I just wanted to share what I've learned over the course of setting up and maintaining a Dubia roach ranch as feeders for my panther cham Poppy. There's a ton of info all over the internet, but I thought it might be helpful to have the basics aggregated all here, specifically for cham owners. Please note that this is all from my own experience and what has worked for me and my little roach ranch.
IMPORTANT: It is possible to develop an allergy to Dubia roaches. From what I've researched, the risk of this can be minimized by wearing a mask if you're breathing in the dust from the frass (roach poop) and gloves when handling the roaches. However, many keepers do not do this and it's a matter of personal preference. I have never had any problems with my colony and I handle the roaches with bare hands. Please note this is not a substitute for medical advice. Here is a link with more allergy information.
Why a Dubia Ranch?
One of my adorable little buggies.
What Do You Need?
A note about light: I have seen some internet posts that say you should keep your Dubias on a 12 hour light schedule, however mine seem to be most comfortable in the dark, so I don't light my bin.
A. My colony right next to my cham's tank.
B. The box I use. I purchased it on etsy for about $60, but I think it would pretty easy and cost effective to assemble your own.
C. An inside look, you can see their food and water crystals and the thermostat thermometer on the left. Originally I was putting their food on a paper plate but then they just started eating it so I stopped. Below the screen at the bottom is where most of the frass goes, but there is a pile below the egg crates as well, which is good for the nymphs.
D. They hide between the egg crates and prefer the dark. When I open them up, they scatter. You can see the frass on the crates, but at this point there's no smell so I think I'm ok with these still. I assume I'll eventually have to get new ones for cleanliness.
Maintaining Your Colony
If you've done everything right, your roaches are going to multiply, though slowly at first. An adult female will mate at about 5 days after emerging as an adult after which she will develop her young inside her body in a egg sack called an ootheca. When she's ready to give birth she expels the ootheca and the nymphs hatch from that over the course of several hours. Newborn nymphs take about 4 months to mature into breedable adults.
You colony will probably start off slow, but after a while you're going to end up with possibly more roaches than you know what to do with. What to do about that? That's up to you. I personally cull the vast majority of my adult males every few months and feed them to my chickens. I also do this to the roaches who have outgrown the size that I allow my cham to eat as well AS LONG AS I see plenty of little babies still developing to replace them. If you have a lot of reptiles to feed, you might not have to do this at all, but do be aware that your colony will most likely begin to increase exponentially at some point if all your conditions are good.
Keep in mind, its better to have more females than males. Too many males will put breeding stress on the females and can result in the males eating the newborn nymphs in order to make the females ready to breed again sooner, which is obviously not helpful for you. Ideally you want the F: M ratio to be between 3:1 and 7:1. Lower or higher tends to result in reduced productivity.
Why are my roaches white?!
Don't panic like I did! Dubia Roaches are white right after they molt! Totally normal! They'll return to normal color in a few hours. Newborn nymphs are also white.
Dealing with Frass
Frass is identified as roach poop, roach exoskeletons, remains of dead roaches, and any leftover food particles. It's important to keep your colony clean for both your health and that of your roaches, but not TOO clean. According to the research I've done, having frass in your colony is normal and healthy for roaches. It provides food for newly emerged nymphs and has a probiotic effect on their digestive systems while also providing nitrogen which roaches convert to protein.
So when do you clean it? Once the frass has accumulated to the point where it's starting to retain moisture it needs to be cleaned in order to prevent the buildup of mold or bacteria that can hurt your roaches. Often, when moisture starts accumulating in the frass you will notice a bad smell. That's a very good sign you need to clean out the accumulated frass. A healthy colony WILL NOT SMELL BAD. If yours does, you need to investigate. I personally use roach frass as a fertilizer for my house plants when I clean the colony.
That's all the basic information I can think of to get you started. If you really want to dive deep into breeding Dubia colonies here are a few links:
Comprehensive Dubia Colony Guide
Dubia Life Cycle Guide
IMPORTANT: It is possible to develop an allergy to Dubia roaches. From what I've researched, the risk of this can be minimized by wearing a mask if you're breathing in the dust from the frass (roach poop) and gloves when handling the roaches. However, many keepers do not do this and it's a matter of personal preference. I have never had any problems with my colony and I handle the roaches with bare hands. Please note this is not a substitute for medical advice. Here is a link with more allergy information.
Why a Dubia Ranch?
- Dubias are super easy to take care of! They don't smell, they can't climb smooth surfaces, and they most likely WILL NOT infest your house if they do escape. They need high heat and humidity in order to breed, so unless you live in a greenhouse where its 90-95 degrees and 40+ percent humidity all the time, you won't have to worry about an infestation. Also, they're cute and nonaggressive. Even people who don't like roaches will probably like these little guys. Remember seeing pill bugs when you were a child? (no? just me?) They're just like those except they don't roll up and they get bigger.
One of my adorable little buggies.
What Do You Need?
- Container - a plastic tub is the best option. Smooth sides will keep your roaches from escaping. The size depends on how many Dubias you need for your critters. I have a ten gallon tub that works well for my single female panther cham. You want some airflow in there so drilling 1 inch holes near the top on two sides of the container is a good idea. You can hot glue a metal screen (Dubias can chew through regular window screens) over them to prevent any possible escape if they're able to crawl up a non plastic item to the holes.
