Breeding Dubia Roaches

[tryme]

Ok. Before you guys moan. Yes I have looked via the ''search'' button lol. Just want to find out for certain. How many dubias will I need to start off a colony? How old will they need to be? Is substrate a good idea? What can they eat? (i know fruit and veg but what should I avoid?) How long does it take to breed them?

 

[budthecham]

i just ordered some dubia from PONDERS a member on here. i would go that route cause the prices are really good. look on the classified section. i had a thread titled "i am looking to start a roach colony" you should read up on that its only a few days old.

the only things that i have heard to avoid are grapes cause if they are in there to long they turn to alcohol??? not positive on this. and also dogfood because it has too high of protein. im sure there are a few others


they love apples i hear

 

[AncientCritters]

I thought the protein in dog food was a good thing. I may be wrong but every once in a while I crush some dog food and feed it. I started off with 100 and have tons of them now in about 2 months. Tons of adults. More than I can ever feed off.

 

[AndrewH]

pretty much fruit, they like the sweet stuff, watermelon and cantaloupe rinds are great and don't mold over easy. Most people would reccomend about 20-30. More females and males. I just keep feeding off the juveniles. I just started my colony thanks to Steve. In about 2 months you should have critter crawlers running around all over the place if you keep the temp at around 80-90

 

[sandrachameleon]

I thought the protein in dog food was a good thing. I may be wrong but every once in a while I crush some dog food and feed it. I started off with 100 and have tons of them now in about 2 months. Tons of adults. More than I can ever feed off.

It is my understanding that dog food is okay for roaches - they will enjoyed the protien and will less inclined to eat their own. however that same amount of protien is not good for the chameleons (gout). Also, one has to consider how much Vitamin A and such are in the dog food, going into the roach, and eventually making its way to your chameleons.

I've been told Grapes are particularily high in sugar, so shouldnt form a large part of the diet of anything.

 

[tryme]

So what do I do. Chuck em in there and theyget at it. What else do I need other than container, food/water (from the food) and heat.

 

[AndrewH]

thats pretty much it. simplest feeders to take care of i think.

 

[budthecham]

It is my understanding that dog food is okay for roaches - they will enjoyed the protien and will less inclined to eat their own. however that same amount of protien is not good for the chameleons (gout). Also, one has to consider how much Vitamin A and such are in the dog food, going into the roach, and eventually making its way to your chameleons.

I've been told Grapes are particularily high in sugar, so shouldnt form a large part of the diet of anything.

yes thats what i heard about the dogfood, its bad gutload for the cham

 

[tryme]

Oh ok thanks.

 

[tryme]

I have a few with wings now and a couple large without (which must be females) how long will it take roughly til I see babies?

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

I have a few with wings now and a couple large without (which must be females) how long will it take roughly til I see babies?

The adult females will give birth to a litter of 20-30 nymphs, roughly every 60 days. Those newborn nymphs will take roughly 4 months to reach adulthood if heated and fed properly.

 

[tryme]

oh ok thanks!

 

[cLoNe]

can u posted up pics so i can see ur setup and anyone else that has a setup i want 2 start mine as well. . n see the before n after pics how long it take 2 see if its not 2 much 2 ask. . thanx. .

 

[tryme]

All you need really is some egg crates stacked up together. Then two tubs of some sort which they can get in an out of. One with a mix of things like cereal etc and the other with the fruit and veg.

http://www.blapticadubia.com/blaptica_dubia/dubiasetup2.jpg

 

[adam1v]

I have had my own colony now for about 2-3 weeks.
I bought a colony from ebay, which was around 150 roaches.
There was around 10/15 adults (mainly females) and a few males.

You should feed off the males to your chams, but try to keep one male for every four females.

I cant say whether or not im successful at the moment, but there does appear to be alot of very very small babies.
I've been feeding mine on all sorts of fruit, veg, cereal bars (they love the sugary ones), cerals, cricketfeed, locust feed, leafy salads, just about anything.
Ive not yet tried dog food, but I might try it, is it dry biscuits or wet meat?

Dont put any substrate in the bottom, it makes for a messy base.
My box is similar to the one posted above, with two large egg trays, and another one split up into 4 smaller pieces.

At the sign of any mold on your feed, remove it straight away, roaches and mould dont mix well. It will kill them fairly quick.

 

[tryme]

I wouldn't bother with the dog and cat food hype. Doesn't seem safe. There's alot of debate of it being bad for reptiles.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

I wouldn't bother with the dog and cat food hype. Doesn't seem safe. There's alot of debate of it being bad for reptiles.

If you do use dog food it is to grow the colony. You should not feed your Cham from the roaches that have just eaten the dogfood.

You should feed your feeders appropriate food/veggies and remove the dogfood from the mix at about a week before they are fed out.

 

[tryme]

Bit to much hassle really. Bit risky to I believe. If you do it, it's cool. I just personally wouldn't.

 

[Ryan Jarosek]

Bit to much hassle really. Bit risky to I believe. If you do it, it's cool. I just personally wouldn't.

I don't do it for the same reason you brought up. Too risky and a bit of a hassle.

I was just clarifying how the dogfood is used.

 

[MandaRyan]

My boyfriend started a dubia roach colony for our cham and it was amazing how fast they reproduce. Within just a few days we saw babies, but then again, we got a couple of the roaches from someone we know so they could have already been pregnant. He puts them in a rubbermaid container and cut the middle of the lid out and glued in a screen for venilation. They seem to love carrots and orange slices.