Is 100 dubia roaches too much to start a colony? Plz help

Hi all,

I'm about to get a baby beardie in a week or so, and I'd like to have a colony of dubia roaches for it.
There's someone near that is selling 100 adult dubia roaches (not sure the ratio of males to females yet). I know a baby beardie wouldn't be able to eat the adults, so I was thinking of getting 350 babies as well (or 1000, which one do yous think would be better?) Would that be a good amount to start with?

Thank you in advance

We've recently had a discussion about whether maintaining your own colony is worth it for only one dragon. (Sorry, can't find the link/thread) My takeaway was that, while dubias are a great staple, you still want to offer some variety, and a colony will eventually produce more roaches than one dragon can consume. You may need a way to divest the surplus.

That said, if you want to set up a colony, it depends on how big you want to go. Whatever scale, the ratio of females to males is generally 4:1. There are many vids on YT demonstrating different ways of setting up & keeping various size colonies.

A couple of alternatives are:
1. Partner up with another (or more) BD keepers in your area--kind of a co-op, sharing expenses, duties, and savings.
2. Some live feeder vendors have set up auto-ship options, to send you enough (whatever) every week/month/whatever.

100 adults is quite a bit! They are most likely going to be mainly males though I'd imagine. When I first started my colony I think I started with 30 females, and then like 500 mixed sized. And I left them alone. Maybe every once in awhile as a treat I'd take a few out to feed the dragons but for the most part, those numbers are what I bought for a colony. You can start with less, or start with more. The only thing it changes is how quickly you establish a colony and how quickly they will produce for you.

-Brandon

FWIW, went to a SMALL reptile show today; a couple of vendors were selling "Dubia starter colonies" for $15. I noted the price, but the crowd was dense, so I didn't jot down how many of what were included. Shouldn't be too hard to compare-shop though.
dubia starter colony

Thank you very much guys!