Dubia roaches, blah!

[shmeenakoz]

Well i just received my shipment of dubai roaches and all I can say is eww! Will I ever get used to how gross the adults are? I was freaking out the whole time while trying to get them in their cage. I don't normally get the hebe-geebees from bugs but I couldn't help my reaction. I can't wait to see how ridiculous I will look if one ends up touching me
The things we do for our chams

 

[misshissingroaches]

oh so ironic...... I love holding Dubias actually and they are very calm when in the right position on my hand. I actually keep one as a pet 4 my daughter (chinchilla (how does she come up with these names?!)).

 

[shmeenakoz]

oh so ironic...... I love holding Dubias actually and they are very calm when in the right position on my hand. I actually keep one as a pet 4 my daughter (chinchilla (how does she come up with these names?!)).

I hope I can get there mentally! I guess I should just keep telling myself, "at least its not a spider, at least its not a spider" Lol, thats the only thing I can not deal with Maybe its just the older I get the bigger a weenie Ive become. I used to live in Florida and play with all the crazy bugs down there!

 

[misshissingroaches]

I hope I can get there mentally! I guess I should just keep telling myself, "at least its not a spider, at least its not a spider" Lol, thats the only thing I can not deal with Maybe its just the older I get the bigger a weenie Ive become. I used to live in Florida and play with all the crazy bugs down there!

yeah. you can ask all my neighbors "do u know where Grace lives?" and they will just say "Oh you mean the crazy bug lady? she four homes down. btw I wouldn't touch the guard mantis"

 

[FrankTheTank]

I had to wear a glove for the longest time bc it grossed me out reaching down in there and grabbing one. Now it's no big deal to pick one up with my bare hands. It may take a while but it can happen!

 

[Psychobunny]

They freaked me out at first too, but I got used to them.
Now, I treat them like any other feeder, reach my hand in the bin and grab the ones I want

 

[DirtyDubbz]

What size would you recommend getting I got 100 babies like less tha. 1/4 inch and they seem to by eh not so active I have them in a bin with bug burger and water gel, and some bananas with the egg crates and a heater just too small though

 

[FrankTheTank]

That being said I still don't like picking up the adult males bc they look like our house cockroaches and that is still a little disturbing to me but I rarely ever fed my veiled any of them

 

[Olimpia]

After like 4-5 years of keeping feeder roaches like discoids I'm still not used to them! I have yet to pick one up with my bare hands, or even poke one! I just have a lot of tweezers and tongs in different sizes and lengths and use them to move around any roaches I need.

But just because I can't touch them doesn't mean it's hard to live with them. As long as they're in their little bins or feeder cups I'm really not worried or uncomfortable. I feed, clean, and take care of my colonies like anyone else, I just use tongs to do it lol.

 

[FrankTheTank]

What size would you recommend getting I got 100 babies like less tha. 1/4 inch and they seem to by eh not so active I have them in a bin with bug burger and water gel, and some bananas with the egg crates and a heater just too small though

They grow fairly quickly. It depends on the size of your Cham whether to feed him small medium or large roaches. Rule of thumb is no bigger than the size of the head. Chams can eat the small ones but you will go through them rather quickly if you have a big juvenile/adult chameleon. The roaches breed like crazy as adults in the right conditions (ie heat and humidity). I would suggest ordering more or feeding your chameleon something else until you can build up your colony

 

[TheAmbulatingFerret]

Honestly I have gotten over the most of the ich factor with my starting colony but I will probably always wear latex gloves simply because they can't crawl up them like they can your skin. I'm just worried they will crawl up my arm like a ladder and escape or end up inside my clothes.

 

[misshissingroaches]

After like 4-5 years of keeping feeder roaches like discoids I'm still not used to them! I have yet to pick one up with my bare hands, or even poke one! I just have a lot of tweezers and tongs in different sizes and lengths and use them to move around any roaches I need.

But just because I can't touch them doesn't mean it's hard to live with them. As long as they're in their little bins or feeder cups I'm really not worried or uncomfortable. I feed, clean, and take care of my colonies like anyone else, I just use tongs to do it lol.

Just pick it up and get it over with! once u do it u can do it a million times. im very adventurous so I wasn't afraid in the first place! XD they really wont hurt you.

 

[shmeenakoz]

Lol! Thanks for all the great replies everyone. Good to know I'm not alone on this. I've had a good chuckle and yes I think I'm just gonna have to get over it! Maybe I'll try the latex gloves first then move on to bare skin

 

[shmeenakoz]

That being said I still don't like picking up the adult males bc they look like our house cockroaches and that is still a little disturbing to me but I rarely ever fed my veiled any of them

I for sure wasn't expecting them to be as big as they were!! I ordered 100 1/2 inchers and 5 breeding adult pairs. They took me by surprise for sure. I think the baby ones are cute though, like rolly pollies

 

[shaunaroxanne]

I was WAYYYY freaked out by them, and now I'm only a little freaked out by them. I actually have a terrible allergy to them and I have to wear a mask to even open the bin, or I need to use an inhaler 20 minutes later. I get a terrible rash if I touch them and my eyes puff up.....it's really bad.

 

[fluxlizard]

I was WAYYYY freaked out by them, and now I'm only a little freaked out by them. I actually have a terrible allergy to them and I have to wear a mask to even open the bin, or I need to use an inhaler 20 minutes later. I get a terrible rash if I touch them and my eyes puff up.....it's really bad.

Good grief- I'd sell them and use other feeders! Totally not worth all that to me...

 

[shmeenakoz]

I was WAYYYY freaked out by them, and now I'm only a little freaked out by them. I actually have a terrible allergy to them and I have to wear a mask to even open the bin, or I need to use an inhaler 20 minutes later. I get a terrible rash if I touch them and my eyes puff up.....it's really bad.

OMG thats terrible! My mom is allergic too but thats the only thing in the world I'm not allergic too Yeah I think the size of them while opening the very small burlaps sac just threw me way off guard. Thinking back on my reaction i can't help but laugh. I am currently making myself watch them for a while and handling the baby feeders.

 

[shaunaroxanne]

Did Kai eat any yet?

 

[shmeenakoz]

Did Kai eat any yet?

Not yet but Im planning on feeding those tomorrow. He's still being picky. He will take 1 from me almost everyday but then retreats. Yesterday he went on strike but may have had some that were in with him. The day before that tho was the first time I sat at the cage door very still, showed him the cup full of bouncing food and he almost crawled in the cup completely to get them. He lapped up 6 in a row. Im sure he's still quite nervous but he's freaking me out and needs to snap out of it!!! Hoping tomorrows Dubais will do the trick

 

[shaunaroxanne]

Lol, if he's eating 6 in a row, he's doing well! He will come around!