Best way to heat Dubia enclosure

[Koralo]

Hi, so I Recently set up a Dubia colony and have it set up exactly how every care guide said to do it.
I have them set up in:
- 20 gallon Rubbermaid tub
- ventilation hole cut in lid with mesh screen
- 5-6 egg flats
- shallow, textured food dish and same for water crystals
- fed my own blend of roach diet, crushed high protein holistic cat food, and high quality tropical fish flakes. Various greens that I feed my beardies a few times per week

Now, in my original bin (16 gal. Rubbermaid) I had the same setup and tried putting a large 24 watt zoomed uth stuck directly on the bottom for heat. That ended up melting a hole in the bottom. Luckily I had a second bin to transfer them into. I got rid of the large heat mat and replaced it with 2 small 8 watt heat pads which I covered both sides in cardboard as sort of a barrier to avoid direct contact with the plastic, and taped one to the side and one to the bottom. I also placed a piece of plywood under the bin so it wasn't sitting on the carpet. Nothing has burned or melted after 3 days but the temp in the bin is only 76f. This is extremely frustrating because they are not breeding and barely eating. How do you guys heat your bins??? Any help would be great!

Thanks!

 

[Sauzo]

I use a Zoo Med 16 watt UTH(the one for 30-40 gallon tanks) with a lamp dimmer I got from Home Depot. I have it turned down 3/4 of the way and it works great. I also have a 25 watt red bulb up top above the egg crates which gives a nice warm spot of 95 degrees. You could also probably use a small ceramic heat bulb like a 40, 60 or 100 watt one to heat the bin as well if it gets cold.

 

[ScaleGripper]

I use two utility porcelain light bases one screwed to both ends of a lid for my 27 gallon colony bins! I wired each fixture through the top and can use one or both lamps for my desired heat. My 8 cardboard egg flats run width wise down the center of the bin leaving space on both ends for my food bowls with roach chow, greens, water gels and occasional citrus fruit treats!! Depending how hot the average ambient temp is during a given season determines the wattage bulb,...or bulbs used. I keep my Dubia colonies at 90-95 degrees! I use 25 watt red party bulbs for low heat, 40 watt bulbs for medium heat and 60-75 watt bulbs for the cold season when more heat is required to maintain 90 degrees in my colonies!
If you go with heat mats under your roach bins consider the Hydrofarm plant heat mats from Amazon! Very durable! Very safe! Inexpensive or the quality! I use them under my snake terrariums! Also under my 72 cell starter planter trays for the chemical free mustard and collard greens Zi grow indoors!! Our local botanical garden uses Hydrofarm heat mats and thermostats because they are reliable, waterproof, safe and last a long time!!
I like the double bulb lid installation for my Dubia colonies?? It's a matter of preference and cost. A ceramic light base, red party bulb and wire with plug costs me under 5 bucks a fixture! The bases last forever! The colored 40 watt incandescent party bulbs are a buck and last very long!
My Dubias love 90-95 degrees and breed like crazy!!
Good luck to you!
Bless,
Bill

 

[ju5t1n]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQDrcPoD0As

This is how I have mine set up. I was going to use a UTH, but decided to go with heat tape since I had 2 bins. Then if I wanted more than 2 bins I can just wire them in parallel to connect the heat tape together with just one thermostat and probe. If you just have one bin I'd do Sauzo post. Just adjust the lamp dimmer on the Under Tank Heater to match what you want the temperature to be in the bin.

-Justin

 

[TheGuvnor]

I have a Heat Strip which goes around about half of the rub on the inside (I have 3 rubs set like this). Connected to a mat-stat set at 31c. And I've had no problems for a couple of years. They breed like crazy. And I have no complaints to the people who buy my roaches.