weird lol!

I had a tough enough time getting my husband and roomies to let me keep crickets, they would kill me if I tried to keep roaches. Good luck with that!

 

[stokelyw]

I have dubia's they are tropical insects so they need 75—95 degrees Fahrenheit range the survive. They will not breed below 68F I live in canada so that also may be a factor

 

[stokelyw]

plus they cannot climb they do not fly I had to talk my girlfriend into letting me gett them but I told her they can't fly or climb so they cannot get out try that, that may work

 

[JohnnyD]

Thanks for the info. I'm in Ohio and its only that warm for a few weeks in the Summer. Do you recommend them over crickets?

 

[stokelyw]

they are way better that crickets 1 roach is the eqivalent to 8 to 10 crickets my male and female love them just make sure to give them about 3- 4 weeks before you start feeding them to your cham well you can get away with feeding a couple just to see how your cham will react to them but you have to give them time to breed and start your colony also try to get more female than males a ratio of any where 5 female to 1 male or even got bigger 1 male per 10 Females i started with 100 mixed and only ended up with 6 males out of the bunch but my nymphs are still growing so i should have more chaeck out youtube and look up dubia roaches there are some good vids on keep and breeding roaches

 

[JohnnyD]

Great info, thanks.

 

[MrCus]

just a short comment:
this species is called "dubia" (not dubai), what is latin and means "the doubtful".
This has absolutely nothing to do with the arabian city "Dubai": this roach comes from Argentinia

 

[Tyler33]

Maybe this will help

https://www.chameleonforums.com/b-dubia-vs-crickets-41649/

 

[reptoman]

Another point about Dubias is they have a much long life cycle (1 1/2 to 2 years) than crickets (6weeks). I have had my 50 adults that I got for $30 shipped for 3 months and not one of them has died. Infact, the adults are just getting larger and breeding more so all i feed are the mid sized nymphs since the adults are probably too big for an adult panther right now. These things are so much easier to keep than crickets it is silly not to try them. I had to make all these points to my wife too before I was able to take the leap but the 2 major selling points, "crickets stink" , and "Honey I am spending more money on crickets this week since they are mostly all dead!" Good luck!

 

[reptimanny]

Thanks for the info. I'm in Ohio and its only that warm for a few weeks in the Summer. Do you recommend them over crickets?

I would start a small dubia colony first while feeding crickets(just buy less of the crickets so that it doesnt smell as bad) and see how your cham reacts to the roaches. My cham likes crickets over anything i have ever fed her which is pretty much any cham approved insect out there. So just get a little bit of roaches to keep you and the wife happy.

 

[reptoman]

I would start a small dubia colony first while feeding crickets(just buy less of the crickets so that it doesnt smell as bad) and see how your cham reacts to the roaches. My cham likes crickets over anything i have ever fed her which is pretty much any cham approved insect out there. So just get a little bit of roaches to keep you and the wife happy.

Its good to keep as varied a diet as possible so I still pick up a dozen crickets occasionally to keep them from getting bored. You should also try to give them hornworms and/or silks if they seem like they are not liking what you give them and for hydration. I have heard of some people getting the 50 dubia adults and then their chams won't eat them so they ended up taking a loss and getting rid of them. If you can find a couple local to see if they will go for them, that would probably be a good idea before taking the leap. If you are going to do it, you should start with the 50 adults. Otherwise, it will take forever to get a selfsustaining colony. As it is with the 50, you still have to wait 30 days before feeding off or you will deplete your colony before it gets started. Not really an overnight project.