Roach-keeping for the squeamish.

[Suzette]

Hi! I'm the proud new mom of a bouncing baby dragon. Alan Alda (yes, really) is about five or so inches long total, and my better half has a four year old dragon (about 15-ish inches total named Sebastian). Sebastian, or Seabass as I like to call him, was fed crickets when he was small, is now mostly on salads, of course, with the occasional superworm/waxworm addition. He also just tried his first horn worms, which went over really well.

Based on research, I made the executive decision that Alan Alda would be a Dubia guy. I'm far too squicked out to start a colony, and am fortunate to live near two independent pet stores that carry all sizes at reasonable prices. While I'm not wild about them, I can pull myself together enough to deal with Dubias roughly dime-sized or smaller (Seabass eats a few now and then as well). My issue is making the "Roach Runs" multiple times per week; so my question is how long it generally takes roaches to grow, start making little roaches, etc so I can *avoid* dealing with bigger ones? Also, I keep about thirty or so Dubia in a small Cricket Keeper, and was curious if anyone kept larger numbers in a bigger Keeper or if I should upgrade to a shoebox-size Rubbermaid-style tote? Alan Alda eats about 6-10 per day (he gets black soldier fly larvae for breakfast, Dubias are dinner) and hasn't shown interest in his daily salad yet. Thanks!!!

 

[hmarie186]

Don't worry, It'll be months before they are big enough to breed. If you keep them room temp they grow very slow. You'd be safe enough to get a couple hundred to avoid constant trips to the store.

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree that you should be fine buying small batches of the younger roaches. When I started my colony it took them several months to grow to full size and start breeding. I keep mine in a 20g tank with a mesh top. If you're not going to breed them, then you don't need something that big. A rubbermaid tote with a mesh vent cut into it should do the trick nicely. They also do a good job of eating vegetable scraps for you. My colony especially enjoys squash and that would make a great gutloader for your bugs.