To the Dubia experts...

[Zephalia]

I currently use crickets as my main feeder for my 9 month old Panther. Whenever the weather warms up enough to ship, I have 2 Jackson's coming in. Currently, I pay $40/500 crickets from the local pet shop. Pete eats about 50 a week on average. Take that times 3 soon enough and I'm looking at alternatives to buying my feeders. I like to save $ where I can.

In the past year of looking in my area, I have not found anyone selling Dubia roaches until now. I have decided to get myself a small colony and try my hand at breeding them with the hopes of a self-sustaining food source. I'm getting 19 females and 5 males on Wednesday for $40.

I have done reading on this site and also watched youtube videos on how to breed them and general care. I just have to add YUCK. Roaches creep me out but I'm going to try this anyway - I think I'll have to get a pair of feeding tongs though, lol.

Can anyone with experience give me tips on how to be successful with this breeding project? I am going to pick up a big plastic bin, cut a hole in the top and put a screen over it. I'll have egg cartons in there for hiding. There will be a food dish (he's giving me a bag of food with it but I don't know what it contains until I see it) and a water dish with water crystals. I will also pick up a heating pad to go under the bin. Am I missing anything?

Also, I'm not going to be feeding them off for a while since I want to establish sufficient numbers first so does it matter what I feed them to start? Or should I be feeding them quality right from the get go, even if I'm not feeding them to the chams for months?

Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

(Also, what happens if they escape in the house? I live in Manitoba, Canada and we have a pretty cool climate, I'm assuming they won't be able to survive?)

 

[Big Gulp]

Honestly, breeding is pretty easy. Sounds like you got everything covered. As far as cutting a hole in the Sterilite top, don't make it too, too big. Otherwise it won't stay as humid in the tub.

And dubia's won't thrive outside their elements, so you're fine there.

Regarding crickets, are there any reptile shows near you? I usually pay $17 for 1,000.

 

[kdc5019]

Dubia are easy to setup and breed it just takes some time to get a full colony going. Biggest thing is to make sure you temps are high enough. Mid 90s minimum to promote successful breeding.

$40 for 500 crickets is a lot. I pay $40 for 4000 crickets online from ghann.

 

[Zephalia]

Regarding crickets, are there any reptile shows near you? I usually pay $17 for 1,000.

Thanks for the confirmation that I have all bases covered. I will be keeping the bin in my cham room which maintains around 70% or higher so I don't think humidity will be an issue but I will ensure not to make the screen too large.

There is one reptile show in Winnipeg that I have come across and it was in the fall but I did not attend as I didn't know about it at that point. The reptile scene here seems to be very small, although growing.

I can get 1000 crickets for $40 but I have to take them all at once and I'm not interested in that. They would probably die off before I could feed them off and they smell awful. I purchase a cricket card from the local shop and just take fifty as I need them until I run out. There is another place in town that I can buy feeders from but they are a far drive and not worth the time unless I have other items to purchase.

If I can get a good sized colony going, I may just sell dubias locally since they seem uncommon in this area despite their attractiveness as feeders.

 

[Zephalia]

Dubia are easy to setup and breed it just takes some time to get a full colony going. Biggest thing is to make sure you temps are high enough. Mid 90s minimum to promote successful breeding.

$40 for 500 crickets is a lot. I pay $40 for 4000 crickets online from ghann.

With a heating pad under the bin, sounds like I'll be ok. Thanks for the input.

I agree that $40 for 500 crickets is quite a bit. Keep in mind that I'm living in a cold climate and that reptiles seem to be a lot less common as a pet around here than in the States for example. Just last month we were experiencing -40C temperatures for weeks on end and the local shop I buy from lost all their crickets that were shipped for 2 weeks straight due to cold temperatures in shipping. The owner, bless his soul, drove to the States border crossing to pick up a special shipment he ordered just so that us poor souls had feeders.

I have been waiting since mid-January for my 2 Jackson's to get shipped from the West Coast because the temperatures are just too low to safely transport. The availability of chameleons is scarce compared to the U.S. as well and often results in having to ship half way across the country. My breeder, for example, lives in B.C.

I digress...

I believe it's the simple issue of supply and demand. There is a demand for these feeders but the supply is more limited here. Hence the higher cost.

 

[xraygirl]

As a girl who does the "eww it's all over me wipe it off" dance whenever I SEE a roach, I feel different about my colony, cause it know they aren't crawling in a garbage bin or in filthy conditions...

To me, the females are cute... They look like fat, flat roly poly's... When they're about to have babies, their plumpness is even funnier... The males still kinda creep me out, you won't see me touching those lol!!!

 

[Zephalia]

As a girl who does the "eww it's all over me wipe it off" dance whenever I SEE a roach

To me, the females are cute...

Yes, that is me. I even did the dance last night telling my boyfriend I was getting them. lol

You are a brave woman and I hope to have your courage some day. lol

 

[xraygirl]

I think of them as roly poly's.... That kinda helps!!! they're really not too bad!!

 

[Trace]

If I can get a good sized colony going, I may just sell dubias locally since they seem uncommon in this area despite their attractiveness as feeders.

In Canada almost all species of roaches, save for the Blatella germanica (German Roach) are illegal to import, keep and propagate. This also goes for most stick bugs and mantids. Inspectors have seized non-permitted species from pet stores and private keepers and fines given in some cases.

While there is a large underground network for the exchange of these bugs please be careful with whom you advertise with. Getting caught only creates more negative press for the reptile hobby as a whole.

 

[Chaka]

As a girl who does the "eww it's all over me wipe it off" dance whenever I SEE a roach, I feel different about my colony, cause it know they aren't crawling in a garbage bin or in filthy conditions...

To me, the females are cute... They look like fat, flat roly poly's... When they're about to have babies, their plumpness is even funnier... The males still kinda creep me out, you won't see me touching those lol!!!

Haha that's exactly what i tell my roomates, "They're dubia, a special fat roly poly."

 

[Zephalia]

In Canada almost all species of roaches, save for the Blatella germanica (German Roach) are illegal to import, keep and propagate. This also goes for most stick bugs and mantids. Inspectors have seized non-permitted species from pet stores and private keepers and fines given in some cases.

While there is a large underground network for the exchange of these bugs please be careful with whom you advertise with. Getting caught only creates more negative press for the reptile hobby as a whole.

I'm going to have to look into this further this afternoon. This could be why I haven't seen them until now. Thank you for the advice - I'm looking into it. I'm definitely not interested in shady dealings.

 

[Big Gulp]

And roaches aren't nearly as nasty as crickets. I have a colony...that my veiled won't touch. Frustrating. It keeps growing and growing. Guess I'll have to get a panther and see if they like them.

 

[Zephalia]

I'm going to have to look into this further this afternoon. This could be why I haven't seen them until now. Thank you for the advice - I'm looking into it. I'm definitely not interested in shady dealings.

Upon investigation I see that you are absolutely correct (not that I doubted you) and I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Checked into some forums and the CFIA.

That squashes my plans...oh well...

 

[spottea]

The males creep me out too! I've had quite a few lately as well, which is annoying as they are too big, so I've gathered a few up, as many as I can stand to touch, and take them to people who have big reptiles to feed, like my local reptile store. We do a swap. I give him my unwanted dubias, and he gives me some superworms or crickets in return.
I didn't cut a big window in the top of the black bin I found, as my cats use it as a trampoline. Instead, I cut about 6 little portholes in the upper sides, which I put Sufit vents in. I saw this on youtube, and thought what a great idea!
The bin stays nice and warm, and there's good ventilation.