What is needed to start a dubia roach colony???

[lunatix]

I am thinking about giving up on the crickets and superworms and get dubias for my dragons. Before I make my first order I want to have everything ready upon arival. The questions I have are..

What is container should they have?
How long will a pound of food last?
Can I make their food?
What are the watering options?
What is the best heating option?

Since some of you have had a colony before maybe give me a discription of your set-up. Im trying to start this colony with no-cost low-cost in mind. Thanks in advance for your advise.
Jeff

 

[KINGSAME]

Visit this site http://www.theroachguy.com you will find answers to all your questions. You can also E-mail him with any questions you have. He has great customer service.

 

[diggerdrake]

one thing to remember is to order as many dubia that you can afford. a colony will take some time to get established so make sure that you have plenty adults to get the colony going with plenty of nymphs for feeding as the breeders get going. being as your dragons are big enough to eat supers on a regular basis you may want to reconsider giving up on the supers and think about breeding them as they are easy enough to breed but take some patience as the little ones take some but the payoff is like thousands of supers to feed from in the next few months. with a well established dubia colony and supers going well you will be free from buying any feeders other than the occasional treat that you want to provide. but definately hit up Jason (the roach guy) for any and all info you need for getting a good dubia clony going.

 

[Ihaggerty1313]

There are a couple of things I personally feel that you must have.

First and foremost I'd use a plastic tub such as a sterilite or rubbermaid container. I like the 22 gallon containers for private use. You can use glass fish tanks but they are heavy and don't hold heat and humidity that well. However the choice is up to you.

Secondly I only use water crystals or cricket gel as it's sometimes called.

Right now I only do business w/ shops in my local area and don't have an online business (future ???). However I do order roaches online from a variety of different people and The Roach Guy that everyone talks about here on BeardedDragon.org has a starter kit similar to the one I sell. You may want to look into that.

Roach chow formulas can be found online. Some of them are so far over the top it's ridiculous. The simpler ones believe it or not offer just as much if not more nutrition than these sophisticated, expensive mixtures. Other than that a pound of Roach will last quite a while.

Depending on how many dragons you have your gonna want to get as many roaches as possible. In my experience w/ roaches I'll say that if you buy 500 of them that you'll get somewhere between 150-250 females. I have my theories but I think since roaches produce so many offspring, that to keep the species in check; evolution has made sure that there are more males to females born. Unfortunatley you won't know for sure what you have until the final molt. Some people have been pretty accurate at identifying nymphs but it's still a good guess at best. Either way I agree w/ other users on this thread. Get as many as possible.

Good Luck!
-Ian

 

[BaronTheBD]

I have a similar question to ask about Dubia colonies, can you use a normal reptile heating pad to heat the colony? If so where should i put it? Ive seen some place say on one side of the tub, while others say under the tub.

 

[KINGSAME]

I have mine under the egg crates uder the 33g Sterilite. Opposite the food and water crystals.

 

[patrickb]

I pretty much agree with Ian's advice. As far as the food, 1lb will last you for quite a few months, maybe up to 8 when you are first starting out. You don't have to buy the premade stuff. You can use your own mixture of things, such as dry dog/catfood, oats, baby rice cereal etc... Search for Dubia's here and lot's of discussions on their diets.

For the water, Ian's suggestion about the crystals is the easiest and cleanest method overall. Another good alternative is just to off fresh fruits or veggies daily as the moisture source. This works just fine, you will just have to do it more often and remove any old stuff before it molds. Mold is very bad in a roach colony.

Using a UTH under the eggcrate side on the underside of the tote is probably the easiest way to heat the colony if you need extra heat. A human heating pad without the automatic shutoff works just as good as well. The other option would be a ceramic heater overhead, but they are pricey as a heat source for colonies.