When we were buying 10,000 crickets per week - we knew we needed a change. We got into roaches and have been raising them for several years now. We have 6 species and they all have differences. Even though we have large rolling melamine roach bins now, we still help folks get their feeder colonies started with the following tips:
The best beginner's enclosure we have found with the humidity loving roaches (dubia is one) is where we cut out a large portion of the tub's lid and replace that section with aluminum screen. The dubia roach prefers the dark, so no light is needed. Heat is supplied from underneath (heat pad).
We recommend a good sized tub (minimum 58qt) to be set up as follows:
The wooden rack holds the 12" square egg flats upright, but you can choose to hot glue them together (front-back-back-front-front...) if you don't want to build a rack. We use substrate: sanichips is what is shown in the picture - a good choice, and inexpensive. It does pose a problem for the babies to hide in when cleaning time comes however. You can choose not to use a substrate, but we have found that with dubia, the best substrate is slightly damp coco fiber. We make sure to add a bit of water to the substrate every two weeks or so, and maintain it at a 1" depth.
Provide a shallow dish of water gel. Another shallow dish should be placed in the tub to contain the dry gutload. Offer fresh vegetables often. We place the vegetables on a paper towel or brown paper sack. Mold is a serious threat to a roach colony, so don’t offer portions that are more than can be consumed in 24-48 hours. We also have found that placing the fruit or veggies on a flat piece of cardboard on top of the egg flats works best - easy to access and maintain.
As with other non-glass climbing roaches, consider the dishes that you place their food in. If it is slick, then they cannot climb in it or out of it. We use clay plant saucers for the gutload and water gel. The one for the water gel is glazed on the inside only.
Another tip: Don't let the "non-glass climbing" claims relax your guard. The male dubia can use his wings to fly/jump short distances. It is a good rule to keep them covered.
People ask us about dry food for our roaches all the time. Since we make (and sell) gutload, it is the only dry food any of our roaches get. They are fed this 24/7. We do not recommend chicken feed or dry dog food. Our crickets don't even eat that stuff.
Raising roaches is easy and after a while it doesn't seem to cost much at all. You will save by not having to buy crickets all the time, and the absence of the cricket smell will be the best reward.
Hope this helps and maybe gives you some ideas.
~Morgana
