Housing dubia

[CamiGirl89]

One thing I have noticed with my Dubias... While they are wonderful, they attract gnats like crazy. They are always in the bin, and always throughout my apartment. Not sure how to get rid of them, but just a warning! Be ready for some gnats, I am actually switching back to crickets just because I am tired of them breeding in the roach enclosure! They seem to like the water gel that I use for my crickets and roaches... ick!

 

[buddy912]

i recently just got some large dubias for breeding n keep them in a 30 gallon rubber maid bin with a sealed top 2 holes cut out one for a heat light n the other with a screen hot glued over the hole for air. and i did see lots of nats too i just figured they were from the fruit so i changer that food every night now n hardly ne lil nats around nemore and as far as escapies!!! i was told these guys dont climb or fly well the males can fly but they just dont i was told... so now im thinking i gotta look out for them getting out. i dont think i would like my cats bringing me giant roaches they cought in the house... but so far i never had any get out not even in the keeper im thinking its cause i have alota places for them to hide under i think maybe that is the key like said previously. good luck in trying again! maybe put some weather proof strips under ur door where they r just for added piece of mind

 

[natureboy86]

I have a small cricket keeper that I usually store about 75 medium sized crickets in. Would it be ok to store the 75 small dubias I just ordered online? I've never housed dubias, and all these talks about escapes is making me unsure. This is what the Keeper looks like

dimensions are about 1'x1'x1'.. Would this be ok, or are they crafty and slick enough to somehow escape from the small are vents on the top of the keeper?

 

[nightanole]

No dubia are a so bad i dont know how they survive in the wild. A cricket carrier like that is fine, it will hold 75 large nymphs fine. One thing is "small" is a relative term. You could endup with 75 things the size of a grain of rice, and they can wiggle through the slots.

 

[natureboy86]

No dubia are a so bad i dont know how they survive in the wild. A cricket carrier like that is fine, it will hold 75 large nymphs fine. One thing is "small" is a relative term. You could endup with 75 things the size of a grain of rice, and they can wiggle through the slots.

crap.. I hope they're not THAT small . I ordered them from smallpetfeeders, and I spoke to the manager on the phone. I described my cham's size, and we were discussing what size worms and roaches would be good for him.. Hopefully he sends me ideal size... Actually, now that I think about, the site says the 'small nymphs' are 1/4 to 1/2 inches long. basically the same size of the crickets I give my little guy, but I'm assuming the roaches are a little fatter than the crickets.

 

[nightanole]

dubia are about 3x more meat per inch than crickets, and about 5-6x more calories per inch. Its pretty fun watching the cham eat a dubia that recently got its fill, its like a walking M&M.

 

[natureboy86]

dubia are about 3x more meat per inch than crickets, and about 5-6x more calories per inch. Its pretty fun watching the cham eat a dubia that recently got its fill, its like a walking M&M.

haha sounds tasty Definitely hope my cham likes this change in his diet.. Sounds WAAAY more nutritious!

 

[camaleonverde]

i have been raising crickets and c dubias for a long time< cost to feed six cameleons buying insects at the pet store is not the best>
solution ? paint with Vaseline a couple inches at the border cage< the never climb the grease line> even the micro crickets can"t>

 

[kychemnerd]

I use a rubbermaid tub with a snap down lid with a screen in the top. As long as your screen is sealed tightly, you shouldn't have problems with escapees. As an extra precaution, a thick piece of packaging tape can be run along the top of the container to keep them from getting out, but this doesn't work 100% of the time from my experience. I found that dubias are really easy to keep from escaping, but stay away from red runners!! Those things will just fly right out of the cage! Also, don't let the dubias run loose inside the chameleon enclosure. They will certainly find a way to escape if you do. Good luck!

 

[Randi]

This has been very helpful! I brought it up to my husband and used some of the suggestions from this thread. He didn't say no but he didn't say yes. All he said was, "Randi, we found one in our bed!" I told him that we did, but, I'm trying to prevent that from happening again. He thinks I should just stick with crickets, though. We'll see.

 

[SarahcoadunatioZac]

I hope he lets you, will save you money in the long run.

Since this thread is already here, and rather starting a new one..

Can anyone explain "cleaner crews" in Dubia colonies? Right now I don't have any substrate and didn't think I needed any. However, was considering buying bags of leaves, (Yes buying, I live in Arizona.) and tossing in some isopods or mealworms.

Whats the easiest to maintain and how do they survive? Substrate? Heat adjustments?

I figure it can help both the OP and I in one thread if anyone has the answers Thanks.

 

[Randi]

I figure it can help both the OP and I in one thread if anyone has the answers

Yes agreed! That is a very good question.

 

[Randi]

After two weeks of poking and prodding the hubby, he finally (VERY reluctantly) agreed to let me try them again! Though, if he sees even ONE, he's going to kick us all out on the street, haha! Thanks, everyone, for all of your input and help!

 

[birdlover71]

Good Luck

Yeah I divorced my hubby so don't need to worry about that anymore. lol

I actually had a hardtime convincing myself into getting them. I finally did and although I am scared to death of them. They do save me tons on crickets. Great investment. I did flip out the other day when I see one half dead on the bottom on Ben's cage. As long as it doesn't get lose out of the cage it/I will be ok. lol

good luck
Amy

 

[birdlover71]

Randi

This has been very helpful! I brought it up to my husband and used some of the suggestions from this thread. He didn't say no but he didn't say yes. All he said was, "Randi, we found one in our bed!" I told him that we did, but, I'm trying to prevent that from happening again. He thinks I should just stick with crickets, though. We'll see.

OMG your bed I would die.......

 

[Randi]

OMG your bed I would die.......

This was at 2am while we were fast asleep. He woke up because it was crawling on him. He woke me up and said that first thing in the morning they ALL had to GO. So, for him to be willing to try again says a lot.

 

[Raphael1047]

After two weeks of poking and prodding the hubby, he finally (VERY reluctantly) agreed to let me try them again! Though, if he sees even ONE, he's going to kick us all out on the street, haha! Thanks, everyone, for all of your input and help!

That is great! So are you going to breed them or just start with a few?

 

[SarahcoadunatioZac]

You may want to start with a few to see if your chameleon likes them I spent quite a penny on my colony and I can only get my guy to eat one or two when hes starving first thing in the morning. He needs wiggly things.

 

[Cmoore]

I keep dubias in a large cricket keeper also. It works well. I carry the keeper into the bathroom and set it in the bathtub when I take some out just incase any drop off when I am transferring them to the shaker. I was not going to get them again because they are the one bug that grosses me out the most with their sticky little feet, but Spike likes them and they are easy to keep.

 

[Randi]

I am only starting with a few, partially to make sure my chams approve and partially because of the hubby... then we'll see where it goes from there.