Dave Weldon
Avid Member
Howdy All,
I realized that for those who don't already keep Dubia roaches, you might find it handy to see a few photos of what these friendly buggies look like .
Last night, I put in a pile of "Cricket Crack" gutload about the size of half a golf ball. In about 15 minutes, a small group of about 30 of them ate the pile down to the level of the dish . I usually keep less than a few hundred of mixed sizes at any one time. My original colony started from a mixed size group of 10 Dubia many years ago. It took months for them to produce maybe 2-3 batches of ~30 nymphs each but from then on production was never an issue . I keep the heat pad on the underside of the 10 gal fish tank running at 90F. I use the equivalent of a light dimmer to adjust the heat setting. Besides Cricket Crack, I feed them various fruits and veggies. They love ABC corncob along with apple cores/peelings, and any other veggie leftovers. They drink plenty of water from the little condiment lid containing a throw-away make-up wipe pad. Water crystals work too. The amazing thing compared to crickets (other than that they don't really smell) is that I'll find a dead roach in the tank maybe only twice a year and those probably died of old age after a year or more of life . Gotta love those Dubia! Not all chameleons like roaches. Mine would sometimes go for months without any interest in them and then all a sudden they love them. So don't give-up unless you've tried offering them for at least a year .
I realized that for those who don't already keep Dubia roaches, you might find it handy to see a few photos of what these friendly buggies look like .
Last night, I put in a pile of "Cricket Crack" gutload about the size of half a golf ball. In about 15 minutes, a small group of about 30 of them ate the pile down to the level of the dish . I usually keep less than a few hundred of mixed sizes at any one time. My original colony started from a mixed size group of 10 Dubia many years ago. It took months for them to produce maybe 2-3 batches of ~30 nymphs each but from then on production was never an issue . I keep the heat pad on the underside of the 10 gal fish tank running at 90F. I use the equivalent of a light dimmer to adjust the heat setting. Besides Cricket Crack, I feed them various fruits and veggies. They love ABC corncob along with apple cores/peelings, and any other veggie leftovers. They drink plenty of water from the little condiment lid containing a throw-away make-up wipe pad. Water crystals work too. The amazing thing compared to crickets (other than that they don't really smell) is that I'll find a dead roach in the tank maybe only twice a year and those probably died of old age after a year or more of life . Gotta love those Dubia! Not all chameleons like roaches. Mine would sometimes go for months without any interest in them and then all a sudden they love them. So don't give-up unless you've tried offering them for at least a year .