Very Urgent please help!!!

[mccallumpiper]

Hello,
Well the family has been taking it fine with the crickets and now roaches until tonight. I have taken every precaution necessary and my sister found a big roach under her mouse pad. There are crickets all over Its not fair to do this to everyone. So just short of finding the beardie a new home I need new ideas on a staple otherwise she is going to have to go. I cant deal with the fact that this could happen. I have done all the right things with the tote and cricket keeper. Someone one got out and I cant chance it its not fair to them. So please any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jeserah]

could you put the feeders outside? Maybe put their box inside a bigger box for insulation or something. I hear that dubias are horrible climbers so maybe your enclosures are to short or have too many "escape routes"? I hope you can figure out a solution!

 

[mccallumpiper]

thats what i did unfortunately they wont live long in the winter. I had them in a tote and the screen was glued to the top there really was not any escape routes. I was always careful and it was an adult I dont feed them they are wayy to big.

 

[brandice]

You could always put the container in a container but I've heard the highest likelihood to loose one of the Dubias is during cleaning. Crickets are notorious escape artists. And they smell! Superworms are easy to keep with almost no chance of escape unless you drop them. I highly recommend tweezers. Not as good for them as some of the other things, but it's the only option for us right now and Bob loves them. Many people use them as a staple with no problems. I believe the minimum size you want your dragon to be in order to feed supers is 16 inches.

 

[mccallumpiper]

I am considering superworms I know they have the micro superworms so she could have those. I just cant have it happen and no way will they survive a night in northeast winter. Its really my last option or I might have to find her a new home

 

[mccallumpiper]

one thing I did forget to mention was I have a thermometer with a probe in the tote and I was wondering if they could climb that wire and get out even if the lid is on

 

[Daemos]

Adult dubias are horrid climbers, but the babies are small enough to scale the wall of plastic bins (and probably the cord to the probe). Do you have a strip of smooth packaging tape bordering your tote? It should be about 2-3 inches from the top, the babies can't really climb that. The roaches are generally very hearty, you should be able to remove the temperature probe and only check it every once in a while. What do you use to heat the tote? Is it something with a highly changing temperature?

 

[Bradleyv1714]

I say keep the roaches and try a bin that is taller... or get A LOT of supers and breed them while you have the smaller ones to feed him/her.

 

[mccallumpiper]

Hey Guys,
I will keep them that was my dumb mistake. So when you say tape the sides you mean regular tape not double sided? I always thought everyone was talking about double sided to make them stick if they try to get out?

 

[RoTide]

Hey Guys,
I will keep them that was my dumb mistake. So when you say tape the sides you mean regular tape not double sided? I always thought everyone was talking about double sided to make them stick if they try to get out?

Not double sided tape.

The shiny/smooth packing tape. Dubias are _awful_ climbers but if the side of the bin they are in is rough enough they can eventually, after enough tries, get out. To stop that, you can put a full strip of tape along the inside of the bin near the top and make sure it goes all the way around the bin. The tape is so smooth that they simply fall off if they are able to get that far up the sides. Think of it like greasing up the top so they slip'n'slide off =)

 

[jeschardies]

I've used the tape as well. Problem is, I witnessed an adult male climb right over the tape. He did this in the corner part of one of the ends where the bin actually has the handle. My fiance and I were amazed at the effort he put in and knocked him back in. I used to have the digital thermometer and have since removed it. I use our temp gun instead.
We have considered getting some of the Roach Barrier from AaronPauling.com. Maybe that will work?
I have only found one escapee, but I am assuming the same, that he got out during cleaning. I don't see why they would really want to leave a life with fresh food and water crystals and a place to hide and mate. I also went out and purchased a new bin that has much smoother sides in hopes that it will prevent any climbing. The bins have different textures on the inside that I am hoping makes a difference in the case of climbing dubias........
We just had our first bunch of babies and are looking forward to a free feeder future!

 

[romanfj]

I have lobsters, which are notorious climbers. I found that the nearly transparent Sterilite bins are far more slick than the colored plastic totes. I also apply a messy 5" wide layer of Vaseline around the top, which gets wiped out and re-applied weekly. Make sure no egg crate touches or rises above the Vaseline layer. No escapees in 6 months.

Also found out the hard way with red runners that when the population density in the colony reaches a certain level, they'll stop at nothing in their escape efforts, no matter how much food and water are available.

Finally, my hissers taught me never ti use fiberglass screen for ventilation - they'll chew right through it. Only use aluminum.

Frank

 

[jeschardies]

How thick is the layer of vaseline? Is it just a thin layer about two-three inches wide? Does it not melt in the warmth of the bin? I've also considered this....

 

[mccallumpiper]

yea me too I need something that will be 100% sure I wont have to worry