Question About Dubias

[mike91383]

I have three bearded and a monitor that all eat alot. So about a month and a half ago. I got 80 females and 40 males and 500 nymphs. At first I started out slow on the feeding. Not to many at a time. But once I seen how many they could eat, I was feeding up to 10-15 every other day. So my question is how long does in take for a dubia to get from birth to a sub-adult? There seems to be alot of little ones running around, but I'm almost completely out of sub-adults (my feeders) for a couple of week now. There's got to be twice the amount of males and females now though? So for now I have been buying cixs at a local pet store. It's costing me an arm and a leg. Would do you recommend I should do? Order more dubias or some cheap cixs online? How long does it take for colony's of that size to be self-sustaining?

 

[ajkry2]

Not sure about the lifecycle/lifespan/growth rate, but I say lay off the dubia for a couple months (2-4 months) to let the colony get self-sustaining, in the meanwhile order crix online.

superworm colonies are reasonably easy (harder than dubia, but still ) to get going heres a link: viewtopic.php?f=76&t=100703&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=superworm

 

[hammerhead]

From birth to adult it takes about 4-6 months, depending on temps/humidity. Higher temps faster growth. Adults lay around 30 young a month. With patience and a couple of seperate bins (one for a colony, the other for feeders) you will have plenty of dubias. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaptica_dubia

 

[mike91383]

Thanks I am thinking of getting some more dubias. Does anyone know where the best prices are? I found AF Exotics selling 300 mixed size and 35 adult for 60.00. Or 500 mixed small and 100 large for 50.00.

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

From birth to adult it takes about 4-6 months, depending on temps/humidity. Higher temps faster growth. Adults lay around 30 young a month. With patience and a couple of seperate bins (one for a colony, the other for feeders) you will have plenty of dubias. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaptica_dubia

To add to Hammerhead's post make sure that your breeding bin is kept at a good ratio of Females to Males for optimum breeding cycles. You can go 3-1 all the way to a 10-1 ratio w/ larger colonies. You can't have a lot of Males running around or they'll screw up the females breeding cycles and possibly cause them to drop their egg sac while maneuvering it into their pouch.

Thanks I am thinking of getting some more dubias. Does anyone know where the best prices are? I found AF Exotics selling 300 mixed size and 35 adult for 60.00. Or 500 mixed small and 100 large for 50.00.

Here's a tip for you. When ordering mixed roaches a lot of companies will break it down into a ratio from babies all the way to Adults if they're offering them. This is totally normal and legit. However there is a formula that they use. If a price is SUPER cheap than expect at least 1/2 of a Mixed lot will consist of pinner babies to save on shipping costs. (I buy quite a few Dubia from people each year and have come to notice this. I do this to strengthen my lines even though it's never been proven it helps. I'm sorta supersticious I guess!) If there isn't a description that satisfy's you about the sizes you will be receiving or the ratio's do yourself a favor and ask. There's nothing wrong w/ questions and anyone who won't answer them is a sure fire way to weed out who you should and shouldn't buy from (I've got burnt ordering on a few private sales too). Figure out the sizes YOU want and tell them to make the order out of that. It may bump up the price but if you're looking to start a quick colony you don't want to be waiting around 8 months for half your order to be producing. Just my thoughts on this subject because I've been duked on quite a few "Mixed" orders of roaches in the past and it sorta pissed me off.

-Ian
http://www.theroachranch.com

 

[mike91383]

Wow!I can't thank you enough for the Info. It insired me to go through am colony. For the first time. The colony is only 7 weeks old but I have 100 females and 60 males. I started with 80F's and 40M's. Time to weed out the males. Should I keep the big males or small males? Also to add some fresh blood and feeders, what size should I get? I went on the theroachranch web site and they seem a little more pricey but well worth it when you consider you can pick out your sizes. I was thinking mediums?

 

[mike91383]

I went on the theroachranch web site and they seem a little more pricey but well worth it when you consider you can pick out your sizes. I was thinking mediums?

My Wife just read the reply I sent. Sorry if I insulted you, that was not my intentions. I think that it is better to know what you are get and pay a little more than have to wait for 6 month for all the pins to get to breeding size. My apologies if it came off the wrong way.

 

[crazyseany]

I don't thin Ian would feel too insulted. His track record is to good.

