Dubia breeding

[ForrestJungle]

Ok so I get my little critters today. Do they have to be a certain size to breed l'ike crickets? Or will they just start producing? Also how long does it take to get little ones running around? Also does anyone know how to get silkworms or buttereorms to breed?

 

[pigglett79]

Dubias won't start to breed until they are full adults. They are not super fast, and it takes quit a while for the babies to grow to feeding size. This will take some patience until the colony is well established. Silks breed after theory cocoon as described in my blog.

You cannot breed butter worms. They are hit with radiation as they are exported out of Chile to make them sterile. They were considered an evasive pest.

 

[dlegare]

It all depends on how young your guys are to start. If they are baby nymphs it may take up to a year for them to really start producing. Fully mature males have wings and females have little wing nubs. Once you start seeing males you should have a few females coming along. Females will be more shiny than the nymphs. Keep them warm around mid 80s to 90s to bred well. ALso keep moisture up by daily spraying lightly. They eat just about anything but I have found that they really go crazy for Oranges and Bananas. I don't feed them the water Jell crap because I rally don't want my Chams eating that junk. They get all their water from the fruits. I also feed them an organic bird food called Harrison's High Potency.

I live in FL and keep my colony outside. They breed like crazy in summer and go dormant in winter. If the weather drops below 65 I put them in my laundry room. I do get a few die-offs in winter but not too bad.

I also use egg crate material to give them plenty of standing/hiding places and I change out the egg crate about every 2 to 3 months.

You can get the egg crate from Ghann's crickets.

Good luck.

 

[dlegare]

If you let your Silkworms continue to feed they will eventually build silk cocoons and pupate. When they emerge they breed and lay eggs and die.

I have some silks and Horns that have pupated. Hopefully I can at least get some silks to lay eggs. The process of breeding Horns is a bit complicated for me to undertake. I am interested in seeing the adult Hawk Moths.

 

[crocky]

As mentioned dubias don't start breeding until they are full adults. Once they start producing, Females will usually give birth to about 30-40 babies a month. I have had my colony for about 8 months now and they have only recently reached adulthood and started producing. When I nite ally got them they were mediums.

 

[ForrestJungle]

What about wax or phx worms

 

[pssh]

Wax worms can be pupated using cardboard or crumpled wax paper and a special food. If you google it you can find a recipe and directions for breeding them. Phoenix worms are soldier flies, which can be bred using a special composting bin which can be purchased online or made. Google will help with that.

Dubia can take as little as 3 months to mature or it can take much longer depending on their conditions. Females can have 20-40 babies as often as once a month. Here is my blog about them.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/pssh/577-blaptica-dubia-roach-keeping-breeding-feeding.html

 

[sandrachameleon]

Here's a link to a list of all the commonly used feeders, along with information about how to breed many of them and other useful info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html