New Dubia Colony Questions

[browncofan]

Hi,

I recived my Dubia Colony starter kit today. I have a question about gut loading. Do you feed all the roaches the same food whether they are breeders or feeders? Do I only use the more expensive gut loads on the feeders?

They came with a roach chow from MS2 Enterprises, it looks like it is a good chow, all organic, bee pollen, No dog or cat food, no chicken mash and no corn. All natural stuff and needs to be refridgerated. I am not sure how to use this, Do I dust the fresh fruits and veggies in the chow, Do I feed the chow as is, mix it with water to make a paste, I am not sure.

How much food do the roaches eat a day? I have 25 adults, 80 small nymphs, 20mediums and 10 Large nymphs.

Last question, once my colony is up ad producing well can I stop using crickets completely. I hate crickets with a passion. I also use butterworms, hornworms and phoenix worms.

Thanks for any help

 

[fluxlizard]

Personally, I feed them the same whether they are about to be eaten or not. What goes in as they grow can have a significant impact on their nutrition vs simply gutloading just prior to feeding. I'll stay silent about what I feed them as there are better opinions than mine on that topic here on the forums. Just do a search if nobody comes along to answer that question on your thread. Except to say I use lots of fresh veggies as part of it.

How much to feed- can't tell you as every situation is a little different. Temperature effects their metabolism and how many, etc. But- with the veggie part of the diet, you want to feed only enough to last a day or two so you don't have mold, etc. Try a little, see how long it takes to dissappear, and tweak a little on the amount for the next time. If you are like me, you will find constant estimating and adjusting necessary.

Crickets- you can probably get rid of if you really want to and substitute roaches since you have other items for variety. I like as much variety as possible.

 

[browncofan]

Thanks

Thank you, I have read quite a bit of the gut loading stuff on here.
I figured there would be some trial and error, just looking for a good
starting point. I appreciate your help.

Any others with little hints?

 

[ridgebax1]

Keep them really warm. They reproduce better that way. I also feed the same regardless and do not separate them. They will eat ANYTHING and are really amazing creatures. I posted before about my colony and how they got neglected for many many months. I expected them to all be dead but they weren't. Even without food and water they survived. They ate the egg crates and I am sure deceased relatives (insert your own witty comments here). My problem is getting my guy to eat them. Just no interest. There was also another post about making a feeding dish by gluing a dowel rod (or tree branch) in the center of the dish, put roaches in there and put in cage. They climb the "pole", stay contained and makes them more visible to the cham. Good Luck!