Dubia Roaches

[ianedward1]

So who here as experience with them? I am about to get 150 large nymphs, 15 adult females, and 5 adult males. I am trying to have a breeding colony for my Bearded Dragon. The setup is a 33 gallon Sterilite container and a 10-20g Zilla UTH. Does this sound like a proper setup to those that know? My girlfriend is going crazy that I am breeding roaches but I don't feel like dealing with the sound, smell, and expense of crickets.

 

[wellington]

I have some coming to feed my chameleon. I have never dealt with them before. However, Tom (the dog trainer) some of his tortoise threads are listed below, has raised them before and he is starting a colony now to raise. Send him a pm if he doesn't chime in here.

 

[ianedward1]

It would be cool if we had a tagging system like facebook so Tom would know we were waiting for him to jump in lol

 

[poison]

Don't feed them off for a couple of months and just throw in some food and you should get a colony going in no time.

 

[ianedward1]

I hope that once those 150 nymphs mature that I will have at least 60 females total. 60 females * 20 newborns per month = 1200 new mouthfuls for my lizard >:}

 

[Momof4]

I do. I bred them for my bearded dragons. I can send you pics of how I did it. Let me know.

 

[ianedward1]

That would be appreciated . I really am just worried about my heating pad not getting hot enough and I'm not sure as to how many can live together peacefully in a 30 gallon container

 

[Momof4]

I only had a heating pad on half the rubbermaid tote. They do need to have a cool side.

 

[Tom]

Ambient temp needs to be 80-85 ideally. If the air is colder, but there is a warm spot to go to, I don't know if that will work for this species. Try it and see. I use 12x12" egg flats divided by cardboard and standing up vertically. Put some dog kibble in one corner and some "wet" food in another. Oranges, apple, banana, carrot, potato, grapes, melon, etc... You can feed out most of your adult males and leave the females for breeding. The nymphs that mature into adults in your box will give you the best reproductive success. You probably won't get many babies from the adults you are buying. It takes a long time for them to really get up and running, but once you hit your third or fourth generation things just explode and you will be trying to get rid of them anyway you can. It takes about 6-8 months under optimal conditions.

 

[ianedward1]

I have 6 egg crates in the tote, glued side by side and standing. I will be using a cat feeder dish with the two seperate sides, one with dry food and the other with fruits & veggies. Also, there will be water crystals placed in a dish. I made sure to buy large nymphs to decrease the wait time for maturity. I am hoping that since the adults are coming from a reptile keeper that got over populated only about an hour away from me, the shipping won't be too tramatic and they will perform well.

 

[Momof4]

Sounds like Tom had your answers. Good luck.

 

[Lancecham]

I have 6 egg crates in the tote, glued side by side and standing. I will be using a cat feeder dish with the two seperate sides, one with dry food and the other with fruits & veggies. Also, there will be water crystals placed in a dish. I made sure to buy large nymphs to decrease the wait time for maturity. I am hoping that since the adults are coming from a reptile keeper that got over populated only about an hour away from me, the shipping won't be too tramatic and they will perform well.

Sounds like you got things in order. If you are using fruits/veges, you do not need water crystals.
keep them warm as mentioned if you want fast growth and increased breeding. I have been keeping roaches for many years and I always have plenty, sometimes, more than I need.