Dubia question

[KarenInCA]

Okay, for anyone who has already answered these questions for others, a million times..Im sorry, but I would like the advise of some out there who already feed their dragoon dubia on a regular basis.

I purchased XXLarge dubia. He really likes them, but Ive noticed he has to crunch them up..a lot! And I was also wondering about the texture if their meat. Are they tougher than the mediums? Or being that they are still nymphs, they are still tender, and good for him to eat? Or should he be eating mostly medium nymphs?

For heating, do they need a hotter range in order to stay alive? We keep them in a tote that has smooth sides, The temps where they are, in the laundry room stays around 80 degrees right now, in the summer time. They are with 4 egg crates standing upright (about 200 or more XXLarge nymphs).

For food, I have total bites that I used to feed to the crickets (green, moist squares), and chicken feed, and big slices of orange, and then water pellets.

All of the food and water is kept on one side, and the egg crates are on the other side. Will they all find the food? Or should I also keep food in between the egg crates on the bottom of the tote as well? And/or should I spread the chicken feed out on the bottom so they have food no matter where they end up going down off the egg crates?

Should I be spraying them down sometimes, with a mister to keep them all hydrated, being that not all of them will find the water pellets?

Will some of them naturally die off? Or will all of them die off if it takes too long to feed them to my dragon, being that I don't have it hot enough in the tote for them to breed? Or will they turn in to adults and then not breed due to the less amount of heat? I plan on getting a heating pad but it's pretty much last on my things to purchase right now.

Thanks for your answers. Appreciated.

 

[Taterbug]

I think they just have crunchy shells - it gets harder over time until they moult, then it hardens again, rinse and repeat. The adult females have the harder shells, they are dark and obvious though.

I've never had problems with my feeder bin temps - they are at room temp in my living room, around 70. I left some out in the basement (65 degrees) and had a lot die then. At around 70 they don't die but they don't flourish. It's unlikely they will breed or moult without heat.

For my breeder bin I don't spray or otherwise coddle mine at all. I dump food (veggies, fruits and sometimes alfalfa pellets) in the bin, clean out the old food if it's going to go rotten (I leave dried husks and seeds) and clean the frass every few months. I don't use water crystals anymore - I keep squash or fruit in the tank for moisture.

They will find the food. They are crazy good at that. You might find they move the chicken feed on their own - when I feed chicken scratch or alfalfa pellets they end up distributed away from the food area.

 

[KarenInCA]

Thanks. He eats about 5-6 of them then he just looks exhausted from crunching on them. He can't turn down one or two hornworms for desert though. :lol:

I figure they are much more meaty than crickets, so he that's why he eats less.

You have a bin for breeders and a bin for feeders? Do you treat them the same, or do you heat up your breeder bin? If I heat up a side of this bin I have, will they turn in to adults and start to breed, or do I have to do anything else?

 

[Taterbug]

I raise my colony in a 20g long with a screen lid and a heat mat in my basement. I sort some sizes out (we feed the dragon mediums, the tarantula eats the smalls, and another spider that eats the x-smalls) and keep them in a critter keeper with some egg trays. I feed those ones better (well, fresher) than the breeders. They all get greens and squash and veggie scraps. The breeders get the alfalfa pellets.

Once you get them comfy - some heat and possibly humidity in the tub - they should continue to moult and eventually breed. They are not too picky Being cool I suspect slows them down - I only get one or two moults in the feeder bin (they are in there for a few weeks) but dubia are somewhat slow to mature in good conditions. (A few months from baby to adult I think)

If you add heat, I'd just add a heat pad (human or reptile) under the egg crates. A thermostat is a good safety device to prevent fires in case the mats have a failure.

