Dubia Roaches

[Ivan321]

Do you guys handle your dubias by hand? Like actually pick them up with your hand? Or do you use tongs? Lil' guy will be heading my way in the near future (Panther that is) and I want to be able to have dubias available to feed and other varieties. I just can't seem to picture myself being able to handle roaches.

You guys ever had this issue and got over it? If so how long did you take before you got over the fact they are what they are?

 

[SPork]

I just grab them with my hand, I thought it would be an issue at first, but it really isn't that bad.

 

[ChamMan7]

There is really no set method. Whatever works for you. If you prefer to use tongs that is fine; however, be careful and watch out for a long sticky tongue getting stuck to the metal tongs. As soon as their tongue makes contact with the insect, try to let the bug go so that they do not yank on it with their tongue.

 

[Psychobunny]

I just reach in and pick them up by hand.
Only problem is, they nearly always pee on me !

 

[nightanole]

baby roaches i have to hand feed with tongs just due to size. Males i can tong feed with the wings. The rest o just grab the butt with my hands and hope the wiggly legs are enough to entregue the cham. I never cup feed them (they dont move enough).

 

[bikesforme]

don't think of them as roaches I refer to them as dubia beatles. after awhile you just get use to them. I pick mine up,but then I have allways been a bug ,animal kind of girl. good luck

 

[drift141]

I started a dubia colony about six months ago. They are definitely ugly looking, but they are harmless. It can be difficult to get them out of the bin with tongs as they will run and have a tapered body. Also, if you squeeze them too much they will excrete liquid from their mouth and butt. I pick them up with my hands as I don't want them to push all of the nutrients i fed them out of their anus.

 

[Ivan321]

I seriously hope I manage to pull it off as all of you do.

At the moment the thought of picking up a roach with my hand (to be honest EVEN with tongs) is just blasphemy haha!

 

[nightanole]

Its just an orange headed beetle. The males kinda look like giant lightning bugs...

 

[ridgebax1]

NOOOOOOOO they are seriously creepy I can barely even look at them. If I have to do anything with them I wear gloves. I am a nurse and I have had my hands in questionable areas but just cannot bring myself to pick those things up with my bare hands. I can pick up the babies though (no gloves) just not the adults! They are still too big for my cham so I have not really had to deal with handling them other than cleaning out the enclosure, but I wear gloves for that in case of accidental contact! My son and granddaughter have no qualms about picking them up though.

 

[Ivan321]

NOOOOOOOO they are seriously creepy I can barely even look at them. If I have to do anything with them I wear gloves. I am a nurse and I have had my hands in questionable areas but just cannot bring myself to pick those things up with my bare hands. I can pick up the babies though (no gloves) just not the adults! They are still too big for my cham so I have not really had to deal with handling them other than cleaning out the enclosure, but I wear gloves for that in case of accidental contact! My son and granddaughter have no qualms about picking them up though.

Bahaha! This is exactly how I feel, I'm pretty sure if i had to use gloves I would have to make sure they were quite thick.

I really need to man up lmao

 

[fluxlizard]

It doesn't even register with me as strange any more.
Recently a stray lobster was skittering across the floor when a friend stopped by. I grabbed it with no hesitation to take it back to the bin.
My friend said when I snatched it up I was going to eat it because I was so casual about it.

 

[Ivan321]

It doesn't even register with me as strange any more.
Recently a stray lobster was skittering across the floor when a friend stopped by. I grabbed it with no hesitation to take it back to the bin.
My friend said when I snatched it up I was going to eat it because I was so casual about it.

Hahaha, that's hilarious!

 

[fuzzhc]

I used to scream if one fell out the tongs and headed towards me but now I just pick them up lol. Think of them as giant woodlice

 

[melble68]

don't think of them as roaches I refer to them as dubia beatles.

OMG, you just saved my tail end. i'm in FL, so I am not supposed to have dubias. I've found a supplier of discoids though. I'll start on a colony towards spring. My family is gonna freak. None of them are bug fans. But calling them discoid beatles, I think I may be ok.

 

[Andee]

My mom and I must be weirdos, I love the roaches, in fact have two different kinds just to breed and sell, I breed two kinds for food, and have no problem handling them and sometimes do it just for fun >.> But then again I have beetles, mantids, stick insects of varying kinds.... the only real bug I don't like I think are potato bugs... cause they are creepy and crickets... because they are annoying. I'm sure there are some others I just haven't met yet XD

 

[Bush baby]

I just got a shipment of 50 small Dubia's from West Coast Roaches; how fast do they grow..?

 

[Andee]

They grow to adulthood within 4-6 months depending on how warm it is. If you have heat on them they will grow around the 4-5 month rate.

 

[Olimpia]

I've had a variety of roach species for years and I still only tong-handle them. I have no interest whatsoever to ever touch one on purpose, and am not about to start any time soon. So I have a variety of tongs that I use for moving or feeding them. I usually tong-feed them to my chameleons with some awsome rubber-tipped tongs I picked up at a show last year. They're awesome because they grip the roaches well and they aren't as hard if the chams' tongues miss and hit the tips.