Help With Roach colonies Tips needed

[pedro92]

Hello every1 i know there is a huge agreement with dubia colonies and roaches or "papaya flower beetles" long joke. anyways i was wondering if someone who has or had experience can teach me the process of doing these colonies i need pics tips advice, and lots of help lol. for example:
where to purchase
"Supplies
Info
Websites
Also how big they should be to feed to a cham born on or around july 7/07
about 107 days old= about 3.5 mos old is that to early for roaches i just think cost of crickets is outrageous 1$=12 crix. i want to order bulk but dont know how to keep them. any tips. or should i get dubias.
Thank you very much

 

[booshified]

check out this site http://www.blapticadubia.com/dubiainfo.html

if you have a working colony then roaches are all sizes. if you wish to make this your source you should start now and in a few months you should be able to use them as your staple.

 

[angus310]

Could you just buy some and feed them as a staple? If I were breeding and keeping a colony, my fiance would freak out. If they are coming and being fed pretty quickly, I could hide them in the base of the stand.

 

[booshified]

Could you just buy some and feed them as a staple? If I were breeding and keeping a colony, my fiance would freak out. If they are coming and being fed pretty quickly, I could hide them in the base of the stand.

this is funny cause they are A LOT better then crickets. no smell. no noise. no jumping.

the males can fly but this is rare so as long as you have a lid on you are good.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

You could continue to buy them and feed them off (like crickets) but this would be VERY expensive 50 cents per roach.

-Brad

 

[angus310]

I would like to feed my guy a little bit of everything.

Crix, dubias, silkworms, mealies, wax worms. I pretty much give him a combo every day. He definitely likes the worms much better but I limit him on those.

If anyone here ever has a surplus, I will buy some. Obviously, I would like to save $$$ and not pay .50 each.

 

[JimNPHX]

You could continue to buy them and feed them off (like crickets) but this would be VERY expensive 50 cents per roach.

-Brad

I just found out that one of my local rep stores have Dubias for $2 a dozen. With this type of pricing available, is it still better to raise them? I would be feeding (2) 5-6 month old Veileds.

Jim

 

[Duke]

Roaches

I would be worried that they would get out and start a colony. Does anyone keeping them have any reason to believe that they would not? The University I attended had a foriegn roach infestation in the basement of the Biology building that had been there for years. If that happened in my house the chams and I would be tossed out!

 

[MWheelock]

They tend to have a high temp requirement. If they were to get out, unless you keep your building in the 80's, they shouldn't be able to survive.

Keeping roaches is verrrrryyyy easy. I highly recommend them.

Do keep in mind with pricing the size that you are getting. A lot of on-line roach deallers say that they are giving you large nymphs, when they still have a month or two to adulthood. That is fine if you are feeding off, but not so good if you are starting a sustainable colony.

Matthew

 

[royden]

My wife required a lot of information before I got these guys, so some big changes had to happen.

I talked to two herp vets who highly recomended dubias (Dr. Wheelock here being one of them). Then I talked to two entomologists. Only one of them had expereince with dubias and said they are safe from infestation. Remember that 1% of all roach species are considered pests. There are 4000 species in the world. Dubias are tropical.

My next hurdle is the asthma threat. Apparently cockroaches can cause allergies in those seceptable. So at my wifes request I'm now creating a fully insulated box (with slight airflow) to keep the roaches outside under the deck. I don't have a garage. If it doesn't work I may have to sell my roaches.

My wife is a nurse, and a very, very clean one.

When their colonies are big enough, Dr. Wheelock and Brad Ramsey both often sell off extra's. They're both guys I'd buy from before online stores or pet shops.

I agree that we need to just change then name of these insects. I can't believe people (spouses) have no problems with crickets - who are always out around the house, chirping, smelling like garbage, draining my account, whereas roaches are so, SO much easier and less intrusive.

They are the dream feeder. Long live the papaya beetle!

 

[Orin]

for example:
where to purchase
"Supplies
Info
Websites

You can find info, vendors, etc. on the Allpet Roaches Forum

I would be worried that they would get out and start a colony. Does anyone keeping them have any reason to believe that they would not? The University I attended had a foriegn roach infestation in the basement of the Biology building that had been there for years. If that happened in my house the chams and I would be tossed out!

The university had an infestation of Periplaneta americana which is a pest species. Less than 1% of the 4,000 plus species are pests. I'm sure the university also had mice problems, does that mean chameleons would get loose and infest the building since they're also vertebrates?

 

[Orin]

My next hurdle is the asthma threat. Apparently cockroaches can cause allergies in those seceptable.

You can find the actual study results online, only people with cockroach allergies AND asthma had increased attacks in the inner city in the US, similar studies in other countries showed NO correlation. If they pest control companies explained the actual findings rather than made up hype I imagine they'd sell less poison (pesticides are poison).

 

[royden]

I agree Orin, I've read similar things already.

At this point to convince my wife, I would need multiple pediatricians and entomologists saying that a roach colony in the basement will not compromise your newborn babies health. (We don't have one yet but we're planning on it soon) I don't think that's gonna happen so I'll just try to compromise. That's what marriage is about, and I love her more than I love my lizard, so in the end, what makes her happy wins.

It is a shame that cockroaches get associated with disease and uncleanliness. If lady bugs were brown and ate anything they'd be no different.