First Dubia Colony

T

trd1215

New Member
Hello everyone,

Just getting my first dubia colony soon, i just want to know how can i make them reproduce faster and when can i actually start feeding my chams so i dont run out of dubia roaches...

I am getting started with 100 small to medium and a couple of adults.
Do they need heat and darkness??
 
Heat, yes. Dark, yes. You should probably plan on leaving that colony alone for 6 months or longer before you start feeding out of it.
 
I'm also starting up a dubia colony (should be here tomorrow!) From what I've read, abut 95F is optimal for breeding. And yes, they're nocturnal and need darkness.
 
They'll survive in cooler condiitons, but 95 is just a good reproductive temp.

I'd op for the heat pads, not lamps. Again, they are nocturnal!
 
Dark as in absence of light dark. Do not keep them in an overly large container. If they are all balled up with a lot of unused space the container is too big. How many animals are you feeding and how many feeder insects are you using now? These are things we need to know ti help determine when your colony can be self sustaining. Dubia also like fruit and it helps them be productive in addition to protein. If someone has to wait six months before they can start feeding then they are starting with an insufficient size colony. Thats even if they are starting with tiny nymphs..

Digby Rigby _______________________
 
If you are only getting a few adults it will be quite awhile before you have enough to feed off. small and medium still have a couple weeks to a month or two before they are adults and then another month or so before babies start popping out. I got 15 adult males and 45 adult females to start and 2 months later I have plenty to feed off of consistently. Now there are at least 200 adult females and 60 or so adult males and I feed mostly adults off every other day. The large nymphs are great for chams under a year or smaller panthers. However none of my panthers have a problem with adult dubia, they eat them very quickly unless it is a truly giant female dubia and them my alligator snapping turtle gets it as a treat or my giant monkey frogs get it to pose for pictures. If the chams are a little smaller I feed them freshly molted adult dubia and they love them. I keep mine anywhere between 88 and 94 degrees and the reproduce fairly quickly. I have never measured their humidity but there is always condensation on the sides and under th lid and I haven't had but one or two die so they work out nice. I still prefer silkworms tough. I'm less afraid to leave a silkworm in a cage and walk away, plus my chams like them more and they grow/ produc faster. I can have nearly 3 generations of silkworms before a group or dubias reach adulthood. Goods luck, and look to get more adults.



Justin
 
Well right now i just have crickets, mealworms, superworms, and beatles to feed my 5 adult chams, 5 month old juvenile cham along with a bearded dragon and a fat-tail gecko, plenty of animals to feed not sure that colony would last long...lol. I guess i would just have to let them breed for awhile.
 
I suggest you buy about 50-80 females and a few more males so that your colony will start getting bigger in about two months. You'll have to wait longer to feed the large animals though.
 
Yeah I didn't realize you had more than one cham and other reptiles. You will need quite a few to get it going good. I end up with anywhere between 500(during a month when they are all pregnant) and 2500+(if they mostly pop them out at the same time). I don't count really I just know how many tiny nymphs I have to sell/give away. I am currently feeding off alot of the adults to keep the population in check. My skinks and my bigger species of frogs can eat 5 adult dubia in the morning and another couple in the afternoon during breeding season. It helps keep numbers down.


Justin
 
Last edited:
Justin, do you have any pics of your dubia colony setup? I am thinking about getting a colony started for my ambilobe pair and the 32 eggs i have in the study. A pic would be easier than guessing at a sucessful attempt.

Brian
 
Yes thats is a good idea what do you guys feed for growth of the colony if your not feeding the chameleon, dogfood???
 
Got my colony the other day and put them in a dark 10 gallon bin container not too big just to get started. Put oranges, apple, veggies, carrots and oats. Hope that makes them happy to grow fast....:p
 
I keep my dubia in 50 gallon storage containers. I toss in toilet paper tubes to fill the tub which they seem to love and it makes collecting them for feeding easy. Setup is pretty simple- just the tubes, no substrate.

Mine are still producing (not fast but I'm finding some babies in my "new" tub that I move adults into as I feed off the young from another tub) even though it's February and the temp in the lizard building is upper 50s low 60s nights and mid to upper 70s days...
 
I don't have any tonight but I will post one tomorrow of one of the smaller colonies. Sorry I didn't respond so long. The smaller colony of less than 1000 roaches is in a black container that is probably 3ft long and 2 ft high and has two pieces to the lid and they kinda fold together to keep it secure. I'll post pics so you can see. I just cleaned it out tonight so It will look nice.



Justin


EDIT: the tiny roach nymphs should work out great once the babes are off fruit flies and pin heads. They will fill them up faster, which is a plus, and will give them a better variety.
 
Cool. Can't wait to see the pics. My wife is out of town for a week so I should probably get them now. Easier to beg forgivness than ask permission:D. I think she has a roach phobia.

Brian
 
So I am also starting a dubia colony, feeding cat food right now, putting cricket pillows in for water, and they have plenty of heat and are in the dark. I keep finding larger roaches dead and none of the females have had babies yet. Is there a reason why the larger roaches keep dying?
 
Don't feed them cat food. They shouldn't really be dying off, I've never had that problem. Only a few should die off a year because of old age... Also make sure they have a day time too! All dark would be like all day for us or a chameleon.
 
I second that, No cat food. However I see no benefit to having a daytime for them. Mine live in a black container that lets no light in and they live fine and never seem to die. Also in nature I'd imagine they are like just about every other roach and hide under something or in something dark during the day to not see the light. Why force them to be out during a time of the day they wouldn't be out. I feel that if it is dark all the time they will be active more and eat/possibly breed more, if breeding more than they already do is even a possibility. If they have light 12 hours a day that is just 12 hours they will likely be hiding in or under something IMO. Just my opinion but then again I am no roach expert.


Justin


Reptoman: I just got home from work about an hour ago and am going downstair to take pics of my chams and the smaller roach bin I described. I will post pics within the hour.


EDIT: Pssh: I also would not question the suggestion or dark by digby, he does specialize in roaches and probably knows alot more than either of us do. He is a roach breeder/ supplier, or at least thats what I've heard.
 
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