About the Dubias, they are SUPER easy. I got mine from Ian at The Roach Ranch (
http://www.theroachranch.com/). Ian is a HUGE help. He'll answer any and all of your questions in a very, very timely and extremely helpful manner.
Anyway, as you will see on his site, you need a few things.
1. A SOLID COLOR, not clear, Rubbermaid type tub, preferably around 20 gallons.
2. Egg Crates
3. A heating pad
4. Water Crystals
5. Roach food. You can find all kinds of recipes for this. I use finely ground dry cat food, fish food, and some frosted flakes for sugar. They also really like citrus fruits (mine LOVE oranges), which should be offered a couple times a week.
6. Some mesh screen
This is really easy to set up. First cut about an 8in x 8in hole in the lid of the tub. Next secure the mesh screen over the hole via glue or Duct tape. Place a container of
hydrated water crystals in the center of the bin. Arrange the egg crates vertically inside the bin on either side of the water crystals. Don't over crowd it with crates, but do make sure you have enough for ample hiding spots. Put the food container next to the water crystals. Place the heating pad on the floor and put it on the lowest setting. Place the bin on top of the heating pad. The temps in the bin should be around 88-90 degrees F. Once this condition is met, increasing the heat setting if necessary, add the roaches. The bin should be in a dark place, if possible, as they like it dark 24/7.
As I mentioned, add some fruit once or twice a week. Clean the bin every month or two, adding new egg crates. Other than that, just make sure they have water crystals and food and let them do their thing. In a couple months (exact time will depend on whether you get large nymphs or adults) you will have a thriving colony!
I also have a colony of Turkish roaches (
Blatta lateralis) that I used to feed Ryuuku while the Dubia colony was establishing itself. You can use the exact same setup for them. They grow a lot faster and reproduce like crazy. They are, however, much faster than Dubias and do not attain the sizes Dubias do. So when your beardie is an adult he would need to eat A LOT of Turks to be full. They are great for juvenile beardies, though.
Hope that helps a bit.
Aaron
not to beardies, or reptiles for that matter. Their real names are Alexandera and Jessica, and they are wonderful! Alex is the biggist of the two by being 17 inches long :lol: She's a fatty. Jess is only 9 inches long and still a baby :mrgreen: I dont have many pics, but here they are!
Alex!
Jess!
