Dubia care

[3cherries]

Hey guys,
I am getting an order or roaches today.. have the big platic tub.. but i got an under tank heater zoo med brand for 10-20 gallons.. it says dont use on plastic except the mini one.. has anyone used a larger heat pad on a plastic storage tub?? thanks!

 

[kski]

Funny, I was about to post about the same thing. We have a 31 gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck and we just stuck our heater on the bottom of ours tonight too. I'm waiting for it to melt through but I just checked the heat on the floor of the thing with my beardies probe thermometer and it's only around 96 degrees right on top of the heater. And that's after being plugged in for about 4 hours so I think it's going to be ok.

 

[3cherries]

let me know how it goes.. i only got a 18 gal, and had a 10 gal sitting around, so just used that for now.. but i gotta go buy tongs to pick them up.. i was fine w/ crickets, but these are grossing me out lol

 

[patrickb]

Those products like the commercial reptile heating pads have to include disclaimers for liability purposes, because undoubtedly some fool will figure out a way to burn their house down with them. They should not get hot enough to melt plastic usually. Naturally, don't take a UTH rated for a 200 gallon enclosure and place it under a 18gal plastic tub. That may have bad results.

If in doubt, set it up and monitor it through the day when you are free. Rubbermaids and Sterilites melt around 320-400 degrees Farenheit from the best I have seen. If a reptile heating pad is getting that hot, there are bigger concerns. If you can hold your hand to it for a period of time without being burnt, the plastic should be fine.

 

[kski]

I don't want to hijack your thread or anything but this still goes along I think. Should the heater stay on constantly or should it be unplugged at night or something like that?

 

[3cherries]

hijack away! that is a great question i can't wait to get the answer to as well

 

[scalesandtales]

The heat pad needs to be on constantly. I personally think that human heat pads are safer. You can get the one that doesn't turn off at walmart for like $15

 

[patrickb]

Well, they need to be on when they need to be on basically. You want to ideally keep the temps at a certain level. If the place you keep your roaches is 80 or 90 degrees say during the daytime or summer months, then you probably would not use the heatpad. Between 90-95 degrees is a good temp to shoot for for optimal breeding. With a well established colony that is producing more than you can use, temps around 75-80 work better at that point. Hope that helps.

 

[h0ndap0w3r]

Chad from bestroach tells me that about 85 is the best from what he can tell. He says its in the middle between production rate and die off. temps to high will cause them to die sooner, while lower temp,s will produce lower numbers. He says that about 85 is the middle of the range/