BaronTheBD":e660e said:
1. If i were to try and start a Dubia Colony, approximately how many dubias should i have before i can start feeding off of it? [FYI I only have 1 beardie about 18 Weeks old or so]
This will depend on your beardie and how much it eats. I always use 15 as the magic number for how many nymphs a mature female dubia will produce per a month. Let's say your beardie ends up eating 50 a day, that's 1500 a month. You would need 100 mature females before you could safely begin feeding from the colony. Again, it just depends on how much your beardie actually eats. The females actually produce an average of around 25 nymphs per a month, but by using a conservative number like 15, you can be assured you have new young breeders up and coming to replenish the older ones as they die off. Your colony will also grow in size over the months using this number as well, so if you got another beardie or insect loving critter, you got food for them too.
BaronTheBD":e660e said:
2. Im currently feeding my Beardie crickets, ordered 1000 a couple weeks back and im almost out, other than crickets and roaches what are alternative feeders that are "filling" and at the same time healthy for him? I already ordered some Dubias from someone and also want to buy from Roach Guy but i need something temporary too while i try to build a colony.
Silkworms and phoenixworms are popular. They are quite pricey compared to crickets, but are good feeders. I don't deal with worms much so can't really say a whole lot. As much as I hate crickets, they are a cheap easy to obtain staple feeder while you wait on your roach colony to get established.
BaronTheBD":e660e said:
3. On Roach Guys site it says he only ships Mondays, so if I buy today (TUESDAY), does he package it all today and leave the roaches in the packages until monday to ship them off or does he package them same day before shipping? I know its probably a dumb question but just gotta make sure
I highly doubt he does. Probably packages them on Sunday evening or Monday morning, but you could just email him (or he probably will see this thread and post here) for the actual answer. If you are worried about the quality and health of the roaches, don't. Too many people (myself included) on this forum alone have never had a problem ordering from him, that doesn't count the other sites where I see people having nothing but good to say about him. Top notch guy and good quality roaches!
BaronTheBD":e660e said:
4. Do the prices on Roach Guys site INCLUDE SHIPPING? like the 90 mixed for $25?
Yep, at least the last time I checked. I know he stopped including the shipping in the price at some point, but went back to including it in the price again. I don't see mention of it on his site anyore, but again a quick email to him would verify that. He is quite helpful.
BaronTheBD":e660e said:
Edit: 5. Do the male Dubias FLY??
Nope, but they do flutter. Similar to gliding, they can flap their wings and slow their descent rate, but have no ability to gain altitude. What this means is they can't take off from the ground and end up on your ceiling. They can hop maybe 2-3" into the air and flutter, covering a good distance quickly. They could jump off of your arm and take off across the room in other words. They are more apt to do this when stressed and they feel threatened. Normally they just try to run away. Keep the highest point in your tote less than 4-5" from the top and no worries about the males getting out when you don't have the lid on.
