Starting A Dubia Colony

[ianedward1]

So I have ordered the first start of my dubia colony. I was waiting until I got a hold on everything before ordering a large amount. My first order was for 100+10% of 1-1.5 inch dubias ($33 shipped). I was wondering how long I should expect until roaches of this size would be at the size for breeding. I know that even at breeding size it can take a colony 2-3 months to start going so I don't expect to be able to feed out of it immediately. Just looking for some info as far as what I should expect of my starters.

 

[Augie]

First off congrats on making the plunge. Raising roaches is FUN. At least for me it is.

The sooner you have adults, the better! Keep two things in mind: 1. It will probably take them 1-3 months to reach adulthood, and 2. You don't know how many males and females you will get once they go through that "final" molt. So in reality it could take close to six months before you have an established colony, but that's taking into consideration you have a good male-to-female ratio. Males are typically more common than females, but you might get lucky.

I would highly recommend you buy some males and females to speed things up, unless you are comfortable being in it for the long term, supplementing your dragon's diet with crickets and what-not.

I can give you my personal take. I bought 12 males and 12 females from a reliable breeder, along with about 100 nymphs, but found that ratio terrible. In less than two weeks I had one dead female and three dead males (one was completely beheaded)! I found a local seller on Craigslist. I bought 26 females for $40. She even threw in a dozen or two mixed. Since then the colony is doing better, but after so many months, I am barely to the point I can feed off my colony. I still supplement it with crickets because Reggie still loves eating the live stuff so much.

I can't say it enough. If you want to get your colony off the ground, buy more females and males (at least 1:4 ratio is my recommendation). Otherwise you may find your dragon growing faster than your colony. The other option would be to buy like 1000 nymphs to see how long that lasts, and then go from there.

 

[ianedward1]

Well I just emailed the only person that I could find in the state of Georgia on craigslist about an order of 15 females, 5 males, and 50 large nymphs for about $20. Hopefully I will be able to get that. I figure if I start with all larges and a few adults then I will hit a breeding bubble sooner rather than buying 1000 small nymphs and feeding from them while waiting for them to mature.

 

[ianedward1]

Also my set up for the roaches is a 33 gallon sterilite container with 6 egg creates and a 10-20g zilla heating mat. Does this seem like it will be a sufficient set up?

 

[Augie]

Size-wise is more than enough. I would recommend making food and water crystal dishes using the tops of tubs and cutting little notches in them so the nymphs can crawl in. Keeps things a little cleaner. Fake butter and sour cream tubs are some examples.

If you have humidity issues you may want to consider putting a water bottle in with holes pricked in the top. However, my understanding with using a tank over a sterilite tub is its harder to maintain good temps. Someone with a little more experience raising roaches in tanks may be able to offer you better advice.

 

[milo0]

I purchased a colony off of craigslist that has about 300-400 adults but one thing I have to say is do a 3:1 female to male ratio. The people before didn't do that, so I had a bunch die for a couple of weeks, plus they never cleaned it so there was mold, algae.... it was horrible. So please, make sure the ratios are right and keep them pretty clean so you don't run into problems! I clean mine every 2 months with fresh egg crates and new bowls.
As far as breeding goes, it depends on your temperatures mainly. Mine have slowed down growing and breeding because I don't have a heat source for them. I usually kept them in my garage which got around 95 in the summer, so they did awesome then. If you're serious about breeding a lot of them, get a heat source for them, like a heat mat or heat tape. Don't use lights, they hate it. I just started using a human heat mat with no auto shut off on low setting for my babies and large nymphs (both halves of each cage are heated) and so far they seem to be enjoying it. The temps need to be around 95 and humidity needs to be 30- 50%, and make sure you have plenty of ventilation! I made that mistake and ran into a lot of problems- bad molts, smelly cage, mold, and the egg crates will turn soft and disgusting.
Expect to wait anywhere from 1-6 months before you see numbers to where you can easily feed them off, depending how much you're feeding off weekly, the temperatures, and the rate they're breeding. Just remember the colder they are, the slower they will breed and grow, so if you ever become overrun just take away the heat source and keep them in the mid 70's.

 

[ianedward1]

I just pulled a nymph out to feed to my dragon just because I didn't feel like going to buy more crickets and I got a bit of a shock at what I saw. At first I thought I had my first die off but then when I moved a bowl, I saw that was just a husk and there was a nice fat freshly molted male . Then as I shifted the crates to find a 1" size nymph, I notice these little tiny nymphs scattering. Only 1 week and I already have molting and birthing (the female had to come in prego)!

 

[Dragon Lady]

I just pulled a nymph out to feed to my dragon just because I didn't feel like going to buy more crickets and I got a bit of a shock at what I saw. At first I thought I had my first die off but then when I moved a bowl, I saw that was just a husk and there was a nice fat freshly molted male . Then as I shifted the crates to find a 1" size nymph, I notice these little tiny nymphs scattering. Only 1 week and I already have molting and birthing (the female had to come in prego)!

I would like to say congrats on the litter of roaches lol! And second I started my colony with 100 a few months ago (6 to be exact) and had 600 or more a few weeks ago. I traded half my colony for Bruce my brand new baby beardie! Roaches are awesome and can be a blessing in disguise!


*~*~*~ Love always bring difficulties, that is true, but the good side of it is that it gives energy ~*~*~*
-Vincent Van Gogh-

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

What are you feeding your Dubia

 

[ianedward1]

A chopped up blend of cat, dog, and tortoise food. As well as the same greens that I am feeding my beardie and tortoise. Occasionally I will cut an apple or orange in half and put it in as well

 

[Ozzie&Dino]

Thanks I tried the greens I am feeding Dino but they didn't touch it. They are eating dog kibble though and apple and oranges.

 

[ianedward1]

I just opened mine for the first time in a while and there are tons of huge roaches now. I need to clean it out and put them in a separate bin so that I can get an idea of the sex ratio that is going on right now. They seem to be chowing down on everything that I put in there so hopefully they will keep growing.

 

[Augie]

Thanks I tried the greens I am feeding Dino but they didn't touch it. They are eating dog kibble though and apple and oranges.

Hey bud you will find that they usually eat the veggies last, if they have other sweeter options like fruit, and more protein-rich options like dog food, along with water crystals for hydration. If you are wanting to gut-load them you should create a second feeder bin where you can control things more by strictly offering them fresh veggies that are good for your dragon. Trust me, your feeders will eat that and eat them well if that is their only option. My feeders are so fat with veggies sometimes they squirt out green juice when I move them to Reggie's cage.