panthergecko
Active member
can you all share tips and things that worked for you?
dubia roaches?
- Thread starter panthergecko
- Start date
Ozymandias
New member
heat and fruit have always worked for me
well what info are you looking for? everything from A to Z? or just some quick tips?
a quick run down of my experience with them.
64QT bin from walmart
under tank reptile heater size 30 to 40 gallon covers about 80% of the bottom.
Egg flats purchased online or from local places that serve breakfast.
i use ice tea mix lids for water gel and dubia chow. they arent deep but they are big so i pile the food and water gel on there and everyone gets to it just fine.
ideal temp is 90F but mine bounce between 78 and 88F and i get great production.
I feed a dubia chow that is Cat food based also fruits and vegies ( whatever is in the house i can grab ) i offer that every other day to every 3rd day.
make sure the food and water dish is away from the heat pad. dont worry about being neat and clean they like it dirty! so if the food spills onto the bin floor dont worry the babies will be all over it!
try not to over think it some people put stuff between the egg flats to create space so the dubia will go in.. dont worry they all squeeze and pile in there on their own. i just make the flats sit in a off way so that they dont fit into each other that works for me just fine.
leave a inch or 2 from egg flat to lid they will climb to the lid! i bang the top of the lid to scare them off before opening every time.
when i first got them all dubia transactions went down in the bathroom in the bath tub they cant climb out and their easy to spot considering they are dark and the tub is light.
you can purchase dubia just about anywhere make sure you shop around for the best prices. 1 male to 5 female ratio is a good bet. depending on the collection you have vs how soon you want to get the colony booming is how much you will want to get. i only have about 8 animals to feed that eat dubia and 1 is a pacman frog. so i started with 30 males 75 females and about 100 mixed and with that they took between 2 to 3 months to get cranking hard.
remember this Darkness + Heat + Food = Happy Dubia
hope this helped.
a quick run down of my experience with them.
64QT bin from walmart
under tank reptile heater size 30 to 40 gallon covers about 80% of the bottom.
Egg flats purchased online or from local places that serve breakfast.
i use ice tea mix lids for water gel and dubia chow. they arent deep but they are big so i pile the food and water gel on there and everyone gets to it just fine.
ideal temp is 90F but mine bounce between 78 and 88F and i get great production.
I feed a dubia chow that is Cat food based also fruits and vegies ( whatever is in the house i can grab ) i offer that every other day to every 3rd day.
make sure the food and water dish is away from the heat pad. dont worry about being neat and clean they like it dirty! so if the food spills onto the bin floor dont worry the babies will be all over it!
try not to over think it some people put stuff between the egg flats to create space so the dubia will go in.. dont worry they all squeeze and pile in there on their own. i just make the flats sit in a off way so that they dont fit into each other that works for me just fine.
leave a inch or 2 from egg flat to lid they will climb to the lid! i bang the top of the lid to scare them off before opening every time.
when i first got them all dubia transactions went down in the bathroom in the bath tub they cant climb out and their easy to spot considering they are dark and the tub is light.
you can purchase dubia just about anywhere make sure you shop around for the best prices. 1 male to 5 female ratio is a good bet. depending on the collection you have vs how soon you want to get the colony booming is how much you will want to get. i only have about 8 animals to feed that eat dubia and 1 is a pacman frog. so i started with 30 males 75 females and about 100 mixed and with that they took between 2 to 3 months to get cranking hard.
remember this Darkness + Heat + Food = Happy Dubia
hope this helped.
Elizabeth Freer
Well-known member
Here's what I do:
Feeding crickets and roaches
Feed crickets/roaches food that provides no more than 20% protein and no more than 5% crude fat. Some choices are:
Chicken Laying Mash (feed store)
Fluker Farms High Calcium Cricket Feed
Dry oatmeal
Alfalfa hay (for the 3 wo and older crix)
Collard greens (especially recommended for the high calcium-to-low phosphorous ratio)
Carrots (natural source of beta carotene)
For more information feeding the feeders, go to Maurice Pudlo's sticky in the Geckos Unlimited Feeders, Food & Nutrition subforum: Feeder Insect Diets & Gutload
Cricket Care
For crickets I place a supply of the food mentioned above on the bottom of an extra large Kritter Keeper or a plastic 56 quart Sterilite container, add the crickets, add two layers of egg flats, and top with a paper towel. Keep these crickets at room temperature. Spray the paper towel about every other day for moisture or more frequently if the room is hot. Using these methods it is easy to keep crickets alive for a month or so post purchase.
Roach Care
I breed Blaptica dubia in a ten gallon tank with 5 vertically positioned egg flats. The above-mentioned food can be kept in shallow lids to one side of the egg flats. For moisture I dampen a clean medium-size sponge and occasionally spray the flats. In a room which ranges from 67 F/19.5 C upwards, I keep a 40 watt bulb in a reflector dome directly over the screened tank and on 24/7.