Question about dubia roaches

[cxerphax]

I just bought a mixed batch of the roaches. I was wondering how do you keep them warm enough to breed





I just bought a mixed batch of dubia from theroachguy.com. Anyways I have four question on them how do I keep them warm enough to breed? How do I keep them ventilated but not enough to climb out because i hear they can glide? Do I have to cut a plastic bin and put a screen on it? how would I go about that? Thankyou to who ever answers.

 

[cxerphax]

I accidently hit enter sorry about the long stretch to get to the actual question

 

[brunoboy]

You can keep them in a large rubbermaid container------with a lid. Either poke holes in the sides close to the top OR you can cut a portion out of the lid and glue a screen on that. I keep my dubia in a large aquarium and use heat tape for heat. Some folks use a basic human heating pad. Keep your roaches at temps----90-100 if you want them to breed. They like it HOT.

There is TONS of info on how to keep Dubia. Check out The Roach Guys link.

good luck

 

[cxerphax]

Where do I get heat tape? What does it look like? is it expensive? Who sells it? How does it work? Oh and the heating pad wont work because all heating pads have auto shut offs dont they?

 

[KINGSAME]

No, there are some that do not have auto shutoff. You can also use a UTH.

 

[cxerphax]

I have an undertank heater but it says not to use on plastic and that what they will be under. I got to figure out what to heat them with before they get here. THat heattape things sounds cool but what is it Ive never heard of it. As for the heating pad, I have never seen one here in California that does not autoshut off. Does anyone no where to get one online? Or can someone tell me about the heattape?

 

[KINGSAME]

It depends on the wattage of the UTH. I use a UTH with mine and it's fine. I have a 35g tote with a 10-20g UTH. I have had no problems.

 

[cxerphax]

ok well I have a REPITHERM UTH. It says it ranges from 5-25 is that too much for a large plastic bin? Will it melt it because the instruction says that it will melt plastic,and damage wood and what not. It is also for 10-20 gallons. My mom will have a seizure if one day it melts and then boom here come the 1000 DUBIA COCKROACHES! She just might make me get rtid of my beardie and I would never want to that. Oh and its made by zoomed if you want to look it up.

 

[KINGSAME]

That is the one I have. Zoo Med Repti Thurm U.T.H. for 10-20g. This was the one that http://www.theroachguy.com suggested when I bought my starter kit from him. You should check out his site if you gonna purchase any Dubia.

 

[augsburg1530]

I have two totes with dubia in them. One tote I use a human type heating pad that does not have autoshut off. The other tote has a zoomed uth. Both work fine, though the human pad does produce more heat and is adjustable from low, med and high.

An uth will not melt plastic. They say that because the lawyers make them say it. You do not want to put a heating pad or uth on a wood surface because the heat over time will discolor the wood, you don't want it resting on carpet for the same reason.

I have seen posts where people link to sites with heating pads without autoshut off. Do a site search on the forum for "human heating pad" and you should find links to ones you can buy on line without auto shut off.

Here is one site that another poster added a while back from walgreens where you can order a human heating pad without auto shut off.
http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jspCATID=100282&navAction=jump&navCount=1&nug=VPD&skuid=sku3353834&id=prod3354994#

Hope that helps,

Eric

 

[cxerphax]

Awesome then, Im gonna use it. Have you seen any signs of melting or weakening where you have it on your bin? Where do you put it on the bin? the side,bottom,or top. I guess I will also put holes in it, I want to do the vent thing at top like he has in his pics but I dont think its very easy to cut through the plastic. Have you tried it, is it easy to cut through?

 

[KINGSAME]

I have my UTH at one end under the tote where the egg crates are placed. Put the food opposite the UTH. No, I have seen no adverse effects to the platic. It's not as hard as you think to cut the lid of the tote. I used a brand new box cutter and it worked fairly easy.

 

[kittysmom]

I keep our guys on top of my dvr in the extra bedroom keeps it around 90

 

[augsburg1530]

The uth and human heat pad do not cause the plastic tote any harm. I place mine under the tote directly under the egg crates.

It is very easy to cut out the top lid of a tote, just use a sharp razor box cutter and just use normal care to be careful not to cut yourself.

Then cut out a piece of screen, like the screen for a screen windor or door (available at any hardware store, or you can buy a piece already cut out for you from theroachguy when you buy your roaches). Simply glue the screen over the cut out in the lid and you are good to go. You can use a hot glue gun to glue it or buy a tube of hardware glue, slather it on the inside of the lid, press the screen onto it and let it dry. Very easy. Check out the instructions on http://www.theroachguy.com for more info on doing this.

Eric

 

[cxerphax]

OK then thanks everybody that allthe info I need for now and I will defintly buy a box cutter and the 55 dollar kit. Its gonna be so nasty. Im a guy and all and Im not freaked out to see em but holding a COCKROACH is gonna take somegetting used to. What does it feel like? HAs anyone ever beeen bitten? Whats that like?