Dubia Roach Debacle

[Angelwolf]

So for whatever reason (besides they are a$$holes) my dogs have twice gotten into the roach bin (which is in the same place it has been for years!). The first time they got the lid opened and removed the food containers, which I am sure had roaches in them. The second time, they tipped the entire bin over, but at least I had secured the top with a bungee cord (Thank God as it is a large colony). I live in Pittsburgh PA and it has been intermittently warm sometimes near 60F. I have subsequently found an adult(shortly after) and another sub-adult female today in my kitchen. One laying in the middle of the floor on her back (faking death) and another in a cardboard box. I have absolutely no idea how many may have escaped. I was not too worried about it but am surprised that there was still a live roach since it has been cold the past couple days. I know they need high temps to breed but what if they do indeed survive the winter in to summer? Suggestions please.

Hello from Erie!

 

[nightanole]

Meh when ever my colony gets to big i just throw out like 1/3 of it and let them run free in the hood. We find them all over the place for a few weeks. Outside of the bin its almost impossible for them to breed or even molt. They are also extremly picky on what they eat, so its not like they are going to live off mold and the glue from walpaper like some roaches.

 

[Angelwolf]

Ok. So I was considering starting a colony of Dubia, because I am annoyed with the stank of the crickets, and the short life span that they have. Not to mention, they don't provide much in the way of nutrition. But now, after reading this thread about all of the problems you can have, and how you have to have the right conditions for breeding, I'm not so sure! How big of a bin do you guys use? I have one of those larger "cricket keepers" for my crickets, and it will comfortably accommodate 250-300 medium banded crickets. Can I use this for dubia? I really haven't done much research, just kind of toying with the idea in my mind.

 

[walzy444]

I just have mine in a about 2' x 3' clear bin with latching lid.. i cut 2 big squares and hot glue gunned aluminum mesh.. I got clear bins so i could see where they are b4 i pop it open.. but I keep them in a dark closet with a heat pad wrapped in a towel under the bin. I have about 15 adult females and 6-8 adult males.. the a mix of diff sizes in there. This site is helpful with everything you need to know about Dubias. Last thing i want is for them to get loose.. but the good things are.. they dont jump, fly, bite, smell, make noise and can not climb smooth surfaces. Soo.. better than crickets and fruit flies.. plus more nutrition.
https://dubiaroaches.com/pages/dubia-roach-care-sheet

 

[Andee]

Generally they are the easiest to keep/breed feeder insect. Crickets require more work than a good dubia set up. You have to clean crickets, to have a healthy colony, at least once a week. Also kritter keepers are usually horrible in general for crickets, they cause more die offs. I usually wouldn't put more than around 100 crickets in a larger kritter keeper. Crickets do better with more room than dubias. I feel if I do need to clean my new dubia set up it won't be for at least a year.

 

[ridgebax1]

Dubias are absolutely much easier to care for than crickets. I have a very large bin I got from home depot. I cut holes in the sides and covered the holes with a ventilated screen (it is actually a mesh for drywall repair). I have a bunch of egg crates in there, I made a little platform for their food and water. Aside from replenishing the food and water crystals I do nothing but clean it maybe twice a year. Unfortunately CJ had decided roaches were no longer on the menu and I am back to getting crickets. I get them from my local store. I used to order from Ghann's when I had 2 chameleons but I just don't have the time for a large cricket colony so I get several dozen every 2 weeks. Die off varies. My granddaughter's beardie eats the roaches. But by and large they are MUCH easier to care for. But if you are going to start a colony I suggest you make sure your cham will eat them. They are not extremely active in the feeder cup. They tend to huddle together in one place and I don't think CJ even realizes they are for eating.

 

[walzy444]

Yeah my 3 month old male wont eat them... not too happy about that... he tried one and spit it out.. grrr my 6 month old female eats them though. She gets way more excited with crickets though.. The dubias are so much easier to pick up a small chunk of egg crate and shake into my bin where I dust them.. the stupid crickets jumps off the egg crate and i gotta have bowls ready to get them if they hit the floor... Usually i gotta poke at the dubias to make them move.. but If you flip the dubias on their backs in a glass bowl they struggle around and catch the chameleons attention trying to flip over