My dubia experience so far

[moviemanmania]

So I got my army of dubia roaches in the mail today and wanted to share my experience so far. Upon opening the container I was somewhat relieved in their appearance. They didn't freak me out too much and although I did shutter the first few times I tried to grab one and pick it up, I soon got over it quickly. Right now I have them divided up three ways. One for small nymphs, one for larger feeders, and the last one is a smaller container for the breeders. The small nymphs and larger feeding sizes are kept at room temperature while the breeding ones I have at 85degrees. I will keep this threat updated as I make changes to the setup.

I am wondering though, do these six pairs of legs and shells pose a threat for impaction in chams? Has anyone ever run into problems with impactions and dubia?

 

[Samcham1]

Bump the temps up to 90-95, and put them in a dark container with egg crate and they will take off in no time.

 

[moviemanmania]

Yeah I think your right. I will increase their temps and humidity too.

 

[Ekaj13]

Their shells are much softer than other roaches. Than a lot of other feeders for that matter. Think meal worms and superworms.

 

[ktravelet]

What's the point of separating them? I keep all of mine in a plastic tub and at 95*. Two females already gave birth within 2 weeks (they were obviously prego before). The little ones won't grow as fast with cooler temps.

For anyone else reading, I can't believe I didn't get dubias before. Simple to take care of, no dead ones, and they DON'T smell!!

 

[Mr Wilson]

I still can't stand the roaches. Just reading about them literally made me shiver. But I will say that when I first noticed one had given birth, I was really very excited and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Other than that though, I hate them with a passion and think they are just horrific hahahaha. And don't even get me started on the hissing ones!!! Those things are like freaking dinosaurs!

 

[pssh]

Have you ever seen one give birth? Very alien-like.

The legs are usually fine, though some may prefer to cut off the legs of larger nymphs/adult males before feeding them off. They are much less spiny and more soft than some other roaches.

 

[getwitit]

I had a question about dubias. Do you think that in taking my rubbermaid setup out of the dark and pulling some dubias out every other day to feed them off is bothering the colony? As in, do you think they would breed faster if I didn't bother them once every day?

 

[clairf]

I had a question about dubias. Do you think that in taking my rubbermaid setup out of the dark and pulling some dubias out every other day to feed them off is bothering the colony? As in, do you think they would breed faster if I didn't bother them once every day?

Hi, I wouldn't think it makes any difference either way to be honest. I've had my colony for ages now and regardless of whether I go in their box once a day or once a week nothing changes.....they eat, breed,eat, breed etc etc

The only fluctuation I did find was not following the ratio protocol...1 male = 3 females ( adult breeders ). When the ratio changed it changed the dynamics within their box and I found a few dead half eaten adults.

I keep all mine in the same box, on the dark top shelp of the airing cuboard. And thats it, no additional heat, nothing and my original colony is still going after nearly two years. Not bad for cold damp UK

They are great feeders aren't they ... Feed scraps, don't smell, climb or escape - as long as using straight edged container with nothing to grip onto - sealant in corners etc - breed regularly....

 

[fluxlizard]

I think people over estimate the risk of impaction caused by exoskeleton in insect eating lizards that are healthy and cared for properly.

Most such lizards eat lots of beetles in the wild and these lizards have digestive systems that are meant to break down and digest insects, all of which have exoskeletons.

 

[Digby Rigby]

Healthy, appropriately housed reptiles do not get impacted. Chameleons also eat snails and the shells are far crunchier than roach exoskeletons. If your chameleons are healthy and appropriately housed impaction from feeding roaches is not an issue.
______________________
Digby Rigby Bulk Roach Sales [email protected]

 

[Samcham1]

I agree, i think if they are properly hydrated and healthy they will be fine eating all types of insects.

 

[moviemanmania]

I had a male veiled cham die from impaction from a grasshopper. It's possible. Just as a precaution I am removing their spiny legs before feeding.

 

[moviemanmania]

UPDATE: My older panther, Rocko, has eaten about two of the dubia so far but doesn't seem to care for them too much. I think he might be afraid of them to some degree. His favorite feeder is still the hornworms.

My 5month old nosy be will eat the nymph dubia right out of my hands, but will not cup feed them. I am guessing this is because once they have been in the cup for a while they begin to huddle ontop of each other and eventually stop moving around.

As far as keeping the dubia is concerned, I LOVE IT! They are so easy to care for and really are very slow movers and can hardly climb. They really are the ideal feeder because they have very little to no odor, don't escape easily, don't jump out when you pick up a few to feed, they dust pretty nicely, eat just about anything, and seem to breed easily also. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the dubia and hope to see some new nymphs running around soon.

I will keep this thread updated as they breed.

 

[krknieriem]

lets say you were thinking about starting a colony to feed a single panther male chameleon, what would be a good adult female to male ratio to keep the colony from becoming overpopulated or does that really matter

 

[moviemanmania]

I would recommend one male to four females for your ratio. An adult panther won't eat too many of them on a weekly basis compared to a young chameleon so you will end up with lots of extra. You can always sell off your extra dubia.

 

[chemeleonaire]

How often can you feed dubias?

Hi, I've never fed roached to my Chams and I finally found a local place that sells them (we live in the middle of the desert). They suggested I start a colony but I'm wondering are dubias used as a staple? As in, instead of mainly using crickets I can use dubias? I don't want to start a colony if I will only be feeding as supplemental food because I only have 2 Veiled Chameleons... Also, do you ask the pet store to pick you out males and females? I need to research how to tell the difference...