Dubia Questions!

[Justin Carl]

Hey! got 12 adult dubias in today. Pretty darn excited right now.
Igor hasnt been eating so i only bought 12 to see if it was worth it.
well i already have them set up and ready to go so no questions
there. I know they are a nonclimbing bug, but can they climb screen?
How long does it take to get a colony going so you can take 5-6 a day
w/o depleting your stock?

 

[pedro92]

Yes than can climb rough material also i bought over 100 adults and i have a ok size colony so about 200 adults 150 females 50 males

 

[Justin Carl]

how long did it take to go from 100 to 400

 

[pedro92]

I'm not sure how many I have but i reccomend buying 70 adult females and 30 males and leave them alone for about a month or two dont peek in tub every day which may cause early release of ootheca or may stop them from doing the dirty go to http://www.blattodea.net/index.php for more info.

 

[dodolah]

i wouldn't let dubia free roam... eeppp they can flatten their body, right? and they are best at hiding and escaping (although they won't survive long).
i say put them in a plastic cup. shudder shudder..
i still cannot get over my traumatic experience with roaches.

 

[Justin Carl]

yea that is terrible! what about the question about how long it takes to establish a colony.

 

[Chase]

i wouldn't let dubia free roam... eeppp they can flatten their body, right? and they are best at hiding and escaping (although they won't survive long).
i say put them in a plastic cup. shudder shudder..
i still cannot get over my traumatic experience with roaches.

What happened?

 

[dodolah]

yea that is terrible! what about the question about how long it takes to establish a colony.

i say about a month or two? i'm doing a bit of an educated guess here.

 

[Chase]

i say about a month or two? i'm doing a bit of an educated guess here.

What happened with you and roaches????

 

[dodolah]

i PM'd you to avoid steering this thread off topic.

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

Dubia just like several other animals reproduce according to their environment.
if you give them a perfect warm cozy place with high protein food and such
they'll turn around much faster (but this can cost much more).
lower your overhead and ... slower progress.

I got a very small starter (10) 3 years ago and it took two summers to really have enough
where I felt that it was alright to start feeding them out (and then I only used the males)
Now I've got enough turning over that I'm using only size selected juicy nymphs.
They're kept in a large storage tub with several egg flats and empty paper towel rolls.
Currently, I have enough to divide in to 3 more tubs if I wanted too.
I've seen the "fancy" setups that some have posted and decided people can
make do with much less tinkering... their needs are VERY BASIC.
For my environment, the dubia are 4x more productive then the discoids
but much less than the lobster roaches that NOBODY ATE and stank too. (ymmv)

Sadly, some of the panthers don't care for the dubia I've raised
but the veilds are getting used to munching them down as a juicy treat.

In short, they're not pest insects.. therefore.... lower reproductive rates
and less adaptability to the home... if you give them a stair or ladder they can climb
but not up clean non grip surfaces.

If you feed the pre mature nymphs out you stand a better chance of none escaping
and living long enough in the home to breed
(assuming you lived in a suitably messy roach habitat.
enjoy.

 

[Justin Carl]

thanks a lot jeweled chameleons. i'm gald you spent that much time for me. Ha! you get a reputaion point!

 

[dodolah]

while we're still talking about rearing dubia..
I heard that feeding high protein gutload to your feeder is bad for chameleon as they are a low protein eater (insectivores and herbivores).

Would it be bad to feed your dubia with high protein food (probably cat food and dog food)?
There is a risk of your chameleon developing gout, no?
Please correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Orin]

while we're still talking about rearing dubia..
I heard that feeding high protein gutload to your feeder is bad for chameleon as they are a low protein eater (insectivores and herbivores).

Would it be bad to feed your dubia with high protein food (probably cat food and dog food)?
There is a risk of your chameleon developing gout, no?
Please correct me if i'm wrong.

There is some information that suggests the high protein in dog and cat food --and the high vitamin A in dog food specifically-- is a problem for some amphibians or reptiles but the information is based on theory and anecdotes rather than an actual study (still consider there is little chance for funding of such a study). You can feed dubia fruits and vegetables for gutloading if you are concerned.

 

[Justin Carl]

i would say yes, only because i know everyone here does not recommend cat food, dog food, or fishflakes. i just gave them romaine lettuce, carrot, strawberry, cricket gutload, and water cubes.