How long does it take a new colony to produce feeders

[Coleman54]

Hi all,

I'm thinking of starting a dubia colony but I'm not sure what size starter I should get. The supplier that I'm looking at has a couple of size options. How long would it take for these to start producing a steady supply for at least one feeding a day? I don't really want to wait a year for them to produce, but if I can save 50 dollars I'm always up for that.

The small starter colony has 150 mix size, 2 adult males, and 2 adult females
The med starter colony has 250 mix, 5 m, and 5 f
The large starter colony has 500 mix, 10 m, and 10 f

Thanks

 

[Taterbug]

Depends on your dragons appetite and what size they will be eating.

 

[Coleman54]

He has salad available all day and eats quite a bit of it, then I feed him around 4 pm and he'll eat 10-15 1/2" crickets. When I feed him again at 9 he usually isn't very hungry and only eats 5-10 1/2" crickets. He's approximately 4 months old and I've had him a little over 3 weeks.

Also..off topic but, he doesn't bask after he eats. He'll get full, hangs out for a couple of minutes at most and goes into his hide. Is this ok? Basking spot is 105 -110, I've got a dimmer on it to keep it in check and cool side is low 80s. Just a little worried that I keep reading they need the heat and uvb after food to help digest and he's certainly choosing not to take advantage of that right now. Normal bowel movements so I'm not too concerned, just looking for a little confirmation.

 

[Taterbug]

With that appetite either a larger colony or waiting longer to feed out of it. It shouldn't take a year, for sure. I didn't feed that heavy out of mine when I started but it took off. You can also sex the nymphs and only feed off the males, so you don't deplete your potential breeders.
He might eat less as they are bigger and meatier that crix.

Does he sit and bask for an hour or two if you set him there? Would he bask if you took the hide out during/after dinner time? It's best if he gets about a hour or two of heat after eating to get the most out of his food.

 

[jxl22]

judging by the choices you said i think your ordering from dubideli.

I'd really advise ordering from westcoastroaches. their starter colonys come with allot of great stuff, and the M:F ratio isn't 1:1.