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

[Twobeardieguy]

We are having snow! :roll:

 

[DragonMomSandy]

All we got were flurries all day, and thats not enough to freeze it either!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

More snow for us for Friday! :roll:

 

[MyBeardedDragonBuddy]

I'm glad I live in a snow-free zone.

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Alright Lance, knock it off with the snow dance!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Maybe it'll bury YOUR jeep instead of my truck this time!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Sandy, my heep will get thru 6-10 feet of snow (yes we tried it already)! I will post a pic or two of it.

 

[MyBeardedDragonBuddy]

I think I am switching. Thanks to Sandy ( :wink: ) I think I got it all down.
But I am worried about some things.
What happens if some get loose? Will they breed and infest?
Also, how many should I order at first? Will they breed too fast for my 3 juvenile bearded dragons? I live in an apartment so I can't have more than 1 bin of roaches.
Thanks guys and gals!

 

[DragonMomSandy]

Lance, a jeep climbing through that kind of snow doesn't surprise me. My dad had an old '57 willies (spelling?) that could climb through all kinds of muck, mud and snow! It was cool! And I'm holding you to those pics!

What happens if some get loose? They will die in a couple of days, they are a tropical species and can't survive outside the bin environment. Escape is not common as they can't fly and don't climb once they are about a 1/4 inch long. The tiny babies can climb, but you can prevent them from getting out by running clear packaging tape around the inside of the bin about 4 inches below the top. The babies can't get a grip on the tape so it stops them at that point. I've been using this method since I bought that very first batch and haven't had a single escapee. Now, if you drop one, grab it quick! I can grab them with the tweezers pretty quickly and accurately, however I am fully prepared to stomp on a dropped one if I have too! LOL

Will they breed and infest? No, for the same reason as above. They won't survive long enough outside the bin to do so. Dubias, as well as other feeder roaches aren't restricted in most of the US because they are not considered a "pest" or invasive species and that is because of their inability to survive long enough to breed and spred if they escaped. Plus, If I remember correctly (Lance will correct me if I'm wrong) an adult female dubia only gives birth to 20 to 30 young at a time, and only about once a month. With regular cockroaches, they can have many times that number of babies in the length of time, and survive in our climate- thats why they are considered pests.
Also, how many should I order at first? Since you have 3 juvis, I would start with 400 to 500 plus adults. That way you can feed off them a little and the colony can still grow. Request 2 adult females per 1 adult male to get the ratio you need to start with. If you can afford to buy more than the 500, I would do so. Get the mixed sizes so that you have appropriate feeders sizes, and a few larger that will grow into adults. You will probably have to add to the colony every few weeks for a month or two until the adults start producing a ton of babies-the more adults, the more babies! I started with 350 mixed med/large and 65 adult pairs (which Marcus generously overcounted for me and gave me a good portion of extras!) and started feeding the meds right away while the adults started to breed and the larges started to grow into adults. I have ordered 2 additional orders like this from Marcus, but with 2 females to 1 male with the second order, and all females the third order. Each order about 2 to 3 weeks apart. This has given me enough feeder sizes (which Assassin now eats mostly larges-my 2 adult females get the excess adult males as well as some of the large sizes). Each order I have received from Marcus had brand new babies that were born during shipping and more babies within a few days to a week of arrival! I now have TONS of babies, tons of small/med, quite a few large-the ones I feed the most- and lots of adults- approx 800 to 850+ (The colony would be well over 1,000 if I wasn't already feeding off of it). I have 2 bins with the bugs and it takes up only about 4 feet of room on the shelf under the dragon viv. It will take 2.5 to 3 months to get the colony started and self-sustaining so buy as many as you can afford to start and add to this over that time, that way you can feed off of the colony at the same time.

Will they breed too fast for my 3 juvenile bearded dragons? Not likely. Juvi's are walking stomachs and they will eat more of them than you think. My big boy Assassin wipes out about 250 to 300 larges in about 3 weeks. Once your dragons reach a year old and you start to back off the protein, then you can slow/stop the breeding in the roach bins by simply removing all the males and either feeding them off or putting them into a smaller bin by themselves. The males are also easy to identify because of the long wings. The adult females have only a stubby set of wings.

As far as saving space, one large bin should be good for at least 1,000 dubia. If you want to increase that # you should do a second bin. Designate a corner of the apartment for the bin(s) and your set. You don't need more than 2 bins. Ask Lance how many would be max for one large bin. I have a lot in both bins and I'm sure they can hold a lot more.

Hope this helps!

 

[beardieluv]

Just an fyi for everyone, those pics of lance's jeep will never be seen by anyone! he doesn't like to share pictures :lol:

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Alyssa, hey now I will post them!

 

[Phoenix17June2009]

I gotta tell you guys, apparently one or two of my roaches were pregnant and even tho i didn't see the egg sacks, the hubby did and he was freaking out... first of all i didnt realize they gave live birth, so i naturally figured what he saw was an egg sack,lol, ahahhahah boy do i feel "smart" now lol... but this is a great thread, without it i wouldnt know what to do ... GREAT JOB LANCE!!

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Thank you!

 

[beardieluv]

So, about those jeep pics...