Keeping dubias warm enough to breed...

I have my breeder dubias in an aquarium with a heat pad under it but I don't think it's warm enough. I was considering using a light on top but won't that make it too bright in the cage? I thought they like it dark? They just don't seem to be reproducing very quickly so thought maybe it's nit warm enough. It feels warm on the bottom right where the pad is but I don't think it radiates up at all??

The heat pad will heat up the frass and they'll burrow in and be content. They may breed more slowly but they'll be fine with that. If you want to add heat I suggest a ceramic heat emitter. That's what I use in the winter. I have it in a dome fixture hanging from an adjustable lamp stand over their tank. That projects plenty of heat downward to keep them happy all winter.

you could also insulate the aquarium, tape some cardboard along the outside to effectively make a box enclosure.

Ok. Thanks. Does a heat pad really warm the air much or just the floor. Thinking about getting a ceramic heat lamp but nervous to use it because of fire risk since the roaches aquarium is stored in the lower cabinet of the dragon's aquaruim and I'm using cardboard to darken it. I am making it darker then before so maybe that will help. I just really want them to start reproducing so I csn quit buying them. It's getting expensive. I have 2 four month old dragons so go through about 1000 every couple of weeks. Will 35 females be able to keep up with them once their producing we'll or should I get more females?

Here's my low budget bin. Not nearly as nice as my cooler (for keeping drinks and stuff cold) roach bins.
Its two bins stacked inside each other with insulation i had laying around in between them. Its heated with a stubby 50 watt CHE on a thermostat. I have since also added a sliding lamp cord dimmer to keep wattage of the emitter lower. The vents are slip in drains.
There is a fire risk, but the thermostat and dimmer limit that risk. Just gotta make sure nothing touches the element.
[ximg]85426 9496970893[/ximg] [ximg]85426 4342840021[/ximg]

nicely made set up... the issue with dubia is that they take quite some time to grow into a good feeding size. you may have enough females however at the rate that reproduction occurs, about once a month, you'll need to wait a few months before you have good sized nymphs to feed off. I would set those aside as a future source and try and get a separate stock that you will feed off of primarily.

Thanks, the nice thing is the only thing I had to buy to build it was the lamp cord dimmer. I had the supplies just laying around not being used for anything. The insulation was from one of my shipments of frozen rats.

Forgot to mention orange heads breed faster, are "meatier", and a better roach in my opinion.
(Sorry for those of you that have heard me say this so many times )

Rankins":1g22vmtd said:

There is a fire risk, but the thermostat and dimmer limit that risk. Just gotta make sure nothing touches the element.
[ximg]85426 9496970893[/ximg]

Click to expand...

Rankins, I'm assuming you unscrewed the bulb assembly and pinched it over the top of the tote cover? I'd guess it is a very low fire risk, but the only thing I could think of that wasn't convoluted and possibly riskier than what you have is to tie a loose simple knot in the electrical cord just above the lamp, cut the hole a little larger around the lamp, cut small holes (maybe hole punch size) and use 3-4 tie wraps to connect the tie wraps to both the lamp and the lid. it would give you a 'free floating' light that has space around the lamp so it wouldn't pose as much risk...of course then you'd have to find a way to screen it to keep out flies and such. <sigh> Or you could take screen and cut a hole a little larger than the lamp base, and set a normal dome type lamp base on top of the metal screen. This would leave an area around the lamp to cool and avoid potential fires. Of course you'd need to secure the lamp so it wouldn't move...at this hour in the morning that's the best I can come up with without buying a different bin.

Haha...I dont want to get a new bin. That part confused me, I just built it...
Didn't want to do the screen and putting the lamp on it. I have cats that like to knock things over and jump on top of things.
The socket is a ceramic one and you just unscrew it to get it put it through the lid. There are fiber washers that keep the socket from directly touching the plastic.
I built two kind of like it out of Colman coolers. One has been running without fail for about 1.5 years. Its a fairly safe system, but there is a fire risk anytime heat is involved. So nothings 100% safe.

You could make something like this. Just make the frame for the screen smaller and the opening in the lid cut round for the reflector.
I used this for a brief period on heat tape. It wasn't heating up enough. The bin lid actually was made for my rat bins...
[ximg]85426 4672670681[/ximg][ximg]85426 3083761842[/ximg]