under tank heater too hot for dubia?

[jenneelk]

My first batch of dubis I lost quite a bit and am not sure if the daytime 75 degree and 70 or so night time temps are the cause.
I bought a zoo med 10-20 gallon under tank heater for my 10 gallon glass but when I take a temp reading of the floor with my lazer gun it's showing around 107? The egg crates read 74 and the other side where the heater wasn't read 76 floor. It's only right over the heater that I'm getting that hot.. but the heater takes up about 1/2 the floor.
Are these supposed to heat to that temp?
I ran out of dubis and have crickets in there now and they seem fine with the temp all last night, but not sure if this temp is also not going to work for my dubis. Crickets I only have as temporary.

 

[Taterbug]

Heat mats can get very hot. When used for pet reptiles they are controlled by a thermostat to avoid burns to the animal.
For dubia it's probably fine. They should just move. My mat is between 100-110 I think and my egg flats range from 80-70 I think. You'll want to keep an eye on it that it doesn't crack the glass on your tank.

 

[LLLReptile]

The low 70s are probably too cold. We use heat mats for our colonies here at our breeding center, and they are usually in the low 100s directly on the mats. The rest of the tub drops down to the mid 80s. The population in our bins is booming - warmth definitely is a must.

-Jen

 

[unkempt1]

The low 70s are probably too cold. We use heat mats for our colonies here at our breeding center, and they are usually in the low 100s directly on the mats. The rest of the tub drops down to the mid 80s. The population in our bins is booming - warmth definitely is a must.

-Jen

Let me start by saying I respectfully disagree (and I mean that with the utmost respect, I have watched many of your care vids on YouTube for different reptiles and treat them as gospel). 70s temps for roaches, in my experience, is fine for them to survive. That being said, to get them to breed, you should have temps in at minimum the 90s with the appropriate humidity for them to breed consistently. Don't go higher than 110, and in my experience I don't go over 95 degrees for the best results.

It really depends on if you (the OP) are trying to breed them or not. If you aren't and are just buying feeders, I would recommend removing the heat pad and just gut loading them if the room temperature doesn't drop below 70 degrees. :twisted:

 

[jenneelk]

My new batch of roaches came today and they seem to be ok so far. Just the floor in 1/2 the tank is 107 or so.. But the crates and other area is mid 70's.
I'll see if they seem to last longer this time.
They have grated carrots, squash and greens in there. Water gel too.

I'm not breeding... Yet. figure one step at a time. Haha.
Need to keep these guys alive first.

And I hope they don't grow more. I did a medium mix this time and hokey crap.. Some are the size of quarters!

 

[unkempt1]

My new batch of roaches came today and they seem to be ok so far. Just the floor in 1/2 the tank is 107 or so.. But the crates and other area is mid 70's.
I'll see if they seem to last longer this time.
They have grated carrots, squash and greens in there. Water gel too.

I'm not breeding... Yet. figure one step at a time. Haha.
Need to keep these guys alive first.

And I hope they don't grow more. I did a medium mix this time and hokey crap.. Some are the size of quarters!

That's good! If you don't care about breeding, I would remove the heat pad if they start dying again. Then see how well they fair. Gut load 'em and then load 'em into your dragon's mouth! :lol:

 

[icelore]

I have a heat mat under my bin and I get high readings like yours under the sidewhere the crates are. It averages 110, but the surface air above the crates is just room temp, 65-70. I assume that if they are warm or cold that they will move.

It seems like I pull a lot of dead ones every week (5 or so), but I'm adding 10+ fresh ones from my grow bins weekly, so it could be that I have so many they are starting to die of old age... I really think they can withstand a lot colder temps then we give them credit for. I have four other bins (freshly pulled nymphs, med, large, and XL) and none of those bins are heated at all, and it gets COLD here. My apartment is drafty and with the temps we've had in Chicago this year, I really expected a lot of die off. I had little to no die-off in my nymph bins though, just in my breeding bin. Go figure.