Here is a picture of a female dubia laying an egg sack

[melissadiane7]

....I am loving Roaches . They are way better than crickets. Now I just wish I had a few more smaller size. All of my lizards have now tried a roach & appear to like them.

I think roaches have a bad reputation. Of course if my house had them running lose I would be freaked out. As long as they are contained they are fine with me. I never thought I'd see the day I would have roaches. Last year....I said "no way".

Just wanted to say, "thanks Lance for getting me over my fear" :wink: and everyone for your helpful comments.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

I am glad you found a better feeder and everyone is happy with them. And you are most welcome about getting you over your fear. :wink: Hope to see you at mars.

Now their are a select few people I still have to help get over it. 8)

 

[PetLover16]

cool thanks for posting!

 

[LilStinkpot]

This thread is neat, full of neat pictures.

As a kid I have never been afraid of bugs. It's kinda hard to get a cameraphone picture of my own hand, but I'll get a shot of a fistful of roaches for y'all. 8) I ain't afraid of no bug!

 

[melissadiane7]

Ok. I am having some problems with my roaches. I recently had about 5 or 6 die (not at the same time or day).

My temps are in the upper 80's with humidity around 40 to 50. I am using a Sunbeam human heating pad with 3 settings. It is a moist/dry pad.

What are some brands of heating pads others use?

I just don't know what else to do at this point. I have water crystals & an orange slice & carrots in the tub. I am using a 30 gallon tub.

any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Melissa it is possible they could be at the end of their life cycle. Also haw are you measuring the temps?

 

[melissadiane7]

I don't believe they are at the end of their life cycle. Most that are dying are small to medium size. I have a Flukers digital temp / hydrog. & I also use a probe temp reading (it is a PE2 temp gun).

Last night I took my female dragon to the vet since her mouth is still open with her tongue out at times (appears she has a birth defect - bottom is bigger than the top lip). The vet told me to try putting a moist sponge in with the roaches to bring up the humidity. I may give that a try because the one that died yesterday looked like it may have been in the beginning stages of a molt but just couldn't do it.

Today I have 200 small nymphs coming from the roach ranch so I need to get a good handle on this. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

 

[nair88]

just thought i'd let everyone know that i started up a dubia colony today. i've had everything in place for the last few days and the roaches arrived today. as i was transferring them from the shipping box to the bin, i let a few of the adults crawl around on my hands. they're actually quite cool looking. i mean, i've seen plenty of pictures, but they're even cooler in real life. is it weird to be excited to have roaches in my house? ;-)

so, i had a thought. is there any concern with inbreeding when it comes to keeping a colony? or does that not really apply to insects? i mean, even if the adults i got weren't related, once their babies grow up, there will be all sorts of inbreeding going on. would it be wise to introduce fresh blood into the colony every so often - like say, once a year? or does it not make a difference at all?

 

[melissadiane7]

Aaron, I agree with you. It is a fun challenge. I've had mine for a week now. I am excited too That is funny to be excited about roaches in our homes :lol:

I just received 200 small ones today as well. Let me know how you make out with yours.

Melissa

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Melissa, I would not use a sponge but instead use a tall cup of water filled half way and set it inside the bin and see it that helps. The problem with using the sponge is when they start to climb on it and drag the food and poop on it then mold can start quickly. Been their done that! Anyways you can also use warm water in the cup cause it will help raise it quickly. Are you still using the water crystals? You can also add more water to them and make them a bit more liquidy. Hope this helps...


Aaron, when it comes to inbreeding well yes it will happen but this will have no effect on your colony or what you are feeding them to. And yes it does help to add new blood and also helps boost the reproduction rate. Best of luck to you booth, any more questions just ask.

 

[nair88]

Aaron, when it comes to inbreeding well yes it will happen but this will have no effect on your colony or what you are feeding them to. And yes it does help to add new blood and also helps boost the reproduction rate. Best of luck to you booth, any more questions just ask.

thanks lance, that's good to know! i'll let you know how everyone gets along

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Welcome and anytime Aaron. If you need assistance along the way just let us know. Best of luck to you.

 

[melissadiane7]

Melissa, I would not use a sponge but instead use a tall cup of water filled half way and set it inside the bin and see it that helps. The problem with using the sponge is when they start to climb on it and drag the food and poop on it then mold can start quickly. Been their done that! Anyways you can also use warm water in the cup cause it will help raise it quickly. Are you still using the water crystals? You can also add more water to them and make them a bit more liquidy. Hope this helps...

Thanks Lance, I didn't think of that (mold on the sponge). However, my husband did do a clever design. He cut a butter dish in half & then made the sponge the exact same size & we saturated it. They can't get into it. So I guess in away this is similar to the cup of water. I am still using the water crystals as well. I do like those & so do the Roaches. I need to put another Orange peel in there with some more carrots. I can tell you that the sponge with water has already brought the humidity level up to about 55. At least I am improving

I certainly will keep checking the sponge & if that doesn't work or if it starts to get moldy I will just do the cup of warm water. I do have 4 dogs that run around & sometimes they hit the side of the bin. I don't feel it would be enough to spill the water out of the cup but I could see it now.....water all over the place

You gave me some good ideas. Thanks so much for your help. Melissa

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Thanks and you are most welcome Melissa. So when you throw the orange in their just cut it in half and put both side in their. They dont eat just the peel they like whats inside. :wink: 55% humidity is about where you want to be. Not much higher. Good luck and any more help just ask..

 

[nair88]

it's so hard not to peek in on the little guys. i've managed to restrain from checking constantly like i really want to. i only shined a little pen light in there last night and did that again tonight. i don't really see many in there, but i hear them moving around like crazy in the egg crates, so i'm sure they're doing just fine. i saw a couple of trails of food, poop, and even molts forming from the cool side to the egg crates. also, the orange that i put in is definitely getting eaten. my new goal is to restrain from looking at them again until monday night. we'll see how that goes.