Male dubias

[Geoff22]

So when I was putting food in my roach bin, I seen two *adult males sitting ontop of one of the egg crates. One of them looked really small I was like wtf why is he so much shorter then that other one. As I looked closer I noticed that his wings were chewed up from the back I mean, they were chewed up pretty good like 1/4 of an inch or so.....

I keep food in there at ALL times usually two different kinds, and they get there fruits and veggies every few days..

My questions:

Why is this happening ?
What can I do to stop it ?

 

[EclpsPrinc]

How is the humidity in the bin? Also, do you have a water source such as water crystals? I've read they will start to chew on each on other if the food and/or water source is low. Kind of a 'survival of the fittest' situation. When I first got my dubias, I had a couple of chewed up males. I made sure to increase the humidity and now I haven't seen any others.

 

[billybobboonbear]

humidity isn't relevant to chewed up wings. your problem in protein. the roaches are eating the wings b/c that is where roaches store excess protein. you need to up the protein content of you food. try chicken feed (not scratch) it has a TON of protein compared to other standard feeds for cockroaches. i use 2 parts chicken feed, 1 part cat food, 1 part baby rice flakes as a bulk feeder with fresh fruits and veggies on the side.

 

[clear]

humidity isn't relevant to chewed up wings. your problem in protein. the roaches are eating the wings b/c that is where roaches store excess protein. you need to up the protein content of you food. try chicken feed (not scratch) it has a TON of protein compared to other standard feeds for cockroaches. i use 2 parts chicken feed, 1 part cat food, 1 part baby rice flakes as a bulk feeder with fresh fruits and veggies on the side.

Exactly, protein. You could also use a high quality dog food, I use royal canin for my dogs, so the roaches get this also.

 

[BestRoach]

Can you post a picture?

It sounds like a molting issue, the wings didn't unfold completely due to low humidity. Low protein is fine....their native diet barely has any. Too much protein can and will kill them with a stomach blockage, although this is rare.
Additionally, male roaches will munch on each others wings when competing for a female.


I really need to see a pic, as sometimes a bad molt can look like the wings have been eaten off.