Dubia Breeding Time

[JohnLillywhite23]

Hey, y’all!

About a week and a half ago I purchased a bunch of XL and adult dubias. I have about 20 females and 3-6 males along with about 30-40 XL, soon to be adult, dubias. I keep them at about 90-94°F, and they feed on greens and carrots daily, with oranges every other day.

I have yet to see a single baby, and I’m starting to get worried about my colony.

How long does it usually take for them to make babies?

 

[NickAVD]

You have a very high temperature. You should lower it to 84-86 degrees. And be patient. The female can give birth once every 2 months, so the colony growth process is quite slow.

 

[Chris.]

Correct, they give life birth after around two months, so be sure to only feed off the nymths
If you use them only for breeding and don't feed them to your two dragons just now you can also give them pieces of an orange to eat. They will go crazy for them and breed faster but don't ask me for the science on this...

 

[JohnLillywhite23]

You have a very high temperature. You should lower it to 84-86 degrees. And be patient. The female can give birth once every 2 months, so the colony growth process is quite slow.

Really? Wow I didn’t think of the temps. I’ll lower it to the 85 mark, and wait.

Thank you!

 

[JohnLillywhite23]

Correct, they give life birth after around two months, so be sure to only feed off the nymths
If you use them only for breeding and don't feed them to your two dragons just now you can also give them pieces of an orange to eat. They will go crazy for them and breed faster but don't ask me for the science on this...

I have one tub just for breeding, and one tub for feeding. As of right now, I’m having to buy nymphs from my local reptile shop until my colony gets established.

In my breeder bin, they are on greens and carrots every day, and oranges every other day. My feeders are on the same salad my beardies should be eating.

I thought that if I bought XLs and Adults, they’d breed right away. I was wrong haha

I have lowered the temperature to 85°F, and hopefully we will see babies soon. Nymphs are expensive!

 

[NickAVD]

Yes, temperature is very important for maintaining a colony.
At temperatures below 80.5 degrees they will live, but will stop reproducing. At temperatures above 88 degrees, they also stop reproducing and the mortality rate in the colony will increase. If your place is very dry, then spray the walls of the box with roaches once every 2-3 days to increase humidity. I forgot to say, roaches need a drinking bowl, it should not contain open water, because newborn roaches can drown, and they really need water. Place cotton rounds or a wet rag in a small jar lid and wet it when feeding the colony.

 

[Chris.]

I have one tub just for breeding, and one tub for feeding. As of right now, I’m having to buy nymphs from my local reptile shop until my colony gets established.

In my breeder bin, they are on greens and carrots every day, and oranges every other day. My feeders are on the same salad my beardies should be eating.

I thought that if I bought XLs and Adults, they’d breed right away. I was wrong haha

I have lowered the temperature to 85°F, and hopefully we will see babies soon. Nymphs are expensive!

Sounds good!

They get expensive really fast but once your colony is going they are simple to maintain. Partly I got a second dragon just to keep them in check because they got so many

Unfortunately my girl doesn't like them, she only wants her locusts

 

[Claudiusx]

If you bought adults, it's possible you'll see some babies sooner than that because a few were likely gravid when you bought them. However as has been mentioned, the cycle is typically about 2 months.

Another tip, especially for your breeding bin, you need to up the protein content. Adults won't breed very well on a low protein diet, and the nymphs they have will die off quick without access to protein. Don't aim for very high protein content, but 6-12% is a good range IME.

-Brandon

 

[JohnLillywhite23]

If you bought adults, it's possible you'll see some babies sooner than that because a few were likely gravid when you bought them. However as has been mentioned, the cycle is typically about 2 months.

Another tip, especially for your breeding bin, you need to up the protein content. Adults won't breed very well on a low protein diet, and the nymphs they have will die off quick without access to protein. Don't aim for very high protein content, but 6-12% is a good range IME.

-Brandon

I’m learning more and more, so I’m going to need a roach chow. I’d like to make my own, so I’ll buy a mid-high protein dog food, oats, and calcium. Would that work?

 

[NickAVD]

I know that someone tried to feed roaches dog food, but I am afraid to do this because I don’t know what else the food manufacturer added there, maybe even genetically modified products.
For protein enrichment, I use oats as a substrate, and once a week I give a teaspoon of gamarus (these are small dried shrimp, usually fed to fish)

 

[Claudiusx]

Dog food is a bit too high in protein. You can make the bulk of your chow from ground up oats, which already are at a decent % of protein, and add a small amount of the dog food if you want. I used to use mainly oats as the main base of my chow since it's already close to the protein percentage that I wanted.

-Brandon