Dubias Dying

[SupportDragon]

I normally feed my beardie roaches when I’m on my college campus. I usually order them from dubiaroaches.com. I’ve been feeding them the same things, keeping them in the same place/conditions (in a plastic box with some holes at the top), etc. since the beginning of my last school year (august 2019). But, I just ordered 25 medium ones and one was DOA. I’ve never had one DOA but it wasn’t a huge problem. Until I went to feed my beardie today and found 2 more dead. I’ve NEVER had ANY roaches die less than a few weeks after I got them. Normally I feed them whatever my beardie is eating that week (this week it was zucchini) and I also have a sponge in there I soak in some water. This wouldn’t be a big concern if they were crickets, but these guys survive almost anything; I’m not sure why they’d be dying this soon. I didn’t feed him tonight just in case something’s wrong. Anybody have any clue what could be killing them off?

 

[SupportDragon]

Also, I’m not interested in breeding them or creating a colony. This is purely to feed my dragon. I received the order thursday so 3 roaches have died within 4 days. I just sent a message to dubiaroaches.com but I’m not feeding my beardie ANY until I figure out what’s wrong.

 

[Claudiusx]

I know your setup has stayed the same, but it would be best if you go over it with us just so we could rule out anything obvious potentially.

What temperature are you keeping them at?

The sponge isn't necessary, and greatly increases your chance of mold growth which can kill off the colony. They will get plenty of hydration from the veggies you are feeding them.

It's colder now, and it's possible that the cold weather during shipping is enough to stress them to the brink, and if your setup isn't warm enough, that might be pushing them over the edge.
All just theories though, assuming your setup isn't warm enough.

-Brandon

 

[SupportDragon]

I know your setup has stayed the same, but it would be best if you go over it with us just so we could rule out anything obvious potentially.

What temperature are you keeping them at?

The sponge isn't necessary, and greatly increases your chance of mold growth which can kill off the colony. They will get plenty of hydration from the veggies you are feeding them.

It's colder now, and it's possible that the cold weather during shipping is enough to stress them to the brink, and if your setup isn't warm enough, that might be pushing them over the edge.
All just theories though, assuming your setup isn't warm enough.

-Brandon

The set up is normally just some of the egg carton remnants in a plastic box with air holes at the top. They sit behind my beardies terrarium under my bed which is on the other side of my room from my AC vent so it’s normally around 75-85 degrees. I just tossed in the sponge in a feeding dish because it came with one of my old cricket keepers, but I’ll take it out just in case it’s a concern.
I received a message back from dubiaroaches.com saying they assume the roaches just died from shock during shipping. It’s possible that could be what happened but that’s a strange occurrence for me. I live in PA so this is nowhere near as cold as it normally gets and I’ve never had any die in shipping before. Also, only one was DOA so the others would’ve died a day or two later.