Dubia roaches vs. Crickets? major pain in the a**

[unixmiah]

I got really lucky last week. I went into a not so busy petco and got 100 crickets, the sales rep. ended up giving me 200 to 300 of them-- I got very lucky, but it's really hard to keep these crickets alive and the noise is killing me.

I'd say 1/3 of them died, i have them plenty of liquid gel, along with orange cube and gut loading grains.

Is it better to keep Dubia Roaches? there is 500 for $36 and $1000 for $49 (@from: http://dubiaroaches.com/product-category/dubia-roaches/) - if they all lived, i'd do 20/1000 - that's 50 days of food for 2 of my adorable chams i'm trying to raise. I'd do the cricket again in whole amount when I breed them; which I think I might. Its super easy.


If they are both hungry, I guess Dubia roaches don't move or jump as crickets, but I hope they'll eat it. I guess they can get bored, but hunger vs. boredom doesn't make sense- if they get bored, will they starve to death? idk. any comments?

 

[Carlton]

I got really lucky last week. I went into a not so busy petco and got 100 crickets, the sales rep. ended up giving me 200 to 300 of them-- I got very lucky, but it's really hard to keep these crickets alive and the noise is killing me.

I'd say 1/3 of them died, i have them plenty of liquid gel, along with orange cube and gut loading grains.

Is it better to keep Dubia Roaches? there is 500 for $36 and $1000 for $49 (@from: http://dubiaroaches.com/product-category/dubia-roaches/) - if they all lived, i'd do 20/1000 - that's 50 days of food for 2 of my adorable chams i'm trying to raise. I'd do the cricket again in whole amount when I breed them; which I think I might. Its super easy.


If they are both hungry, I guess Dubia roaches don't move or jump as crickets, but I hope they'll eat it. I guess they can get bored, but hunger vs. boredom doesn't make sense- if they get bored, will they starve to death? idk. any comments?

Well, the store rep may have known that those crickets were getting old, so gave you more to get rid of them before they started dying. They have a shorter lifespan than roaches. Also, if they are too crowded they can injure, chew on, or kill each other in their container. And, just like anything alive they can come with a disease from their colony too. Funny, crix noise has never bothered me. Guess I'm lucky.

I don't know if the insects get "bored" with food or not. But, if they are not fed a good variety or good quality food they are more likely to die sooner and they won't provide your cham with good nutrition either.

 

[nightanole]

Well if they chirp they are at least 4 weeks old, and the only live 6-7 weeks so...

Dubias are great, other than the fact they dont move much.

On the other hand dubia males last 6 months and females can live up to a year. I have so many i instantly feed off any females i find till the population gets under control. It only takes a couple of females to start firing out 100 babies a month.

 

[unixmiah]

Hey Carlton,
you're right. There is no way Petco would have given anything for free. I realized that must be the case. I also think I mist of crowded them. I will start a Cricket farm- its easy to start. Haven't done it yet. I'm about to go to Walmart today to pick up few large plastic lid containers and a heat source.

 

[unixmiah]

Hi nightahole,

I ordered 50 dubia roaches just to try it out from Dubia Roaches I believe they are one of the sponsors on cf/here. I also got 10 adult females and 5 adult males; I think what they sell won't reproduce, you have to get the ones you can sex.

I really hope these produce a colony-- I guess its kind of like a cricket colony farm,

a- you need a large plastic container with possibly large square slit on the container lid of heat source
to sit on top like a light.
b- food, water gel, orange cube, lettuce? banana? rotten potato?

c - a small container with dirt/soil for them to lay eggs

d - a light source on top. keeping it at 90 deg?

e - plenty of egg things - the recycled paper ??

 

[ridgebax1]

When I fed crickets, I bought locally and had horrible die offs. I started getting them from Ghann's several hundred at a time. I never had the level of die off that I got with the locally purchased bugs. I don't mind the noise but the smell... that is a whole other issue. These bugs really stink in a fairly short amount of time. The smell is unbelievable for such a small bug. One thing that helped was replacing the bottom of the plastic bins with aluminum screen. That way there is better air circulation, the poop falls through the screen (i kept another lid underneath the bin to catch the poop) so much easier to clean. Good luck with the crickets. I just found it easier to buy in bulk than raising them. Dubias on the other hand are much easier to care for, don't smell or make noise. You just feed and water them and keep them warm. I am lucky enough to have a cham that will eat them.

 

[LoosePin15]

Hi nightahole,

I ordered 50 dubia roaches just to try it out from Dubia Roaches I believe they are one of the sponsors on cf/here. I also got 10 adult females and 5 adult males; I think what they sell won't reproduce, you have to get the ones you can sex.

