My dubia colony :)

[Nickthegreek]

So a week or two ago I decided to set up a roach colony since Red loves the dubias

I bought a start up colony from here:

http://www.roachcolony.com/breeding-pack---small-12-p.asp

I then bought another 50 adult males and 50 females. The colony has been going around 2 weeks now, and I'm not really sure what to look for in terms of babies etc, there have been a few casualties (I think I've counted about 15 dead adults so far, RIP ) and as far as I can see there are a few little ones running around, but I honestly don't know how to tell if they're breeding haha .

The temps are around 30-32 degrees C/86-90 degrees F. I've been feeding them:
- Apple slices
- Orange segments
- Lettuce/Kale
- Dog & cat biscuit (the cats don't like me any more )
- Breakfast cereal (i.e. Cheerios )

Here's a pic of my set up:

any ideas what I should be looking for to know if they're breeding/what I can do to make them breed?

 

[Nickthegreek]

Forgot to mention, I put water crystals in there daily also, and I was just looking and saw a white dubia in there, what's that all about!?

 

[MarleyMoe]

I've had my colony about a week and have seen them laying ootheca (sp) but the guy i had them off had his colony going for a while and said the females would be pregnant already. How to know if they're doing the samba though i wouldn't mind knowing myself lol :roll:

I've been giving mine oranges and water gel for hydration and humindity, and cat biscuits, spring greens and the same as i give from what i give the beardies (when they eat it) and also tropical fish food! They LOVE IT! Tetramin and its in a yellow and brown tall tub, this tends to disappear before anything else!

Haven't seen any dead ones yet (touch wood). Sounds like you've got it all good though and your temps are higher than mine. Im scared of leaving the heat mat on them for too long as its not statted yet and don't want them overheating.

Are you spraying the sides of your tub? The white ones are freshly shed and a good sign that the humidity is right. If its too dry they can't shed or so i've read online.

 

[Nickthegreek]

I've had my colony about a week and have seen them laying ootheca (sp) but the guy i had them off had his colony going for a while and said the females would be pregnant already. How to know if they're doing the samba though i wouldn't mind knowing myself lol :roll:

I've been giving mine oranges and water gel for hydration and humindity, and cat biscuits, spring greens and the same as i give from what i give the beardies (when they eat it) and also tropical fish food! They LOVE IT! Tetramin and its in a yellow and brown tall tub, this tends to disappear before anything else!

Haven't seen any dead ones yet (touch wood). Sounds like you've got it all good though and your temps are higher than mine. Im scared of leaving the heat mat on them for too long as its not statted yet and don't want them overheating.

Are you spraying the sides of your tub? The white ones are freshly shed and a good sign that the humidity is right. If its too dry they can't shed or so i've read online.

I was spraying the sides of the tub to start with, but that only seemed to help pick the humidity up for an hour or so, then it dropped back down again. It started at around 30%, then when I sprayed it it went up to between 60-80%, but like I said only for an hour or so.

Does my bin look like it's kinda too small compared to yours? I'm thinking about buying something a little.... larger

 

[MarleyMoe]

Heres mine

Its a 45 litre tub i got from poundstretcher for £5, 20x13 and 10 inch deep. I cut the ventilation in the lid, was originally gonna do more as you can see by the lines but decided against it to try and keep the humidity up. Haven't got a hydrometer in there as yet either. Just sprayed them before i replied here lol.

Haven't had any escapees yet and i dont think they've tried to be honest. Doesn't need to be too deep as they dont fly or climb, they're a bit quick though aint they and tricky to catch with tweezers lol. Yours can climb up though and the heat can rise through the egg cartons, not sure with mine as they tend to stay near the bottom nearer the heatmat.

Im no expert by any means, crikey i've only had them for a week or so, only going by what i've read and as long as they are making foodies for our little poopers it doesn't matter 8)

Oooh forgot to say i've got 200 adults in mine (150 females and 50 males) and around about 250 small medium and sub adult nymphs mixed.

 

[Awesome]

The water crystals should provide enough humidity from what I've read. But just in case, you could do what I did and place a bottle of water in the tub with holes in the cap. The water will evaporate over time and keep the humidity up. If one bottle isn't enough, you can always place more or switch to something bigger.

 

[midmichicer]

I think you have to much ventilation. The humidity wont be able to stay in there.

 

[12many]

as of now, your bin is fine. On the other hand, later in the future you will need to make it bigger...

 

[Paradon]

These things are not that hard to breed. As long as you give them enough veggies and fruits along with other things, they will breed and they are quite prolific, I might add. I usually try not to disturb them when I'm trying to get my colony up in numbers. They breed better if you don't disturb them and give them enough space for them to claim territory for themselves to prevent them from fighting each other, so they can get down to business. When the colony starts to outgrow the original bin, I would just get another bin to start another colony to prevent overcrowding, so that they don't get in each others way and go about breeding.

 

[danny662boy]

where do i buy the big egg flats at??

 

[midmichicer]

where do i buy the big egg flats at??

http://www.beardeddragon.co

 

[civicblend97]

ok so im about to buy 500 nymphs for mine....i just bought her 200 and she almost has all of those gone. But I was going to order 3 femals and 1 male....can i put them in a little container and let them make a colony?

Which ones do i need to feed her; the little ones first? and let the big ones stay?
How do you tell the male from female?

 

[Awesome]

ok so im about to buy 500 nymphs for mine....i just bought her 200 and she almost has all of those gone. But I was going to order 3 femals and 1 male....can i put them in a little container and let them make a colony?

Which ones do i need to feed her; the little ones first? and let the big ones stay?
How do you tell the male from female?

You need a lot more than 3 females and 1 male to start a colony. I'd recommend 150 at least. The more you start out with, the faster your colony will grow. However, starting out is slow. It's better to get a lot so you can jump start your colony. Get a male to female ratio, and try to get mature ones.

You feed her the ones that are appropriately sized for her diet. There's a rule of thumb on this forum regarding how big they should be...something like no larger than the distance between the lizard's eyes.

Males have long wings that run from the "neck" to the flank. Females have short stubby wings. I'm sure other experienced owners can answer this better. It's 1:30AM and I can't think straight.

 

[civicblend97]

Thanks....good info for me to start off with.
So i should pretty much feed her the babies first!

 

[Awesome]

Thanks....good info for me to start off with.
So i should pretty much feed her the babies first!

Heh, yeah. If she's still a juvenile feed off the babies first.