Advice for dubia roach colony

Status
Not open for further replies.

chris101

Member
Heyo,
I have a little beardie, only about 3 months and i want to get dubia roaches soon. Ive been feeding him crickets ever since i got him (about a month and a half ago) and (ughhh) sometimes it sucks. He loves them dont get me wrong but I'd love to go with something a lot cleaner and less creepy crawly lol. I just wanted to ask some questions and get the most advice i could get before i try to set up a colony. He's small so I know i have to get small ones, im gonna go for 3/8" inch when i get them. I have a 10 gallon tank with a mesh top, and I know they need a heat source to reproduce the best. I keep the tank in my garage with stays at about 75°F. Humidity stays pretty high in there too. I'm looking to get egg crates too.
Questions:
Can i use a 50 watt heat bulb? Does light cause them stress?Do I need a CHM or could I use a 60 watt red heat bulb?
How long will it take before the small ones reach full size?
How long for them to reproduce?
How often do I clean?
Do I separate eggs if they do reproduce?
What can i feed them?
How long will it take to set up a colony to where I don't have to purchase anymore?
 

HylianHealeys

Juvie Member
I can't answer all of these questions, but I can answer a few:

Yes, dubia roaches get stressed by light. It's best to keep them in darkness to best encourage breeding. My friends who breed roaches prefer to use heat mats regulated by thermostats to make sure they don't get too hot.

Cleaning doesn't need to take place terribly often — no more than 1x monthly, if that. Roaches aren't as smelly as crickets and can go months as long as mold doesn't develop. In fact, their poo (called "frass") creates a kind of substrate that roach nymphs like to hide in. Gross but true.

Dubia roaches are ovoviviparous, which means that they give live birth rather than lay eggs. So you don't have to worry about separating eggs or incubating.

Oranges are a popular roach food source known to stimulate faster and more prolific breeding. You can also feed them vegetable scraps from your kitchen. Personally I prefer to use Repashy Veggie Burger or Grassland Grazer and some bee pollen as a gutload — the nutrition tends to be higher quality than just kitchen scraps. However, when you use powdered food, you need to provide water too. Water crystals are cheap and work well for the job.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest profile posts

Mirage entered brumation yesterday, I'm gonna miss hanging out with my little guy.
Getting ready for another day. Feeling sleepy. 😴
I just walked into my room and instead of looking at me, Swordtail's eyes darted directly to the ice cream drumstick I'm holding
Finally replaced Swordtail's substrate
I miss you so much, Amaris 💔

Forum statistics

Threads
156,080
Messages
1,257,502
Members
76,064
Latest member
pooper
Top Bottom