Dubia colony not growing

[ksl0588]

Ive had my dubia colony for about almost 2 months now and I still have no babies or even egg sacs. The temperature is right for breeding around 85-95F, good supply of food like oranges, cereals, veggies etc. & supply of water crystals. There's about 20+ female and around 10 male, there are also hundreds of juvies and nymphs as well. But upto now, there are no babies. Why is that? :l this is frustrating cos my beardie doesnt have any more food and I dont want to feed off my dubias because there are still no babies.

 

[Gail]

Are they getting any protein? Do any of the males have chewed up wings? Try grinding/smashing some quality dog/cat food and see if that helps get them going. Also try not to disturb them and keep them out of bright light, they like it dark.

 

[ksl0588]

I dont really give them any dog/cat food because it stinks after a day or so. Is there any substitute for dog/cat food? Like real food. Males dont have missing wings so I guess they dont fight for the females. When it comes to darkness, the container is really dark, light only comes from the rectangular hole I made on top of the container. The only time there is light is when I open the container to get some dubias for feeding. Ive heard that oranges boost their reproduction rate but looks like its not working for me. :?

 

[Trogdorpheus]

The missing wings is a sign of protein deprivation rather than hostility in mating. I usually mix half oats and half high protein puppy chow and blend that up pretty finely. My roaches just swarm it when I put it in. You could probably use fish flakes or chicken feed if you don't like the cat/dog food option.

 

[wes]

Be patient. It takes about two months for a newly mature adult female to give birth, assuming those temps.

Dog food stinks after a couple of days. Why is that? Is it getting wet? If it's dry, it shouldn't smell any different, maybe even less.

Hard boiled eggs are a good option for protein, but I don't know how much better it would smell. Powdered milk would probably be a good choice. I've given them other foods: chicken, beef, etc., but it usually dries out too quickly and they prefer the ground up dog food. If smell is important, pick up some Nutro Max Adult Beef dog food. It's more expensive than what you need, but cheaper than powdered milk and it doesn't smell like wet dog. I actually like the smell of it when I grind it up. It has to be the beef, not the chicken, flavor.

 

[OWCham]

My son has the lizards and I do the bugs.
I raise Dubia's and other roach species. I find that some colonies seem to like one food over others, but nevertheless, any colony will usually come to use/eat whatever is offered. I have found that dry cat food is the best staple - mainly because of the extra protein in cat food. The protein is the reason dogs would rather eat cat food any day over dog food. Use a small shallow bowl and wet the food down really well - I find that most of the tropical roach species will not eat the dry food. Leave the food in there over night but remove it before it goes bad or gets moldy .
And for the bugs that are being used for food, one of those organic/holistic foods are best. Find one that has a lot of vegetables in it as well as GOOD sources of protein. Also find one that has no artificial colors, etc.
One other thing I like to do is feed them some fresh greens sprinkled with water right before feeding the lizards . (depending on availability they also get this at other times, too.) For this I usually use the agricultural weed, mustard, which I obtain from the road side on the way home from work. ( I work in rural county). But you city dwellers can use spinach from the grocery store. Remember, a healthy bug means a healthy lizard. My colonies also(for variety) get the chicken bones, fruit peelings, and other appropriate table scraps. They usually have a potato or carrot, as well, for food and moisture.
Moisture is important, too. not only for them to drink but also in their environment. The enclosure needs to have moist areas as well. I use those gray paper product molded egg crates and I make it a point to spray a portion of them (soaking it) each day. If you do this, you will find that this is where your bugs like to hangout. Remember, they are not called "GUYANA orange spotted roaches" for nothing, ie, they are a tropical species from the rainy Caribbean and northern South America. Also, when I spray my roach bins, I spray the sides and any other hard non-absorbant object, as well, so the roaches can drink the plain water.
Also, I have found that, in order to get a good colony really going in the shortest amount of time, one must start with at least 250-500 bugs .( If you need more, you may try.. http://charleston.craigslist.org/pet/2244646276.html .. to increase the numbers of your starting colony. ) One can start with a lot less, but for some reason, it seems to take for ever for them to get going when you start with smaller numbers. Last year I obtained about 15 dubia's from another line and it took them about six months to really get started. Also, leave all that frass in the bottom unless it gets wet, rotten or starts smelling real bad because the nymphs reprocess that stuff to extract the bacteria from it (a really fascinating subject. The colony seems to do better over time when all that stuff stays in there(within reason). These are really neat creatures.

 

[alohareptiles]

I have heard that a little spritzing of water to add some humidity help...Haven't needed to try it, but if my colonies stop growing, I will try it...

 

[OWCham]

I try to spray the sides of the bin every day - do this and watch what happens - you will probably see them coming to drink the water droplets . To me this means they need more water.
I also spray they egg crates . remember these are tropical roaches from the the Caribbean and South America.
Just don't overdo it to the point stuff starts to rot and stink.

 

[Paradon]

Have you try feeding them veggies and fruits that you feed your dragons...? They do very well when fed enough fruits and veggies since this is moisture dependent species. My colony grew rapidly this way.... You can give them poultry mash, and low-fat dog food as supplement to add much needed vitamins and minerals to the diet, but I don't think they need them much. Mine did just fine before when I was feeding them veggies solely.... I only fed mine dog food because I had some for my dog.

 

[alohareptiles]

Can't remember if anyone put this possible "old wive's tale" but oranges are used to stimulate their mojo's. It's supposed to be like a viagra for the little buggers. I have no proof, but have always heard that and I keep oranges or tangerines in all my tubs in hopes it's true. :lol:

 

[Paradon]

I think it might the sugar and water.... They love apples and cantaloupe, too....

Plus, I think the fiber in veggies and fruits are food for the gut flora inside the roaches' digestive tract, so I guess if they eat the veggies and fruits, they can digest food absorb the nutrient better. Kindda like the microbes inside cattle's and other herbivores' stomach which coexist in a kind of symbiotic relationship. I hear termites are related to roaches...so I guess that's why veggies and fruits do wonder for them....