Dubia Colony Suggestions?

[YoursTruly]

Well, now that we have a verifiable pig on our hands (little Thane is not so little anymore!), it's feasible for us to have a small dubia colony. I just want to make sure I'm going about this the right way. We ordered the starter from Dubi Deli, and here's the setup and supplies that we have:

10gal glass tank with mesh lid
60w CHE on top
Roach chow for food
Water crystals for hydration
Plenty of egg crate
Newspaper lining the bottom
Cleaner beetles

Am I missing anything? I know these guys need quite a bit more humidity than our beardies. If I keep a bunch of filled water crystals in there, will that suffice? Do I need a digital thermostat and hydrometer? Also, how often to I have to empty out the tank and clean it? Obviously the cleaner beetles don't take care of everything. And does anyone have any experience with dubias biting? I've never had an issue handling the nymphs, but the adults still kinda gross me out a bit, haha.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Rankins]

Roaches are pretty easy to keep healthy. I have 3 species and don't really need to do much to keep the colonies thriving. Most important part is to keep them warm. I heat all my bins with a ceramic heater and a thermostat. I use $17 digital thermostats I bought off of Amazon. Your bin doesn't need to be very fancy, just a plastic bin with holes in the lid or a screen top. I don't use water crystals or even give many veggies or fruit. I feed them a grain/plant based powdered diet that I make myself. I feed it damp with orange juice...so I don't have to worry too much about hydration or mold issues. I just feed enough that it gets eaten within 24 hrs. If your colony is fairly small you wont have to clean the bin very often. Maybe once a year. My orange head colony is huge, so I have to clean it about 3-4 times a year. The lesser mealworms I use as a cleaner crew helps lengthen the time between cleanings. They do a good job of breaking down waste.
My roach bins are way more fancy than you need. I made them out of giant Colman coolers.[ximg]85426 6064186790[/ximg]
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[traildrifterphalanx]

Rankins's setup is so much more professional than mine :lol:

I have a black tote I got at Walmart, I don't even know the size. 30 gallons I think? It was purchased to help pack when I was moving, so much better than cardboard boxes.

I have about 5-6 egg crate flats lined up vertically on one side, a sunbeam heating pad under the bin on the egg crate side, and a plastic take-out lid inside on the other half where i place water crystals and veggies/fruits. No substrate. The substrate basically used to be roach chow from when I just dumped them all into the bin after they arrived.
I did not modify the lid of the bin. I just snap it on and walk away. There are small holes under each of the indents in the bin that act as handles, and as soon as they really take off I'll likely implement a screen. I even have a spare screen I could easily just toss on. I'll likely do this and cover about 2/3 of it with a towel.

My colony is about 3 or so months old, started after getting my second beardie to save money, and they seem to be flourishing. I started with about 20 adult females to 10 adult males, threw in about 300 small dubias and a couple hundred mediums and just left them.

Aside from giving them food, I finally actually cleaned the bin to see how the death count was. The smalls I once had are now large, and the mediums are now on the verge of adulthood (I think? They're huge!) I did find 3 dead adult males at the bottom, and I know when I ordered them I received 1 dead male in there as well. I am mildly concerned about their death, but it sounds likely that it's old age and relatively common in the males. No dead adult females yet.

When I did my last cleaning there was a pair of adults breeding that I disturbed. Whoops. But they continued on.
I have not yet done a head count, and my colony is still small by comparison, but even my half-***ed setup is working, and considering I have a wave of roaches nearing adulthood it should be booming soon.

Mine are located in my basement, in the laundry room, next to the water heater and furnace. This location is relatively humid and warmer by default, and also quiet.

 

[YoursTruly]

I love the idea of a takeout lid! I'm going to steal that. Thanks!

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

I love the idea of a takeout lid! I'm going to steal that. Thanks!

Np!
We have a Chinese restaurant walking distance from my house that has to-go containers that are basically storage containers, so we save them all and pretty much use them for everything, so I could sacrifice a lid. Easy to climb onto, easy to clean.

I've been feeding my roaches apples lately (because I have too many and can't eat them fast enough) and it's amazing how much of an apple is edible. I cut them up into slices and pile them in the center, and pretty much everything is eaten, and the apple core looks ridiculous.

I also don't use cleaner beetles yet, but likely will once the colony grows. I just heard stories that if there isn't enough for them to eat, they will begin to eat the roaches.

EDIT:
viewtopic.php?f=76&t=194668

was this page that I read

 

[YoursTruly]

Oh wow, I didn't know that about the beetles! I figure they will eat the roach food right? I don't put in anything special for them.

Which reminds me, I need to replace the food and water crystals today!

 

[traildrifterphalanx]

No clue, never used them.
I'm not sure if they only eat corpses/roaches or if they will also partake in roach food.. Hope yours behave!

 

[Rankins]

I use lesser mealworms aka buffalo worms as a cleaner crew in my Dubia' and orange head bins. They don't eat live roaches unless they are near dead anyway. They do eat the dead roaches, mites, mold, feces, shed body shells and the roach food if they can access it. I put the roach food in a container on top of an egg flat so they can't get to it. They do multiply really fast and I use to trap them in a small containers that I poked holes in. I put food in the container and the worms would crawl in. I would then dump them down the toilet. But I don't bother with it anymore and it really doesn't seem to matter.
I do think they work really well to keep the bins clean. Phorid flies and mites can quickly infest a bin, the lesser mealworms will eat them and help clean up infestations. I have had brief problems with phorid flies that were easily fixed by keeping the bin less humid and allowing the lesser mealworms to do their thing. Mold is another danger with roach bins...it can quickly destroy an entire colony. The lesser mealworms will also clean up mold issues.
Basically right now my colonies are acting as a fairly balanced ecosystem that requires very little care other than feeding the roaches.