Keeping Dubia

[MCHRKiller]

I am considering biting the bullet and keeping Dubia...I have kind of warmed up to the idea and the possibility of free food is nice.

I have a 10 gallon tank with a mesh top from a past rodent....could I use that?

I know they need egg crates, don't use bedding, use water gel, and feed them scrap veggies/peels/etc. What else can I feed them? Can I feed them some bran? I plan to also keep superworms so I will need to buy bran anyway.

My house stays at between 72-74*F...is that warm enough or should I invest in a heat lamp for them?

How many should I order to start off with? I will only be keeping 1 dragon.

 

[CooperDragon]

A 10g would be OK to start and could house a small colony. The temps are OK but they will thrive if they have a heat lamp or some heat tape to bring the temps into the 90s at least in part of the tank. I use paper towel and toilet paper tubes for housing and that works well. I don't bother with water gel. I just give them fresh veges every day and they do pretty well. I suggest getting a few hundred mixed sizes to start and if you have the money I'd get some adults too. That will help get the colony established more quickly but will cost more up front. There is a good article about their general care here http://www.southtexasdragons.com/dubia-roaches.html

 

[Rankins]

I would buy orange head roaches, not Dubia's. I know I mention this all the time and it's repetitive, but they truly are a better roach. They breed faster, are bigger, more plump, and are not as butt-ugly as Dubia's. Because they are more plump your dragon won't need to eat as many to get full.
People say they have a defensive odor, but I have I huge colony of them and I don't notice much of an odor.

 

[MCHRKiller]

Ok thank you for the feedback!

I am looking at ordering from dubiaroaches.com

I am thinking about 5 adult pairs, 6 large(free), and 200 smalls to be used primarily as feeders. I know it will take time to build up the colony so I figure next time I order I will pick up a few more adult pairs and free large and then just feed small/mediums.

Dubia wont be my only feeders...I am going to order 200 small supers, and 100 BSFL. I figure in 2-3 weeks I will need to order more Dubia, Supers, and BSFL for feeding.

Now for heat...can I just get a Lowes clamp light and a 40watt heat bulb to sit on my screen top? Im going to order 5 egg flats and save my paper rolls to toss in there. Im also getting the water gel(heck its $2) and the Dubia diet. I will also toss in veg scraps daily for extra nutrition.

Now for my small supers I plan to keep them in rolled oats and feed carrots/potato pieces for moisture. Will supers take advantage of water gels too?

 

[Rankins]

Sounds like you dead-set on Dubia's.
That's too bad...
I have Dubia's, orange heads, and ivory heads. I have had a chance to compare all three. The orange heads breed the fastest. I'm even tempted to put my large Dubia' colony outside in 50 degree weather to murder them all. I hate them with a passion.

 

[Rankins]

Look for a post titled "Dubia' Roaches" it's a thread that's 172 posts long. It is only a few weeks old. All your questions have been answered there. It will save us all a bunch of typing.

 

[MCHRKiller]

I've never heard of nor seen orange heads offered for sale, everyone always says go Dubai they are one of the best staple feeders. Thus I was looking into those.

You are not obligated to answer my post I have done google searches on the topic and only wanted my specific questions addresssed for reassurance I am doing this right before dropping 70$ on bugs only to kill them.