Dead Male Dubia Roaches

[popsickle18]

Hello everyone,

I had to do a pretty extensive bin cleaning last weekend. I admittedly got lazy with my bin and haven't cleaned it in a few weeks. As a result there was a lot of poo of course as well as some adult casualties. I disposed of all of the poo and casualties and set them all back up into their bin.

Today I went into the bin to check on them and see how they were doing. As I was poking around I saw some dead males, only males. I picked them all out and there was 6 dead males total! Did I stress them out? I could understand if I did. I would think some of the females would die as well but they were all fine. There were no dead nymphs either.

I never feed off my adults. I just let them go their life cycle and then pick them out. Do you think these males maybe had the end of their life cycle at the same time? I just found it strange to see that many dead and them only being male.

Any guesses?
Thanks!

 

[zackbeardieowner]

I have the same problem, i was thinking maybe they fight and kill each other ?

 

[popsickle18]

I have the same problem, i was thinking maybe they fight and kill each other ?

Hmm I never thought of that! I've also noticed with mine that they are really skittish. I would have thought the opposite but the females are very easily handled and don't hide as much.

 

[SouthernCritter]

I've had that problem from too high temps before. Or too many males will fight and die off also.

 

[popsickle18]

I've had that problem from too high temps before. Or too many males will fight and die off also.

I'm pretty sure my temps are fine. They must be fighting all the sudden for some reason. Is there anything that prompts them to fight?

 

[jarich]

How are you housing them and how many do you have total? There is no need to clean their tub out that often though. Three to four times a year is fine. The frass (waste) is an actively used substrate for the young and helps maintain set levels of humidity.

 

[popsickle18]

How are you housing them and how many do you have total? There is no need to clean their tub out that often though. Three to four times a year is fine. The frass (waste) is an actively used substrate for the young and helps maintain set levels of humidity.

They are in a large Rubbermaid bin with an under the tank heater as well as a regular house bulb. The bulb is on a timer and goes off at night and back on in the morning. They have egg crates, cardboard, and paper towel tubes to hide in. There was SOOOO much frass when I cleaned. There was also dried up water crystals, dead adults, and dried up bits of food they did not eat. They like to take a fresh food and drag it out of the dish and eat it elsewhere sometimes. That is why it kinda gets all over. It was getting kind of smelly too but I figured out why. I was giving them mustard greens and mustard greens give off an odor anyway so that smell mixed with the general roach smell ended up really causing a stink.