I really hope these produce a colony-- I guess its kind of like a cricket colony farm,

a- you need a large plastic container with possibly large square slit on the container lid of heat source
to sit on top like a light.
b- food, water gel, orange cube, lettuce? banana? rotten potato?

c - a small container with dirt/soil for them to lay eggs

d - a light source on top. keeping it at 90 deg?

e - plenty of egg things - the recycled paper ??

I bought 50 dubias a while back and simply keep them in a Tupperware container with a vented lid.

All I do is put a few egg crates in there with some veggies and let them go. I don't have substrate of any kind in the container and they don't lay eggs or have live birth from what I understand. There's a technical term for it, but basically you see babies and not eggs. I could definitely be wrong about that, but it's been my experience. One day, no babies; next day, babies.

 

[unixmiah]

Wait what?! you mean, some Chameleons won't eat Dubia roaches? I just order them and I plan on colonizing them--- i hope I didn't invest in it without thinking or knowing they might not eat it.

 

[Carlton]

Wait what?! you mean, some Chameleons won't eat Dubia roaches? I just order them and I plan on colonizing them--- i hope I didn't invest in it without thinking or knowing they might not eat it.

If your chams have never seen a roach before they might not recognize it as food right away. You could test this by putting one or two in the feeder container with a familiar feeder so they can watch and try one.

 

[Carlton]

I bought 50 dubias a while back and simply keep them in a Tupperware container with a vented lid.

All I do is put a few egg crates in there with some veggies and let them go. I don't have substrate of any kind in the container and they don't lay eggs or have live birth from what I understand. There's a technical term for it, but basically you see babies and not eggs. I could definitely be wrong about that, but it's been my experience. One day, no babies; next day, babies.

Well they obviously do something or no babies would get created

The females carry an egg packet instead of laying eggs on the substrate from which the babies hatch.

 

[Carlton]

Hi nightahole,

I ordered 50 dubia roaches just to try it out from Dubia Roaches I believe they are one of the sponsors on cf/here. I also got 10 adult females and 5 adult males; I think what they sell won't reproduce, you have to get the ones you can sex.

I really hope these produce a colony-- I guess its kind of like a cricket colony farm,

a- you need a large plastic container with possibly large square slit on the container lid of heat source
to sit on top like a light.
b- food, water gel, orange cube, lettuce? banana? rotten potato?

c - a small container with dirt/soil for them to lay eggs

d - a light source on top. keeping it at 90 deg?

e - plenty of egg things - the recycled paper ??

They probably sell juveniles not READY to reproduce yet. It may take a while before the colony gets going, but once it does it tends to take off as long as its kept correctly. Dubias need temps above 80 F to breed successfully. If you have a place near a water heater or furnace that's warmer than the rest of the house that will help...you may not need the light. Look into undertank heaters and flexwatt heat tape. Light from bulbs isn't necessary so that part of the electricity draw will be wasted. Don't need soil or a container of it. There are several good roach foods you can get in bulk...finely ground grains and greens mix...much better than those orange cubes. The water gel is great, as the roaches end up drowning in water dishes. However, you can get the gel crystals in bulk and make the gel up in batches yourself. I fed my colony all sorts of trimmings from salads and veggies (not broccoli or spinach), leaf lettuce, chunks of fruit, whatever was available. Don't use rotten potatoes.

 

[ridgebax1]

I have never really seen a big batch of adult dubias for sale. The adults are usually sold in a smaller number than the juveniles. So if you bought 50 they are likely juvenile and not ready to breed. It can take a good 6 months of just feeding the bugs a quality food for the colony to attain sustainability. In other words have enough roaches to feed off and still maintain an breeding population. I keep mine in a bin with a ceramic heat emitter as a heat source. In the winter I keep them near a heating vent plus the CHE.

As far as drowning these critters are far more likely to survive than crickets. I have had the feeding dish in CJ's cage holding a 1/2 inch or more of water with roaches floating but alive!

I hope your chams decide they like roaches. My first 3 chams did not show any interest in them. CJ however snaps them up readily. However after several days in a row he will ignore them in favor of horns or silks.

Dubias are ovoviviparous. After a sperm packet is deposited in the female roach she retains it. The female then lays the egg packet or ootheca and draws it back into her body until the nymphs hatch which is when the babies are delivered. I think they are still attached to the packet when it is expelled and then after they leave the ootheca.

 

[LoosePin15]

Well they obviously do something or no babies would get created

The females carry an egg packet instead of laying eggs on the substrate from which the babies hatch.

Very good point!

 

[AESara]

The veiled I had several years ago loved dubias. I would definitely recommend them over crickets. They don't smell even nearly as bad, make any noise, jump, or climb smooth surfaces.

I hope your cham likes them too!