Dubia roaches

[GeckoLeen]

I have a small colony of dubia roaches. I have 3 geckos and 1 Cuban false chameleon, and the Cuban is the only one that eats the roaches on a regular basis. So I don't go through a ton of them, maybe 4-5 per week. My problem is that I have too many adults that are too large, and they are not reproducing well, as I think my temps are a bit too cool (70 at night, 73-76 daytime). I have them in a Rubbermaid tub inside of a larger Sterilite tub to avoid escapees. I am wondering if I can put a heat mat under the inner container to make it warmer, without having to hang a heat lamp. I know the mats are usually used on glass tanks. Would it melt the plastic? I know I would have to raise the inner tub a bit for some circulation, that's not a problem, but could I attach a mat to the underside of the inner tank?

 

[Herpin Man]

If you used a lid on the dubia enclosure, escapes would be minimized, and a heat pad would be easier to use. Otherwise, you are limited to using a pad that is smaller than the outer enclosure. It needn't be attached- the inner enclosure would just set onto it.
I recommend this for a heat pad:
https://www.reptilebasics.com/ultratherm-heat-pads
A thermostat should be used. I don't think this gets hot enough to melt plastic, but a thermostat would prevent that.

 

[GeckoLeen]

Thanks for the link - I just purchased one. I hope I can get some good results now; it's hard to purchase a goodly amount of the right size roaches, especially in the winter here. I do put a loose lid over the larger tub, but if the heat mat works, I'll skip that and put a lid on the smaller inner one. Thanks again!