I ordered a 100 large nymphs and 10 adult pairs from him.... The 2nd day I had 3 different sets of babies in my egg crates and now just in 3 weeks almost all of my large have morphed into adults! Its crazy seeing all the empty roach casings...lol

fast shipping & great service... My order was $40 and cost like 13 to ship so he's not getting rich by selling bugs! And he'll answer dang near any question...

sean

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

Mike you guys didn't insult me at all. I've been selling roaches offline for quite a while and decided to get Online this year for a couple reasons. A lot of my friends on forums like this one wanted some and pushed me to open my online store. Secondly I was sick and tired of the crappy customer service, poor quality roaches, and getting undersized orders from other dealers on the net. There's none on this board that fall into that category or believe me, I'd be dropping names. I stand by my prices, my customer service, product quality and shipping techniques and try to set the bar for all of the above. Heck I had to take my Females off the product list for a month so I've been calling around other dealers to find out who has what so I can send my customers to them if they are looking for Adult Females until I can get them back on track! Which BTW if anyone is looking for some Jason (http://www.theroachguy.com) just told me that he's got a limited quantity left so go get them ASAP if ya need them! LOL!

Hey Sean thanks for the kind words as well!

-Ian
http://www.theroachranch.com

 

[DragonMomSandy]

There are 3 roach vendors that I would definately recommend to anyone:
http://www.afexotics.weebly.com
http://www.theroachguy.com
http://www.theroachranch.com
And here is why:
I received my order of roaches from Marcus at afexotics on wed. I ordered the 300 mixed and 35 adult pairs for $60 and I got great over counts. I am quite pleased with the order. Marcus and I had about 10 PMs back and forth discussing what sizes and quantities I needed to get a colony started and to be able to feed right away, and he was very straight forward and answered all my questions. This deal on his web site came about after this conversation with him. I got plenty of feeders in the 1/2 to 3/4, plenty of 1 inch to 1 and 1/4 inch subadults that will grow quickly to adults and add to my breeders and the 35 pairs of great looking adults (by the way several were in the morph process the first night I had them in the bin). Now, in a few weeks I will have to get some more feeder size and more adult females (once I go through the bins and have a count of male/female ratios with the subadults that are growing into adults). And, just a few days after getting the order I already have some baby roaches in the bins. My decision to buy this order from Marcus was based on the PMs and help he gave.

My very first order of roaches was from Jason at the roach guy. I got the 250 smalls with the 2 adult trios and overcounts on the nymphs. Great quality roaches, quick shipment, Jason answered email questions quickly, and my little guy Assassin went crazy for the nymphs-he ate them all in 5 days! I had intended to get more from Jason, but, right now he is running on limited quantities avail and was hitting those limits before I could get more ordered. Understandable as he is trying to keep what he can avail through winter without wiping out his colonies. This was when I came across Marcus' site.

I haven't yet ordered from Ian at the roach ranch yet, however, I have asked him quite a few questions here on the forum and he has been a great source of info and very friendly. He seems more than willing to give info and to discuss order sizes and quantities with anyone who asks. And I have checked out his site and found his prices to be more than reasonable for quality roaches. His willingness to get you what you need is what makes him a great source for feeders. And from what friends have told me, his roaches are top quality!

As Ian pointed out, ANY vendor you are looking to buy roaches from, or any other bugs for that matter, send them an email or a PM and ask questions. Tell them what you are looking for, what sizes meet your needs and what price range you need to stay in and If you get the answers you are looking for, the help you need, and find a vendor, like Marcus, who will arrange an order to fit those needs and price range, then you can feel confident about ordering from them. Personally, I won't order feeders from anyone who is not willing to give me the info I need to make my decision. With money as tight as it is right now for all of us, I can't afford to make a bad decision. Ask other forum members as well who they are getting their feeders from and you'll see that all three guys mentioned above are highly recommended.

 

[AFExotics]

Hey Mike,I just wanted to add something here .I have also ordered from Ian,when I decided to diversify my breeding pool .His shipment was A1 .Communication,stock and service was all good .I would recommend him to any customer I have should I run low,or shut down to replenish .I have never ordered from "the roachguy",but all those great reviews about him also speak volumes to me .

I think we can all exist here and provide healthy feeders to everyone .Take care,Marcus @ AF Exotics .

 

[mike91383]

Thanks everyone for all the great info. I just order some of camel413. I know he was not mentioned here but though I would give him a try. He does his by the weight (grams). No disrespect to camel413 but he kind of seemed to need the money and was willing to give me a great deal on my Dubias. He let me pick my sizes 1 inch - 1 1/2 inches total weight 800 grams plus 25 males, winter shipping, double boxed all for $50.00. So thanks again for all the replies because of all of you I was able to make an informed decision. Although I didn’t use anyone here I will in the future. “Spread the wealth and bloodline.” LOL! I can give a review of him if anyone would like to use him in the future to freshen up there bloodlines.

Mike