- Heat - Dubias need to be kept warm in order to breed. Around 90 degrees is best. I would recommend a thermostat as well to make sure the temperature stays consistent and you don't accidentally fry them. I have a heating pad connected to inside of the lid of my tub that's on a thermostat, and a seedling heat mat that the tub sits on that's always on. This works for me. Keep in mind, most Dubia sales websites recommend that you do not put a heating pad inside the actual colony as it can burn your roaches. I've never had a problem though.
- Humidity - Dubias need humidity of at least 40-60% in order for them to molt properly and breed. Too low of humidity can cause them to fail molting and die, and their egg cases will dry out. Too high can promote mold and bacterial growth in the colony. My ambient humidity is LOW (like 15%) and it causes my colony to dry out quickly. I have a small water spray bottle that I spray the egg crates with every morning after I feed the roaches and this works great for me. I highly recommend some kind of humidity monitor. Mine is actually built into the lid of my colony.
- Housing - in my experience, egg crates are the perfect living quarters for Dubias and are easy and inexpensive. Stack them vertically and turn them face to face so they don't fit into each other and collapse. This gives the roaches plenty of places to live and socialize and also keeps them comfortable as they're hidden and seem to be most comfortable in the dark.
- Food - Gutload your roaches depending on what you need for your reptile. For my panther cham, I feed based on this forum's graphic of 70% leafy greens, 15% vegetable, 10% fruit, 5% bee pollen. I blend in large batches, freeze in ice cube trays, and feed my colony 2 thawed cubes a day.
- Water - Personally, I use water crystals, but many keepers say the roaches can get enough liquid just from the foods they eat. I've found that using water crystals also helps maintain the humidity as I live in a very dry ambient environment. DO NOT use liquid water, your little buggies CANNOT SWIM and WILL DROWN. Other easy options include using wet sponges or wet paper towels.
- Roaches! - For the best breeding results you want roughly 1 male to every 5 females. You can tell adult males from females because the males are winged and the females are not. When they're younger, gender is a lot harder to tell, and I'm not good at it. There are plenty of starter kits available online from insect suppliers that will give you a good ratio of male/female and adults/younger roaches to get you started. I personally ordered mine from Dubi Deli and haven't had to order any extras.
A note about light: I have seen some internet posts that say you should keep your Dubias on a 12 hour light schedule, however mine seem to be most comfortable in the dark, so I don't light my bin.
A. My colony right next to my cham's tank.
B. The box I use. I purchased it on etsy for about $60, but I think it would pretty easy and cost effective to assemble your own.
C. An inside look, you can see their food and water crystals and the thermostat thermometer on the left. Originally I was putting their food on a paper plate but then they just started eating it so I stopped. Below the screen at the bottom is where most of the frass goes, but there is a pile below the egg crates as well, which is good for the nymphs.
D. They hide between the egg crates and prefer the dark. When I open them up, they scatter. You can see the frass on the crates, but at this point there's no smell so I think I'm ok with these still. I assume I'll eventually have to get new ones for cleanliness.
Maintaining Your Colony
If you've done everything right, your roaches are going to multiply, though slowly at first. An adult female will mate at about 5 days after emerging as an adult after which she will develop her young inside her body in a egg sack called an ootheca. When she's ready to give birth she expels the ootheca and the nymphs hatch from that over the course of several hours. Newborn nymphs take about 4 months to mature into breedable adults.
You colony will probably start off slow, but after a while you're going to end up with possibly more roaches than you know what to do with. What to do about that? That's up to you. I personally cull the vast majority of my adult males every few months and feed them to my chickens. I also do this to the roaches who have outgrown the size that I allow my cham to eat as well AS LONG AS I see plenty of little babies still developing to replace them. If you have a lot of reptiles to feed, you might not have to do this at all, but do be aware that your colony will most likely begin to increase exponentially at some point if all your conditions are good.
Keep in mind, its better to have more females than males. Too many males will put breeding stress on the females and can result in the males eating the newborn nymphs in order to make the females ready to breed again sooner, which is obviously not helpful for you. Ideally you want the F: M ratio to be between 3:1 and 7:1. Lower or higher tends to result in reduced productivity.
Why are my roaches white?!
Don't panic like I did! Dubia Roaches are white right after they molt! Totally normal! They'll return to normal color in a few hours. Newborn nymphs are also white.
Dealing with Frass
Frass is identified as roach poop, roach exoskeletons, remains of dead roaches, and any leftover food particles. It's important to keep your colony clean for both your health and that of your roaches, but not TOO clean. According to the research I've done, having frass in your colony is normal and healthy for roaches. It provides food for newly emerged nymphs and has a probiotic effect on their digestive systems while also providing nitrogen which roaches convert to protein.
So when do you clean it? Once the frass has accumulated to the point where it's starting to retain moisture it needs to be cleaned in order to prevent the buildup of mold or bacteria that can hurt your roaches. Often, when moisture starts accumulating in the frass you will notice a bad smell. That's a very good sign you need to clean out the accumulated frass. A healthy colony WILL NOT SMELL BAD. If yours does, you need to investigate. I personally use roach frass as a fertilizer for my house plants when I clean the colony.
That's all the basic information I can think of to get you started. If you really want to dive deep into breeding Dubia colonies here are a few links:
Comprehensive Dubia Colony Guide
Dubia Life Cycle Guide
