Feeding Adult - Newbie

[svickers78]

Can the t5 go on top of the screen or does it have to be mounted on the inside as well?

 

[Taffer]

For Dubia roaches, I'd go for a bin that isn't clear. Roaches like it dark and will be more active, eat and breed better in the dark. I'd go for a taller bin. The link below has info for the cheapest egg crates I could find that are not recycled, which is important because of the risk of salmonella. This link/thread also has more info than you would want to read on setting up bins for Dubia, heating options, food, etc. Dubia cannot fly (the adult males can glide down, but still can't fly). Dubia are not very good climbers either. They shouldn't be able to climb a plastic bin wall if it is smooth and clean, but that isn't 100% certain, so keep a 2-3 inch strip of tape all the way around the top. It's so slick they cannot get past it. I just wipe the tape off to keep it clean every month or so. I keep a strip of tape about 5-6 inches from the bottom too. You'll need a few holes for ventilation, and you'll need to cover the holes with fine mesh screen to keep other bugs out. Ventilation will keep the humidity levels lower so you won't get any undesirable extra bugs in your bin. If you see roaches that have died while molting, that is typically a sign that your humidity is too low. I keep mine around 40%. If you get much higher than 60% or 70% you may start getting unwanted bugs and potentially mold or mildew.

viewtopic.php?f=76&t=225240&p=1790265&hilit=dubia#p1790265

I really don't like the UTH. They don't seem to put out enough heat to do the job of heating a bin well. I opted to go for a "Cozy Foot Warmer" from Amazon. It's a 90 watt floor mat that is big enough to cover most of the bottom of a bin. I also bought a thermostat to turn it off an on to regulate the temperature better. Both are linked below. Do a little searching for the floor mat. The one I bought was $24, but the prices have jumped in the past year. The wattage is higher, but I timed my on/off times and it actually uses less power than those small UTH on average, and does a better job maintaining heat levels. The smaller UTH just couldn't maintain the temps for me.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=plant+thermostat

This is the cheapest quality Dubia diet food I could find - the 12 pound bucket (currently unavailable). if you keep the lid sealed it will keep for a long time. They also make a 2 pound bag that would be sufficient for smaller Dubia colonies. Dubia will eat almost anything. Food and salad scraps, fruit or potatoes that are past the point you want to eat them, etc. Just don't fee them anything that you wouldn't feed your beardie for 3 days before feeding to your dragon. Dubia have a long digestive tract and it takes about 72 hours for food to be pushed all the way through. That makes the SO MUCH BETTER for gut loading than crickets because they hold the good food for much longer.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LQJ1J44/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/Lugarti-Premium-Dubia-Diet-oz/dp/B01LOZ25UM/ref=pd_sim_199_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=YC7NWCBAYBXH9TQHGMVY

For watering Dubia, you can do several options. Some people use water and sponges which many think is a bad idea because it holds bacteria. Some mix their food with orange juice (Rankins) and feed/water at the same time. Some feed oranges and other moist fruit which also feeds/waters the Dubia. Some use Soil Moist polymers that absorb water. I do a mixture of all the above, but always keep the soil moist in my bin so they have water if any of the other sources are lacking. It keeps the bugs from drowning in the water, and when the excess water is consumed, they can safely eat the gel crystals. I use lids from peanut butter or mayonnaise jars so the baby nymphs can still climb up easily.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010CY7NJY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_7?psc=1

A lot of people swear that providing oranges to roaches will increase the reproduction rates too.

Cleaning - you will want to have some beetles to help clean your roach bin. Many use Buffalo Beetles which will help eat the Dubia that die, and help eat some of the frass (roach poop). The smell is almost non-existant like this, especially with a small colony. You don't need to worry about taking steps to clean a small colony...you can literally let the bin go until you have a few inches of frass in the bottom and still not have any odor. I probably have 10,000+ Dubia and the odor is minimal. I did find that if I didn't supply enough water, the odor was worse.

 

[Purperc]

We use the water they sell for crickets. It's a yellow gel stuff, so they can't drown in it.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/food/flukers-calcium-fortified-cricket-quencher-298.html?cgid=500100

 

[Taffer]

We use the water they sell for crickets. It's a yellow gel stuff, so they can't drown in it.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/food/flukers-calcium-fortified-cricket-quencher-298.html?cgid=500100

This is what I prefer:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010CY7NJY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_7?psc=1

Purperc - you could save yourself some money and make your own water crystals. The polymer I linked and the Fluker Farms water crystals are the same thing, but a great deal cheaper as you're not paying someone else to hydrate the crystals and there is no additional dye to make its way into your pets. These crystals expand to up to 200 times their original size so that cricket quencher is probably a few pennies worth of the polymer (literally, they expand a LOT), filtered tap water, a touch of dye to make it pretty and a small dash of calcium that you could add yourself if you really felt the need since you're already giving calcium with the dusted vitamins. The analysis of the contents doesn't even include calcium in the list...so it could be such an insignificant amount it doesn't even register?

Crude protein (min.) 0.24%, crude fat (min.) 0%, crude fiber (max.) 1.39%, moisture (min.) 96.85%, ash (max.) 0.91%.

The Dubia are in my office (I work from home) so I water them twice a day, when I get into the office in the morning and when I come down in the evening. I use these hydrated crystals as a base to create a walking surface, and add a little water past the saturation point so my Dubia can still drink clear water. I allow them to empty the container or dump it and put in fresh every few days so it doesn't get nasty. I fill up a cottage cheese container with filtered water on my desk, add a pinch of the polymer crystals, and keep a big spoon to dish it out. If the polymer hasn't filled the container (absorbed all the water) after an hour, I add a little more, but they hydrate quickly. Then I'm good for a few days.

Hope this saves you some money and hassle.

 

[AHBD]

Not all screens block 40% of the uvb, only the fine mesh does. The t5 can be set on the screen if you don't have very fine mesh. This type of screen here will not block a lot and the t5 can be set on top.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29906/full

 

[Purperc]

Wow, that sounds great. I'll have to give it a try.

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome.

 

[svickers78]

Thank you!!

Thanks everyone for all of your helpful information, greatly appreciated!! His new light should be here tomorrow, I ended up ordering the T5 online since the stores here only carry the T8

 

[Purperc]

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/food/flukers-calcium-fortified-cricket-quencher-298.html?cgid=500100

This is what I prefer:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010CY7NJY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_7?psc=1

I fill up a cottage cheese container with filtered water on my desk, add a pinch of the polymer crystals, and keep a big spoon to dish it out. If the polymer hasn't filled the container (absorbed all the water) after an hour, I add a little more, but they hydrate quickly. Then I'm good for a few days.

[/quote]

Is your pinch a generous one? I filled the empty Fluker gel bottle with water and added a pinch. It looks like the crystals all dissolved. I don't see any sign of them after several hours. I just added more and it's starting to look a little like gel on the bottom of the container, but it's certainly still liquid. I'm dumping a bunch in now.