dubia set-up

voodoochild863

voodoochild863

New Member
Originally I had the food in a dish but since they cant climb I put the food directly on the cage floor. just wondering if there is a better way. I included a pic. I keep them in a box under my desk at work since my fiance wont let me bring them home. I also have no lid on them since they cant climb. Is that a bad idea?
Thanks,
Jon
 

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Looks clean!

Personally I have substrate with mine to burrow into as I like them to have a natural burrowing experience. Then I use a slotted spoon to sift them out. (ya, that's natural, ha!)

People say they can't climb but I have had them climb out of a plastic feeding dish. Just to be sure, what about a line of vaseline around the top of that plastic container? That's what the cricket-guy that I buy crickets from does with his tubs of bugs. (even the dubia tub)

Food dish: They could climb a small lid if you wanted one for cleanliness. For example, I use a cottage-cheese lid. The rim keeps in any juices and they can still get to the food.
 
They can't climb so it's fine not to have a lid. They can only climb on rough surfaces. I just throw food in with them. I put water crystals in a deli cup lid.
 
if you want a little dish or something you could always just take a tupperware container and just slice one of the sides off so you kind of have a dustpan thing going on so that you can put food in there and they can climb into it to get to the food so that you dont have to put it directly on the floor. Personally i just put it on the floor.
 
PrettyInInk87 said:
Ahhh, keep the comments coming. Lol! I'm thinking of starting my own Dubia Colony. :D
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lol Sweet! you are going to love it, no more spending money on staple feeders as often haha. Ill share my set up, i dont have pics of it unfortunetly :( I just bought a big sterlite tote from walmart for like 10$ and then cut out the middle of the lid and used some left over screen i had from building a cage and glued that in for ventilation. Then i got some flat egg cartons, you can get these from breakfast restaurants for free usually since they just throw them out or for even 25 cents or so. I have 3 of those stacked on top of each other on one side of the tote. Then the other side is where i designated to put the food. I then have a heat lamp on the side with the egg cartons so that they are nice and toasty since they require higher temperatures to mate to their fullest potential. And thats it easiest cage ever haha.

Im probably going to be doing the same thing for my stick insect enclosure :D
 
the real question is what does your boss think? :cool:

those dudes will need some heat if you want a colony big enough to use as feeders any time soon. increase heat = increase in breeding
 
Jamelon said:
lol Sweet! you are going to love it, no more spending money on staple feeders as often haha. Ill share my set up, i dont have pics of it unfortunetly :( I just bought a big sterlite tote from walmart for like 10$ and then cut out the middle of the lid and used some left over screen i had from building a cage and glued that in for ventilation. Then i got some flat egg cartons, you can get these from breakfast restaurants for free usually since they just throw them out or for even 25 cents or so. I have 3 of those stacked on top of each other on one side of the tote. Then the other side is where i designated to put the food. I then have a heat lamp on the side with the egg cartons so that they are nice and toasty since they require higher temperatures to mate to their fullest potential. And thats it easiest cage ever haha.

Im probably going to be doing the same thing for my stick insect enclosure :D
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Awesome, will a 10 gallon glass tank work? I have a few lying around and thought maybe I can use that. I also have a few heat lamps lying around so only thing i'd need to get is the egg crate and the roaches. We always have veggies and fruit in our apartment so no worries on the food. How many Roaches should I start with? I can get 20 for 5 dollars about 15 minutes from me.
 
PrettyInInk87 said:
Awesome, will a 10 gallon glass tank work? I have a few lying around and thought maybe I can use that. I also have a few heat lamps lying around so only thing i'd need to get is the egg crate and the roaches. We always have veggies and fruit in our apartment so no worries on the food. How many Roaches should I start with? I can get 20 for 5 dollars about 15 minutes from me.
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Yeah a 10 gallon should be fine but the only thing is that i think your colony might overcrowd it fast, depending on how many you get. if you have a couple that would actually work out perfectly because you can sort out the ones you will be feeding to your cham and feed them the better food than your breeding colony. I would probably start off with as much as you can afford so that you can start feeding them off asap. BUT actually i would start with 20-40 to start and make sure you get some appropriate sized ones to see if your cham will actually eat them :p If you have any other questions you can send me a pm and ill do my best to answer :p
 
txskunk said:
What do you use for your substrate?
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Mine are in coconut bark and organic dirt stuff. I am not raising them, this is just what's in their holding tank. I buy every week or two, depending on the appetites. Then I have cottage-cheese lids with food on them, and I mist. Its a 10 gallon tank with a screen lid. Oh and they have a log in there as well. Its easy to find them, lift any of the toilet-paper tubes, lids, or the log. I just use a slotted spoon so I make sure and sift off the dirt and bark before putting them in the feeder cup.

Maybe its all to ease my mind that its their last days on earth.:D I just like the natural-forest affect.
 
Mine don't climb the plastic but the males can fly out, so keep a top on. I've had one climb my leg in the middle of the night.
 
Ah those look familiar! :D Did you get about 20 adults? I tried giving you at least that many but one got on my finger, gave me the creeps, and I lost count. If you ever need any more you know how to get a hold of me.

I use a lid just for my own peace of mind, but many people don't. It helps keep in heat and humidity though. I like to put alfalfa as a sort of bedding, but I keep most of the floor bare. They like to eat the alfalfa and it smells nice, so it covers up the insect smell. But I just drop the food in on the bare floor and they'll eat it up right away. It's not the best thing for gutloading, but when my roaches are just on break, breeding, I give them mango and they just go nuts for it. Publix (I'm sure other places do too) sells bags of chopped frozen mango for smoothies for $2 so I give them that as a thawed treat and they go NUTS for it. Any tropical fruit/sweet fruit they just die for.
 
I found out the hard way that they can climb SOME surfaces. I bought the wrong kind of tubs at first and some started getting out! Now i only used the clear sterlite tubs and they can't climb that at all!

Usually i start out with keeping the food in a cup with the egg crate covering it so they can get in, but after a few weeks i get lazy and just start throwing the food in :)

They might be able to climb the silicon on the corners of a glass tank so i would keep a lid on those!

Mine don't get out anymore, but i did have an adult in my shoe once that i didn't notice until i was in the car!!!!!! Nasty!!!!
 
Mine have never been able to lift off. They can flutter glide, but that's about it. They jump off of a high point and slowly drift down.

Substrate is a 110% pain in the butt. It's hard enough to get the babies out of the poop let alone even smaller/finer dirt!
 
PrettyInInk87 said:
Hahahahah! I have woken up to Crickets crawling on my face or between the sheets at night but never a roach. Lol!:eek:
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omg i would freak out haha i can pick them up and stuff with my bare hands but if i lose hold of them for a bit and they start crawlin up my arm i freak out a bit haha i dont know what id do if i found one in bed with me :eek:
 
pssh said:
Mine have never been able to lift off. They can flutter glide, but that's about it. They jump off of a high point and slowly drift down.

Substrate is a 110% pain in the butt. It's hard enough to get the babies out of the poop let alone even smaller/finer dirt!
Click to expand...

Yes my egg crates were probably too high but definitely under the tubs sides and I've seen them fly out. Only at night when they're supper active. So I say put a top on them:)
 
sarah777 said:
Yes my egg crates were probably too high but definitely under the tubs sides and I've seen them fly out. Only at night when they're supper active. So I say put a top on them:)
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you must have the most active dubias ever haha, ive never seen my males even flutter their wings at all. But i do agree a lid should be used to prevent unwanted escapes. My tote has a lockable lid so it works awesome
 
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