Dubia Dying/Not eating???

[pedro92]

My blaptica dubia seem to be not eating i have the egg cartons on one side and then on the other side i have romain lettuce and some dog food/ dry mix. I do not want them to kill each other because they cant find food. how do i fix this. I think i found about 3-5 dead this week. Does anyone have any tricks on setting up a roach colony.

 

[lbesok]

I notice that my Dubia favor a dry mix opposed to fresh veggies, but I provide both. Maybe you could consider offering them with a dry gutload. I use two with them, the one from cricketfood.com and a special roach one from blapticadubia.com. Also I provide them with water crystals, so that they are hydrated. We now have well over a hundred, and have been keeping them for 2mo. I've only noticed a couple dead. Good luck!

 

[pedro92]

Thank u i forgot to say that i do have water crystals and that dry mix from blaptica dubia.com can you post a pic of your setup.

 

[wst0209a]

You should explain your setup. What is the temperature? If the temps are too low then that might be the cause why they are not eating. I place a heating pad under half of the container and set it on low. This brings the temperature up to about 90F.Ever since I did that they are very active eating and breeding like crazy. Instead of dog food you should feed them a hard boiled egg. What I do is boil the egg and then shred it up with one of those cheese graters. I also feed them romaine lettuce, carrots (use cheese grater, they love this stuff), apples (shreded), celery, and whatever else I have in the kitchen left over. I don't use those crystals, waist of money when they get enough moisture from the carrots and apples. Try uping the temp if its not high enough and you should see them eating a lot more. I have had them for awhile and I only have had 2 die and that was in the very beginning when the temperature was really low. Good Luck

 

[lbesok]

Hahaha, I haven't quite had that chance to obtain photographic proof of those things living in the garage! I will describe my setup to you. I just have 20G tub with three roach flats that touch the left wall. Then on the Right wall, I line up the food and water dishes as well as veggies.
I know you want some pics, so I will refer you to these expecting you haven't seen them before:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=463
Also I have read if you are not good about cleaning out rotten food, that too much moisture can trigger a bacterial infection that will kill your colony!
If you haven't already, you could also check out this previous thread that the above link was provided in:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/dieing-dubia-5324/

 

[pedro92]

I do not know how to take the temperature of the part where i have the heat pad? How do u do it? and ive seen videos of dubias going crazy on food but when i go to put food in the tub i only see about 2-3 roaches on lettuce and water crystals. do u have pics of the inside of tub.

 

[brandaleon]

temperture

if you do not know how to take temperature of roach colony well then how do you know how to take temperature of chameleon setup. maybe a new hobby

 

[royden]

Hey brandaleon,

That kind of comment doesn't foster a helpful community here. You're new, so maybe you don't know, but we tend to not slam each other on this board for asking good questions.

You had questions once too.

 

[dodolah]

I do not know how to take the temperature of the part where i have the heat pad? How do u do it? and ive seen videos of dubias going crazy on food but when i go to put food in the tub i only see about 2-3 roaches on lettuce and water crystals. do u have pics of the inside of tub.

how bout using the infra red digital temp?
just point and click.

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

Hey brandaleon,

That kind of comment doesn't foster a helpful community here. You're new, so maybe you don't know, but we tend to not slam each other on this board for asking good questions.

You had questions once too.

I agree. I think a lot of us have said things they really shouldn't. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

Here is another question.

Where they all adult nymphs that have died. It`s possible you recieved older adults and they have reached their lifespan and passed.

As long as you have roach food in the tub (ground up cat food and cereals) along with water crystals (in a very shallow lid so they can climb in) they should do fine. I throw in slices of potatoe, yam and oranges once a week. If you see mold on something ( most likely the fruit), get it out of there asap because the mold will kill the colony.

If all that is good, then your temps might be too high or too low. Get the temp between 85-100. no more then 110 or you could end up cooking your roaches.

 

[mrcackums]

i am using for the first time flukers cricket feed, its a dry grainy feed, and i have never held a cricket colony for so long on this stuff. perhaps your roaches can benefit from that as well?

 

[pedro92]

Is there an easier way to check temperature then using an infared scanner.

 

[royden]

I use a probe thermometer, it's digital and has two chords that come off the unit to measure temps and humidity. It works best because I can check the inside of the setup without opening it. (I keep my dubia's in an insulated box outside to keep the wife happy). SO I periodically peak out on the deck and check the temps. It also measures highs and lows for e period of time so I can see how low it dropped over night and how hot it got during the day.

Otherwise you can just buy your standard thermometer and chuck it in the tub. Move it around to check different parts of the enclosure.

 

[JimNPHX]

Even a cheap analog thermometer is better than nothing to get an estimate on temp. I would not worry about getting it too warm (unless 100+F) as long as you have the crates stacked up to create a temp gradient. I find my adult males like to stay higher up. Not sure if it is because it is cooler, or that is just the way it is. (I keep mine at around 85 degrees on the bottom of the tub)

This may sound like a stupid statement, at the same time make sure the "dead" roaches are not just their old exoskeleton from a shedding. Other than weight, they look about the same.

I am no expert which is why I can state the following:
They are easy to keep! I have had mine going for about 6 weeks and have a good number of little ones. I just followed everyones advice on this board, which all seems to be the same. I posted pics for you once, and upon reviewing others, my setup is correct.
I feed a variety of veggies, ground up cheap dog food and fruit (mostly oranges). I have a smaller container that I use to gutload the roaches on-deck for feeding. There I use the premix from blapticadubia.com and they seem to eat it fine. I also use water crystals because they are cheap. It is true that the roaches can get their moisture from fruit/veggies.

I am not sure if I saw all of your pictures, at the same time I noticed that you are using egg containers for their hiding spots. If you have not already I would suggest switching to flat crates, or at least offer a larger area of the egg containers. I do not think that the dubias like to be crammed all together. My group has distinctive areas in the container for adult males, females, and young. I did not create it this way, they established this on their own.

This is all I can add other than make sure the temp is correct. (And don't use as feeders until the colony is established!)

Jim

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

That kind of comment doesn't foster a helpful community here.
You're new, so maybe you don't know, but we tend to not slam each other
on this board for asking good questions..

I believe in using both the carrot and stick at times
we just have to be reasonably sure its justified -with some sort of evidence.
After all, we're all human and can make errors...

 

[brandaleon]

ok

if you do not know how to take temperature of roach colony well then how do you know how to take temperature of chameleon setup. maybe a new hobby

Ok so next time I will hold back my sarcastic comments. But I do think that my initial statement is on point. I will reword it to be a better forum member. You check the roach colony temps just like the chameleons cage.

 

[royden]

Thanks brandaleon,

I throw sarcasm around here time to time too, I just don't aim it anyone in particular. Because really - if someone's got a question, be it an overreaction, or a seemingly "dumb" question, - at least they're here, on this forum asking, instead of ignoring advice and creating a husbandry out of something in their head.

This forum is our opportunity to foster quality sytematic husbandry, and if we use it to say "I'm afraid you, sir, are not fit for a chameleon", then we're really the ones dropping the ball. That should be one of the last lines out of our mouths, not the first.

Thanks for the apology!

 

[COASTALSILKWORMS]

You should use a better dry gutload, and offer a source of water through veggies or crystals. We would recomend the gutload called "roach coach" I have yet to see any crickets or rocahes refuse it. Many of the gutloads sold for crickets don't work well for roaches, so you end up having to use two gutloads. Another problem is the bugs dont eat all the food, and you have alot more waste IE the fillers used in it like corn. You won't have these issues with this gutload.