Dubia Roaches-- What would you do?

drcrossfire

drcrossfire

Avid Member
I am starting a colony-- I've done quite a bit of research, but I wanted to poise a question to the more experienced~

What random things have you done that may be a little odd, but has helped your colonies thrive?

I hope to see some random thoughts here!
 
I only use organic healthy foods that I use to gutload. My colonies thrive better with the healthy food.
 
pssh said:
I only use organic healthy foods that I use to gutload. My colonies thrive better with the healthy food.
Click to expand...

i think this is the best advice! I had problems with keeping my earlier attempts at a colony from thriving. Changed up the food i was giving them to quality stuff and now i have more dubia than i know what to do with...
 
I started a colony of discoids, which seem to be very similar to dubia. I am in Florida so dubia were not possible for me. One thing I am trying, instead of egg crate I am using Jiffy strips, which are little peat and wood pulp cups for starting plants. They are much deeper than egg crate and seem to offer more room in the cells where they choose to bunch up together. I mix kitten food with Gerber baby cereal and potato flakes, and give them an orange too. I am also using a quail chick waterer and putting crystals only in the drinking part so nymphs can’t drown. The water constantly stays the same level and hydrates the crystals until it’s empty, which takes a really long time. I have already produced babies and had my nymphs molt into winged adult roaches. They are so neat it might be weird actually feeding them off. I call the nymphs my trilobites, they look like the famous fossils. They have really grown on me as an interesting bug to work with.

colonytub01.jpg


colonyonmedia.jpg
 
I like to use cardboard toilet paper tubes for my dubia, and they seem to prefer them as well. They will pack into some of the tubes really thick depending on where they are setting up camp in my tubs (I use 50 gallon storage tubs). This makes collecting them very easy as well- I just grab a tube and shake it into a big plastic cup. In colonies that are well underway, sometimes over 100 of all sizes will shake into the cup from a single toilet paper tube! Usually it's more like 30 or 40 though. Meanwhile other tubes in the tub may be empty- like lizards they choose where to go for comfort.

Another tip- the more you start with, the easier it will be to establish your colony. Dubia are easier to get going in large numbers. I think this, as well as the experience with the tube density I mentioned above, is due to the fact that roaches control humidity by packing up and breathing together. Probably temperature too.

And finally, I like to sort my dubia as I feed- I grab a tube, shake it into the cup, and then I sort all the adults out and put them into a new tub to start a new colony. I keep sorting the adults out until the first tub is empty, and by then the next colony is producing and ready to feed out of. I can then just dump the frass out of the first tub and spray it out with the hose, and fill it with new cardboard tubes and then I'm ready to start sorting from the next colony as I feed again.

I don't add extra water- only wet food and dry food. "wet" food would include vegetables, fruits, leafy greens, table scraps of all sorts- this is all mine have ever needed for moisture.

I also don't heat mine other than ambient room temperature, which where they are in the lizard building ranges from upper 80s maybe even into the 90s (some tubs are up high by the ceiling where it can get hot, some are down low on the floor where it is cool) to low 50s depending on season and day or night. Naturally they produce the most when it is warm, but when they are cold, the lizards are cold and not eating so much either, so it works out fine for me...
 
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I make salads to feed to my colony (Carrots, Kale, Collard Greens, Spinich, Romain, and a few other random veggies).

kmgcantswim said:
are dubia roaches suppose to shed there skin then know how to fly cause i have some that are doing just that
Click to expand...

No Dubias can not fly. Males do develop wings and will occasionally flap them and glide a bit.
 
drcrossfire said:
I am starting a colony-- I've done quite a bit of research, but I wanted to poise a question to the more experienced~

What random things have you done that may be a little odd, but has helped your colonies thrive?

I hope to see some random thoughts here!
Click to expand...

provide Dead, dry garry oak tree leaves as part of their dry gutload from time to time.
 
Most people that have trouble getting their colonies to produce are doing one of two things. Either keeping the colony too cool, mine are at 95 degrees all the time, or not keeping them in the dark. They will feed around the clock if you keep their container dark. This will help your nymphs grow faster also.
 
chameleonoobie said:
I started a colony of discoids, which seem to be very similar to dubia. I am in Florida so dubia were not possible for me. One thing I am trying, instead of egg crate I am using Jiffy strips, which are little peat and wood pulp cups for starting plants. They are much deeper than egg crate and seem to offer more room in the cells where they choose to bunch up together. I mix kitten food with Gerber baby cereal and potato flakes, and give them an orange too. I am also using a quail chick waterer and putting crystals only in the drinking part so nymphs can’t drown. The water constantly stays the same level and hydrates the crystals until it’s empty, which takes a really long time. I have already produced babies and had my nymphs molt into winged adult roaches. They are so neat it might be weird actually feeding them off. I call the nymphs my trilobites, they look like the famous fossils. They have really grown on me as an interesting bug to work with.

colonytub01.jpg


colonyonmedia.jpg
Click to expand...

This is genius! I went out today and bought a 14 pack of the pot shaped ones. Work so well!
 
kmgcantswim said:
are dubia roaches suppose to shed there skin then know how to fly cause i have some that are doing just that
Click to expand...

No!

I've had Dubias for a few years now... but I have ended up with them as pets and never use them as feeders :rolleyes:

They are such hardy and sturdy wee beasties that they take very little care and still keep going - although this isn't ideal obviously and wouldn't make for good feeders!

I love the fact that they're so clean and don't smell, and no, they definitely don't ever fly ;)
 
Are oranges the only thing they will readily eat? They don't seem to care for the kale n mustard greens I put in there. I threw in some cricket cubes for them just now. They hide under the paper towel most of the time, think there should be nothing on the floor of the tank?
 
AReptile said:
Are oranges the only thing they will readily eat? They don't seem to care for the kale n mustard greens I put in there. I threw in some cricket cubes for them just now. They hide under the paper towel most of the time, think there should be nothing on the floor of the tank?
Click to expand...

I gave mine carrots, kale and collards they ate all of it lol! Must be some picky eaters you bought lol!
 
I'm just starting my colony too and I'm so glad you posted this because I was going to do the same thing but now I can just read here! I found a few little black beetles in with my shipment and I caught them with the tongs and threw them out..any idea what they could have been or if they're harmful at all in case I didn't get every one out?
 
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