Dubia starting question

[ikkie78]

Ok so I'll most likely be getting my beardie around early spring or so but I wanted to start a dubia colony in advance so it's established and ready to feed out of when I get the baby. How many should I order and of what size mix? I would probably put an order for roaches in early January so I'd be looking at like 2-3 months before I got the beardie...any help would be appreciated!

 

[mudskipper]

Dubias are very social. The more you have the happier they will be. I would get at least 50 adults and maybe like 200 medium ones (they are cheaper than adults and will grow to adulthood pretty soon). My 7" baby just ate like 40 1/4" nymphs today!

Here are some of the things I learned from my own personal experience the past couple of months.
- Use ceramic heat lamp instead of red heat lamp and keep the bin in a dark room or closet so they feel more secure.
- I use 100W ceramic heat lamp. It's plugged into a Hydrofarms Thermostat set at 85F. The probe is right in the center of the bin.
- Hot glue failed at gluing the metal screen to the lid of the bin! As soon as I turned on the heat ll, the glue came loose. Superglue or ducttape works well.
- Try not to disturb the adults more than once a week. Ideally only once every 2 weeks. To accomplish this, I have a smaller tub where I keep a few hundred of the nymphs. I access this tub almost everyday. In the breeding tub, I use a ZooMed Water Reservoir filled with a few water crystals in the dish portion of the ZooMedReservoir. It holds 22 oz of water so it actually lasts a few weeks. It also increases the humidity in the tank so you don't really need to mist at all.

 

[ikkie78]

Ok thanks...I know I was looking at the roach guy's site and was thinking of ordering one of his starter kits plus some extra adults...think it's like 300 mixed or so plus the adults I would order...would that work? Or would all adults be more important? I've ordered from him before and was happy with his service...just never had the roaches long enough to see how quick they bred haha!

 

[mudskipper]

You don't need all adult unless you want them to start to breed right away. If you start now, you could just get all small, too. It sounds like you have like 6 months to prepare. The smaller they are the cheaper they will be. You can easily get 500 for $25. 100 adult could be as much as $100 I think?

You can buy roach chow from the For Sale section, too. My dubias love that stuff.

 

[ikkie78]

Awesome...thanks for the advice. Yeah it'll probably be closer to 5 or 6 months before I'm ready to go so maybe ill get a bunch of smaller or mixed and less adults to save money. I'll keep an eye on the for sale section as well...thanks again!

 

[Jdsbeardie]

Thank you for the questions & answers. I need to get my ordering on!

 

[wykd]

email [email protected] from the for sale section about some dubia's, you can get like 2k small for around 80 from him & free shipping. That 2k will grow nicely over 2 months and you will have a solid foundation colony.

I have bought from him in the past and sent a few friends to him and all have been very happy with the health of the colonies growth of his dubias.

 

[ikkie78]

Thanks! Should be ordering in not too long so ill keep that email handy.

 

[Buckmaster299]

Great answers to your questions. I am still new to the whole roach breeding scene but I am quickly outgrowing my roach bin. I started off with 500 nymphs and about 100 mixed about 3 months ago and when this started I was only feeding them once a week. Now i'm having to feed them at least twice a week and i'm almost to the point to where I am overcrowded. I did not have any luck with side and top heat but once I bought my heating pad on Amazon.com for 8 or 13 bucks the population exploded. Just a thought. Also, oranges are key by what I have been told to getting them to breed alot. Its like viagra to them they say. Again, just a thought

 

[ikkie78]

Now if the dubia start breeding too fast and the colony starts getting too big can you just take the heat off of them? Wondering if that slows them down to keep your colony in check?

 

[Buckmaster299]

Yes. Breeding slows down when below 80 degrees by what im told.

 

[ikkie78]

Sounds good...ill have a beardie and a leopard gecko to feed from the colony but I figure there would come a time when the colony starts to outgrow what they can eat so it would be nice to slow them down a bit.

 

[gyrene2083]

Geez, I am really not trying to hijack this thread but I have similar questions, and guys, I'm on the fence here. I have one bearded dragon, 1yr 4mos old. I have only fed him phoenix worms, he just loves them, but they are so damned expensive. (I also give him collard and mustard greens) I keep hearing about the dubia roach. I think I finally have my wife convinced it will be cheaper in the long run. However I am curious on a few things,

How many Dubias and how often do you feed an adult beardie?

My wife would freak if I had to split the colony and make it colonies, I'd be sleeping with Dante outside I swear. So what do you guys recommend? I just need something small that will continue to reproduce and I can keep him fed, is that even possible? I'm afraid because you guys keep talking like these roaches breed like there is no tomorrow, and he wouldn't be able to eat them as fast as they reproduce.

Any help you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated.

 

[froggy88]

We have used Dubias for years, feeding my adults about 4 to 6 every other day. I have now heard you can give a few more than that. Even though they breed quickly, you don't have to worry about them climbing out of the enclosure, They can't climb. we kept our colony in a 20 gal. and they bred nicely, they can eat roach chow and pretty much anything you give to your beardies. I also used water crystals so they wouldn't drown. Hope this helps.

Denise

 

[gyrene2083]

We have used Dubias for years, feeding my adults about 4 to 6 every other day. I have now heard you can give a few more than that. Even though they breed quickly, you don't have to worry about them climbing out of the enclosure, They can't climb. we kept our colony in a 20 gal. and they bred nicely, they can eat roach chow and pretty much anything you give to your beardies. I also used water crystals so they wouldn't drown. Hope this helps.

Denise

Well Denise since you answered I hope you don't mind me asking. How should I start out? I have one of those plastic bins you would see like in Target, or Home Depot. I've seen starter kits should I just go with that? Just thought since I have the bin already I had a head start, all I would need is the Roaches, Crystals, Roach Chow.....But I don't know what amount of what should I get. Remember it's just one beardie. (Actually it's my son's, but somehow I have ended up taking care of it, lol)

Thanks for the tips.