Dubia roach breeding not going so well :S

[tryme]

Ok well I used to have TONS of roaches when I first brought them. I fed off alot of the nymphs now ive got about 20 adults mixed male and female. I have had them about a month now and haven't seen any new born. I also found a dead male today :| So I don't know what i'm doing wrong.

I've been giving them potatoes. Bug balls, a mix of corn flakes and digestive biscuits, some other leafy greens and cricket diet by euro rep.

Here's pics of my set up:







Theres maybe ten or so more under the paper towl things.

 

[ColorCham427]

Cccccrank up the heat, give them something to drink daily.

 

[tryme]

Yeah they get the bug ball water crystal things. There in the airing cupboard it's quite warm in there. Ill see what I can do though!

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

I'm keeping mine at ~90F and they seem to do fine at reproducing. I use a 10 gallon cheapie aquarium tank and an under tank heater plugged into a light dimmer so that I can adjust the temp to whatever I want. They are fed leftover veggies and fruit (they love cantaloupe rind) along with a custom made cricket gutload produced by SSimswiSS: https://www.chameleonforums.com/gutload-sale-12545/. It is only available in the USA as far as I know .

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

If they aren't reproducing, your heat is too low. Up the temps to between 95F and 100F on one side of your enclosure with heat tape or a heat mat. Also, leave them alone. If you disturb them too often, they tend not to breed as well.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

Also - don't feed any of them off for a while - trust me. 20 roaches laying eggs will turn into hundreds laying eggs IF you don't feed them off. In 12 months, you'll be inundated.

I found ground up guniea pig food works well.

 

[tryme]

12 months :|

 

[tryme]

Well, i've had them just over a month so i'll leave them for another month or two. Wont feed any off. And i'll see how it goes. When I got them I had NO full adults. Only ones that were near adult. So that may be why. Thanks guys.

 

[ttshibby]

It takes time.... Be patient. Once they you see little orange plugs around it will take about a month before they hatch, and thatll only be like 4-8 per plug. I am going though the same process and my temps are at 85* with only 20 as well. As said earlier dont disturb them as well. Give it 3 mths and you'll see a bunch of lil ones all over.

Troy

 

[Dsignrguy]

I found ground up guniea pig food works well.

WTF???? EWWWWW!!!!!! You grind it yoursef? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

 

[tryme]

I have seen one of these "egg sacks" sticking out a female but I haven't seen it since :S

 

[veiledchamguy]

Tryme! HEAT HEAT HEAT HEAT HEAT HEAT HEAT just buy a heating pad 100w
and stick it on the bottom of that enclourse and make sure you keep them in the dark and food/water etc they basically live on their own except with your help

And P.S dont clean their poopies they live in it

 

[davider]

Heat and grind up dog/cat food (high protein) but make sure if you want to feed them off gutload them with veggies before. Don't feed them off if they are gutloaded with dog/cat food! Goodluck!

 

[Eric Adrignola]

WTF???? EWWWWW!!!!!! You grind it yoursef? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Is that a joke? Guinea pig food is just like rabbit food only with vitamin C... dry pellets.

 

[Dave Weldon]

I have seen one of these "egg sacks" sticking out a female but I haven't seen it since :S

Howdy,

Yep. Now you see'm, now you don't. That's the way it's supposed to be. If you see a Dubia egg stick lying by itself, they're dead. The mother is supposed to push them out and then pull them back in again (once?) The next time you see something, it's likely to be weeks later when 30+ live nymphs pour out of her rear .

Here are some Hissers doing the same thing as Dubia. I don't keep Hissers or Lobsters anymore. Overall, Dubia are simpler.

By the way, I no longer use any substrate with my Dubias, just egg crate. It makes things even easier to clean-up.

 

[veiledchamguy]

Picture perfect Dave

 

[tryme]

wow. Good reply

 

[Kat77]

Howdy,

Yep. Now you see'm, now you don't. That's the way it's supposed to be. If you see a Dubia egg stick lying by itself, they're dead. The mother is supposed to push them out and then pull them back in again (once?) The next time you see something, it's likely to be weeks later when 30+ live nymphs pour out of her rear .

Here are some Hissers doing the same thing as Dubia. I don't keep Hissers or Lobsters anymore. Overall, Dubia are simpler.

By the way, I no longer use any substrate with my Dubias, just egg crate. It makes things even easier to clean-up.

Oh my, that sure it gross looking. But I think I'm going to try it anyhow. I am so sick of crickets! Great info Dave, (and everyone else too!) thanks!

P.S. Are you really not supposed to clean up their poo? I have some research to do!

 

[tryme]

Does it have to be dry dog or cat food or is tinned ok?

 

[Chanel]

Dry, as it doesn't go off nearly as fast. Also, I would suggest keeping your roaches in a non-see through container, such as a coloured sterilite container. I think they'll feel much more secure, and possibly step up the breeding.