Dubia caging/housing ideas?

[FFSTRescue]

I finally decided to go ahead and get roaches. They creep me out, so I have avoided them for many, many years, but finally decided to just deal with them. I have read up on caging, feeding, etc, and have everything ready to go.
My question is: has anyone ever constructed a cage with a wire mesh bottom to the container? Is it even possible or does the smallest mesh still allow the babies to fall through? I thought it would be a good idea to take two tubs of the same size, stack them, the top one would be the cage with the mesh floor and the bottom one would collect the feces.
If anyone has done this or knows that it won't work, please let me know. Also, if anyone has pictures of their Dubia container/s, I would love to see.
Thanks!

 

[AndyRew]

Im pretty sure that the babies mainly eat the poop of the adults so its good for poop to be present.

 

[FFSTRescue]

What about placing screen on about 3/4 of the floor? I have 200 Dubias coming, so I figure 1/4 of the cage will hold enough feces for the babies

 

[robmd1]

i just use a 20 gallon fishtank that i put black plastic all around the outside so its dark inside and an heat mat under it i leave the poops for awhile then transfer all the smaller ones to a starage tote where i grow them out and feed the chams out of these, an as they grow into adults i take those and put them bk with the adults in the tank. works for me..

 

[robmd1]

What about placing screen on about 3/4 of the floor? I have 200 Dubias coming, so I figure 1/4 of the cage will hold enough feces for the babies

also out of the 200 how many adults are you getting? with 200 im guessin its goin be mixed bunch with a few adults, itll take alil bit to get em goin but once you do they keep up pretty good...

ill just edit my post as to not make another comment i forgot to mention theres a thread someone made sorta like your two tote idea they used 5 gallon bucket an put small holes in the bottom of one and put it in the other, the colony was in the top bucket babies an poo would find its way to the bottom one...

 

[FFSTRescue]

Ok thanks. I did get mixed sizes. So, how long should I wait before feeding any? I want to establish a reproducing colony. I have reptiles of every size from dwarf geckos to monitors, so I could use all sizes. I will definitely keep adult females around (it is coming with one adult pair), so should I not feed any, even the small ones, for a while? What size container should I use for 200 and for establishing a colony? Sorry for all the questions, I am new to roaches. I have researched and have my plan of attack, but it is still nice to hear different husbandry techniques and what works, what doesn't, and it is hard to get specifics from researching. I'm sure much of it is trial and error.
It is so funny, I have over 75 reptiles of all different kinds, but I am asking the most elementary questions about roaches!

 

[EhhPic]

This is the setup a friend helped me put together- pics are hers but they have worked for her colony!

 

[robmd1]

Ok thanks. I did get mixed sizes. So, how long should I wait before feeding any? I want to establish a reproducing colony. I have reptiles of every size from dwarf geckos to monitors, so I could use all sizes. I will definitely keep adult females around (it is coming with one adult pair), so should I not feed any, even the small ones, for a while? What size container should I use for 200 and for establishing a colony? Sorry for all the questions, I am new to roaches. I have researched and have my plan of attack, but it is still nice to hear different husbandry techniques and what works, what doesn't, and it is hard to get specifics from researching. I'm sure much of it is trial and error.
It is so funny, I have over 75 reptiles of all different kinds, but I am asking the most elementary questions about roaches!

you can feed off smaller ones and if you have alot of adult males, i only feed adult males and smaller ones never touching my adult females who just constantly breed, if you just feed them out youll never get them started i got a colony and just kept addin to it and never fed off females or ones close to adult, and i didnt feed anything out of it for a couple months in the begining and i have more then ill ever feed off constantly. if you you end up feeding them off before you get them started add to them an when you order them whoever you get them thru will usually sell extra adult females its worth gettin a few extra..
your crate idea will work i use one of those for my smaller colony, and a 20 gallon fish tank that i had for the adults,the key for them breedin like crazy is heat, an of course food... if you have alot of reptiles you want to order somemore and get extra adult females.. not to worry about questions i only chimed in because i saw your startin a colony an i remember when i started mine lol i was clueless but i had tylene that got my colony goin.. so ask away

 

[robmd1]

lol oh i forgot youll get useta them i did an i cant stand roaches, the other ones creep me out but ive gotten useta these i dont crindge anymore when they crawl on me... im sorry if i rambled above i was tryen watch something an type same time. like i said ask away an ill tell ya how I doit but they are roaches, probally live thru a nuke

 

[pssh]

I would recommend ordering another 50-100 females, and 10-20 males. It will take forever if you try to start with just one adult pair and 198 mixed, especially if you have a lot of mouths to feed. I have 100 total adults with a 8:1 (female:male) Ratio and they reproduce like crazy, but I am still able to feed them off and keep a managable amount just feeding two chameleons and occationally supplying my boyfriend with a 100 or so mixed ones.

 

[jamncristian]

dog food will help them reproduce faster but
It shouldnt be used if you are going to feed your chams
at once

It will get your colony going but once you feel your colony is established
you should cleanse them with a good gutload

 

[FFSTRescue]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, and you are right Robbie, they would probably be the only ones to survive armageddon, lol

 

[SliK JiM]

Mine looks pretty much identical to the pics EhhPic has posted! Just lots of egg crates! I started off with 6 males and 6 females and within a week I had babies all over the place! My colony is holding at a nice level now and is producing more than I can use!

 

[Berg]

Mine looks pretty much identical to the pics EhhPic has posted! Just lots of egg crates! I started off with 6 males and 6 females and within a week I had babies all over the place! My colony is holding at a nice level now and is producing more than I can use!

Its good to hear these numbers as I dont have as many chams/ lizards( only one cham) or adult pairs (4 females and 5 males) as others on here and only want a small colony that I could feed of of every once and a while.

The only reason why I started mine is that the adults were to large to give to my cham.

O and for heat i live in Dallas it gets down to about 73-78 at night and it is nice and humid. Do you think me just putting them outside is good enough or do i need more heat? I shouldnt leave them out all day right... temps right now are about 93-98 plus the humidity

 

[EhhPic]

Berg- I am in San Antonio and I keep them in the garage with no probs--- I think the South Texas heat has been just right for them.

 

[SliK JiM]

I'm in the UK and do very little in terms of heat. I just keep them in my cham room and they do fine!