Need help to start dubia roach colony

[JTF801]

I plan on starting a dubia roach colony for my 1 year old male Bearded Dragon. I'm just not sure how to set up the bin and everything. I'm plan on getting a big Rubbermaid bin with a screen on the lid. How many roaches should I buy to start my colony?How long will it take until I am able to start feeding out of the colony? How should I heat the colony? Where should I buy the Dubia roaches from?Please feel free to tell me your setups.

 

[Mattrg]

IMO the easiest setup is a Rubbermaid container with holes or a screen in the top like you mentioned. You want to make sure you have enough room to put a few egg cartons in vertically on one side and still have some room for a food and water dish on the other side. Strap a heating pad to the bottom under the egg cartons and you should be set. Try to make sure the heat pad isn't too close to the water crystals to keep the humidity under control. The temp and humidity can vary a little but I try to keep mine around 85 degrees and 50% humidity. This is my setup http://s627.photobucket.com/user/MattRG420/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image-4.jpg.html?filters%5Buser%5D=100815656&filters%5Brecent%5D=1&sort=1&o=0
My colonies been going strong for a little over a month. I got my colony from twobeardieguy he has a thread in the for sale section. He should be able to hook you up with whatever you need but if he doesnt have any available I would browse this forum I know there's a couple of threads about reputable dubia vendors.

 

[JTF801]

What type of heat pad to you use?

 

[Mattrg]

I'm using a reptile heating pad meant for a 20 gallon tank. If I could go back I would've bought a slightly bigger one but it works well enough