Are the dubia the right size? He may prefer to eat slightly smaller ones if the big ones are too much work. Pepper loves the freshly moulted ones, when they are still white and super soft. They can wolf down pretty big ones if they chew them well though, and those can be quite meaty. It doesn't sound like he isn't getting enough food though what a lucky lizard

 

[KarenInCA]

Thanks for your answers and your time in answering.
I have the normal lid on my bin (a colored tote) If I put screen over it instead, will that disturb them, being that they tend to like darkness? Or are the egg crates ok by themselves to create the darkness. I suppose Im not giving them enough air by keeping the lid closed, but it's not a tight close.

 

[BeardieNewbie326]

I would definitely look at cutting out a portion of your plastic tote lid and gluing a screen to the backside of it with a Hot Glue Gun. Works very good for ventilation while keeping the buggers in.

The Egg Crates will be enough darkness for them. I've noticed that my older males like to hang out at the top where some light comes in every once in a while.

 

[icelore]

Let's see if I can get all the questions from the entire thread. XD

- As long as the nymphs are the proper size for him to fit in his mouth, you are good and don't need to worry about the hardness of the shells. Nymphs go through cycles of shell hardness, but dubias in general are still considered a "less crunchy" insect. lol

- Nymphs can live at any temperature. My nymph bins get down to 50-55 in the winter, and they are fine. Only adults need proper heat if you want them to breed.

- As for food; they are roaches! They will find your food, don't worry. lol

- Humidity is needed for them to moult properly. You really don't want to "spray them down" as it gets their food and crates wet, which can lead to mold. Most thermometers with probes have a humidity setting as well. Usually having water crystals or fruit in the enclosure provides enough humidity for them. If not, or you see malformed nymphs, you can cover up the top of your bin more to retain humidity, or place a container of water in the bin with high sides so they can't get in and drown. As it evaporates it will raise the humidity.

- Roaches live almost 2 years. They reach adulthood at 6 months and can start breeding then. If they molt into adults and don't have the heat to breed, they still won't die off - they just won't have babies. Don't worry about them dieing off of old age before you can use them. You might have a few die off here and there to natural causes though, but don't worry about that either.

- I personally have multiple bins in order to keep my adults separate. The less I disturb them, the more time they spend getting to know each other. lol I have my nymphs in a separate bin, and then a small little shoebox size thing with feeders for the week. I have a crap-ton of roaches though, so set-ups obviously vary! Even when I had less55, and my entire colony lives tougher, I still keep weekly feeders off to the side so I didn't disturb them. I recommend this. The larger bins have egg crates in them, and the small daily feeder box jsut has toilet paper rolls, so that the bugs are quick to get out.

- The more roaches you get, the more air flow you're gonna need. They do like dark, but they also like to breathe. lol Also, the better the air flow, the less you have to clean them out. It keep the fras completely dry, and keep the smell in check. Regardless of if you use a bin or a tank or whatever, the side with the crates can be covered, and you can cut a hole over the food side and glue some mesh to the lid over there. Personally mine are in a dark closet in my office, and I don't bother with lids at all. I'm lazy. lol As long as it is smooth and they can't climb, and the container is tall enough that they can't jump out, you don't really need a lid. Finding the best way to provide darkness and air is going to be the best. I've personally found that they breed a ton better in consistent darkness.

 

[Sauzo]

Just make sure the height is at least 6+ inches from the highest point to the top of the bin. People say dubias cant jump but I watched one of my adult males literally leap in the air and flutter out of my breeder bin when I took the top off the feed them. He jumped up about 6 inches and soared out onto the floor. I couldn't believe it and I probably wouldn't if I didn't actually see it myself :lol: I have also found 2 males running around in my reptile room and the only way they could have gotten out was by jumping and fluttering upward. So either I have super roaches or they can jump and flutter. So my advice is keep a screen lid of them.

 

[icelore]

Oh yeah, they totally jump and flutter! lol

 

[BeardieNewbie326]

I always get rid of any acrobats like that lol! I don't need them teaching the others

 

[icelore]

I just don't like that it's the scary adult males that are the best at getting out! D: