I managed to kill Dubias!

[desultadox]

So I recently ran out of water crystals for my roaches and while I waited for the new stuff to come in I just gave them actual water. That was a huge mistake because they spilled it everywhere and the roach bin quickly became inhospitable. So I switched them over to another bin while I cleaned out their bin. I bleached it, let it dry out, then washed it out with soap. I let it dry out and aired it out for 2 days before I put the roaches back in (they also got all new egg crate). For some reason some of the roaches are still dying (it seems the adults are especially vulnerable, males in particular, but that all may just be coincidence) and the bin smells HORRIBLE! Is it possible they're still sick from the time spent in their muddy mess? Could it be my cleaning methods? Is there anything I could try to correct this? I'm not feeding them out (obviously) but I'm wondering if they will ever be good to feed or if I should just get rid of them and start over? I did replace their regular water crystals with "calcium" water crystals and I know some people say calcium can kill roaches, but the only food they've ever eaten is "high calcium" cricket gutload and they've been fine.

Thanks in advance~

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Doesn't actually surprise me too much.
Roaches aren't the invincible animals everyone makes them out to be.
I have found dubia to be quite sensitive.
First, I never use water or water crystals .. I use carrot, sweet potato, apple, cooked corn, and dark greens for my wet mix which is how mine get their moisture.
Second, I never clean the bin ... I will take a damp paper towel and wipe out areas from time to time ... but that's it.
I would start fresh with a brand new container and throw some fresh food in.
Let them clean themselves out, or die for a couple of weeks before deciding if you want to feed any off.

-Brad

 

[Vince]

I too have used water crystals with calcium and have had no problems. But i use them in real small amounts. For a base food and drink for the dubia i recommend oranges personally. I agree with brad let them die off but i would not get a new bin. If you cleaned with bleach and let sit out for a couple days i cant imagine that is why they are dying. I dont know much about roaches and how they work, but maybe the ones that are dying are dying from water in their respiratory systems?? (drowning) Or maybe infection...

 

[desultadox]

Yeah I'm pretty paranoid about this kind of thing so I don't think I'm going to feed any of these off until I have no deaths for at least a couple of weeks. The survivors do seem to be fine now (the ones that died became very lethargic shortly before their demise) but I'm definitely going to have to put them in another bin because that terrible smell can't be good for them. Ugh, these roaches were effortless for the last year. Hopefully I'll get back to that stasis soon.

Thanks guys

 

[BocaJan]

YEAR !?!?!? They may have been dying off from old age. I think that is how long they live.

 

[Vegas Chad]

brad, correct me if I am wrong but I believe that dubia can live for several years... I'd guess that the die off has something to do with the water (did you use a ton?)...

 

[veiledchamguy]

So I recently ran out of water crystals for my roaches and while I waited for the new stuff to come in I just gave them actual water. That was a huge mistake because they spilled it everywhere and the roach bin quickly became inhospitable. So I switched them over to another bin while I cleaned out their bin. I bleached it, let it dry out, then washed it out with soap. I let it dry out and aired it out for 2 days before I put the roaches back in (they also got all new egg crate). For some reason some of the roaches are still dying (it seems the adults are especially vulnerable, males in particular, but that all may just be coincidence) and the bin smells HORRIBLE! Is it possible they're still sick from the time spent in their muddy mess? Could it be my cleaning methods? Is there anything I could try to correct this? I'm not feeding them out (obviously) but I'm wondering if they will ever be good to feed or if I should just get rid of them and start over? I did replace their regular water crystals with "calcium" water crystals and I know some people say calcium can kill roaches, but the only food they've ever eaten is "high calcium" cricket gutload and they've been fine.

Thanks in advance~

tell me about your heat. Do the males get their wings eaten?

 

[desultadox]

They've been living in a bathroom cabinet lately where it's probably 75-80 degrees. They were breeding too fast for me when I kept them outside. In the cabinet they'd still been breeding, just slower. No male ever had his wings eaten.

I'm still pretty curious about the horrible smell... There were 2 dead roaches in there yesterday but I can't imagine them causing such a stench. There's no water in there now (just crystals) and I just cleaned the bin.

 

[Murrdox]

tell me about your heat. Do the males get their wings eaten?

I know nothing about roaches, and don't want to hijack the thread.... but why would the males' wings get eaten??

 

[desultadox]

I think rivalry and/or poor diet can cause them to do that. I'm not sure where veiledchamguy in particular was going with that though.

 

[lampshade]

Why did you bleach everything? Are you running a hospital? You should have just dried it out or just went to kmart and bought a new bin for less than $10. I believe people here over-do things because they over-react.

 

[desultadox]

I bleached it because I needed to kill whatever bacteria and other junk developed from the combination of water, roach poop, roach food, and dead roach bits. I'm not running a hospital, I believe a more appropriate analogy might be that I'm running a kitchen and certainly I want my chameleon's food source to be similarly clean. I'm not sure I understand how it would be more efficient or eco-friendly to toss a perfectly good plastic bin and spend time, gas, and money to go to Wal-Mart and buy a new one, so I didn't. I prefer to over-do things than under-do them with respect to the welfare of my pet.

 

[Vince]

Why did you bleach everything? Are you running a hospital? You should have just dried it out or just went to kmart and bought a new bin for less than $10. I believe people here over-do things because they over-react.

This is the stupidest thing i have read on the forums so far.
BLEACH KILLS BACTERIA AND IS A HELL OF A LOT CHEAPER THAN A NEW BIN @ 10$.

Some people have more money than brains.

 

[SYeretzian]

Do you have a vent for your bin that you keep the roaches in?

 

[desultadox]

I just leave the lid off.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

Bleach, no bleach - no big deal. Washit and let it dry. Chances are the bacteria involved are not going to be super-dangerous, and a dry environment will impede theri growth. Best thing to do is to take a very dilute solution of bleach, and wipe it down. It'll kill most living bacteria, and take the edge off the smell.

I have a sprayer of dilute bleach on hand for all sanitizing. It's so safe, you could spray a baby chameleon in the face (ok, in the mouth - not the eyes!)with no ill effects. It has almost no smell when diluted a lot.