New Dubia Roach Colony -- Problems with Heating and Humidity

[Millitrix]

Hello guys,

So, I recently started a dubia roach colony but am having problems with keeping the enclosure hot and humid, so they're not reproducing (obviously).

I bought a ZooMed 1-5 gallon under-tank heater and placed it on the side of the cage, but it's not heating up at all. I have two thermometers and a humidity gauge at each end of the cage but it's not going over 70 degrees Fahrenheit on both ends. The end further from the heater is, of course, even cooler than the end with the heater right next to the thermometer, and it still doesn't even go above 70. I have them in a five gallon, glass enclosure.

I dunno. Really contemplating on taking this thing back to the pet store because it doesn't seem to be working for me? Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I followed the instructions and it's still not working.

For the humidity, well, there's no point right now because it's not even hot enough, but would I mist the enclosure? The humidity levels are only at 40% and I know I need like 60%. I'm a lil iffy about misting because I feel like mold will just grow from that.

So, yeah, I'm a noob, guys, and I need help! Thank you!

 

[CooperDragon]

That's a pretty small tank. How many roaches do you have? Instead of a heat pad you might want to try a MegaRay heat projector (what I have over my roaches) or a ceramic heat emitter. Those can heat the air across the tank pretty well but can be drying. I haven't had a problem with that though. I try to provide fresh veges and occasional fruit for them regularly and they do OK with that. I don't mist the tank and they live in the basement which stays pretty cool.