Dubia Roaches

Vince

New Member
Im going to be buying some roaches here soon. Just wondering how fast do they reproduce?, and what is the cheapest most effective way to feed them? Maybe something i would have in the house for myself, like an apple or oatmeal?

Thanks in response for any replies
 
Apples, oranges, sweet potatoe, carrot, whatever you gutload your crickets with.
If you are breeding the roaches, trying to increase colony size, you can give them dry dog food or fish food flakes. But dont feed these roaches to your chameleon. Separate out the ones you will feed to the chameleon and gutload for several days with vegetables and fruit.
Females have 20+ babies every month or so.
 
I have never used roaches before... Can someone answer some questions, please? :D

Are they a better source of protein, etc than crickets? (Are they better..)

Are they easy to house? (will they get out of a glass aquarium easy?)

What is the best way to store them..?



Thanks..

P.S
 
From what i have read, they have 2x the amount of nutrients than a cricket. They dont stink, and they cant jump:D

I would think you could house them in a glass tank as long as there is a screen top for some kind of ventilation. And from what i can see in pictures it looks like most people use egg carton, cardboard, and if you want to go all out you can buy roach flats, so they have some kind of coverage.
 
Roaches are a good feeder option. Some have a higher meat to chinton ratio than crickets (depends on type of roach). roaches are easy to gutload. They dont stink. many types typically used as feeders dont climb smooth surfaces (so not glass, but probably the silicon in the corners of the tank).


NewOwner, try taking a moment to do a search on this forum or on google and you will find lots of info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaptica_dubia
https://www.chameleonforums.com/madagascar-hissing-roach-14584/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=54
 
You can house them in a plastic bin/tote. They reproduce faster if they have a heat source. They can be fed pretty much anything, BUT I would feed them a mixture of oatmeal, dog food or cat food (dry) and give them apples or carrots (better choice) for moisture. You should also put in some egg cartons for them to have more surface area to roam around and climb on. They are a better choice than crickets indeed.
 
Make sure that you put a lid on your container because despite what people say I have had my male dubias climbing all over the glass walls. It would not be fun to have them in your house.
 
We have our roach colony in a rubbermaid container and we cut out a square on the lid and a square on the side and glued screen for venilation. They are much easier to care for than crickets and reproduce fast and live longer. We gutload them with sliced oranges, lemons, limes, and carrots.
 
Kenya and I have a big wooden Fluker's bin that's divided into two halves (I think there's a picture of it in a thread...somewhere) and has a screened top. There are two lightsockets on the inner back wall which we keep ceramic bulbs in and the roaches breed like crazy. Dubias are kept in one half and hissers and dwarf caves in the other.

Does any one else find that darkness seems to be preferred? I've heard that many species will breed more readily if kept in darkened enclosures.

As far as gutloading goes, we sometimes use apple slices as well as sweet potato, carrot, halved key limes, bee pollen, and various scraps of greens. When just maintaining them, they get dog food and we have water crystals available at all times.
 
Yeah I definitely get the impression they prefer the dark. I keep mine in a plastic tub with black bin bags taped to the side and the box is kept in a cupboard with a very low bolt heat mat underneath. I bought 100 of them in July last year, I now have around 1000 :D it's the box that keeps on giving. As for feed I use a roach diet that costs me £5 and lasts for around 5 months, it's been specially formulated as a gutload for lizards. On top of that I chuck in an apple or whatever once or twice a week. So they cost me about £2 a month to sustain, which is more than I spend on live food as I don't need to buy any (except for the odd waxworm tub) cause Isambard just can't help himself when there's roaches around :D.
 
I know I saw on another thread - searched and can't find it - that someone here was selling them. I'm interested on starting a colony. Everyone says they're so great, so why not join the fun!?
 
I cant wait to start a colony. Im so sick of crickets, and i think my cham is too. :) They stink, get loose, and make way more noise than they are worth.

Dont get me wrong, i do live in the country and enjoy the noise they make in the wild, but not in my room while i try to sleep. :eek: it drives me nuts!
 
I cant wait to start a colony. Im so sick of crickets, and i think my cham is too. :) They stink, get loose, and make way more noise than they are worth.

Dont get me wrong, i do live in the country and enjoy the noise they make in the wild, but not in my room while i try to sleep. :eek: it drives me nuts!

Tales such as this are precisely why I never bothered with crickets in the first place. Roaches are more nutritious too I believe.
 
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