Dubia roach breeding question.

[Allthingsterrarium]

Hey guys! I know dubias multiply like well...cockroaches (we like to tell ourselves their not cockroaches when they totally are, who are we fooling?) Anyway I know they don't need much help but still I want to make sure my breeding operation is successful. I got a clear plastic tote bin from Walmart and I filled the bottom with some tropical fish and goldfish flakes to act as both their food and their substrate (don't worry, I'm going to give them lots of fruit and veggies in there too.) I also put in some empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls in there plus a container lid for them to hide in and I'll add more hiding places as I go along. I'm just giving them those cricket quencher water crystals that compared to crickets should take them forever to get through so that's a good thing. I put a couple dubia roaches from my feeding bin in there to start out but I'm going to buy lots of them, lots and lots and lots of them and throw them in there. It's in a shadowy corner of the room because I know they like it a little dark but it's a clear bin and the room gets normal light levels as I turn out the lights at night. I'm aware they are ridiculously easy to breed (some may have possibly already multiplied and they aren't even full adults yet.) I know about the 2-4 female to 1 male ratio produces the best results but aside from that I'm just going to throw them all in there, give most of the males to my other animals and aside from checking on the food and water just leave them alone for a while. That's my plan. Is there anything special I need to do? Due to the space heater the room is usually about 68-76 degrees.

 

[Hdrydr31]

This is what I do: I have 30 gal clear bins but I covered them in dark paper as they do not like light, they do best in the dark. I use egg flats set in the ends so the poop (fras) falls to the bottom to feed the nymphs and also used for cover for them, this is their substrate you let that accumulate until it gets about 2-3" then you remove some leaving a min of 1" as the nymphs eat the fras. I have a lid for the water crystals, a lid for fresh oranges, a lid with a roach chow I make (fish food, guinea pig food, chicken feed, oats, corn meal and a few other things I can't think of) I keep a 3:1 ratio, I have heat lamps on them and their temp is 78-80F with humidity of about 25-30%. What I do is I have my breeder bin that's my original colony, then I have my feeder bins where I put all the nymphs and any extras that I pull from the colony.
Key things they need to produce: dark, heat, humidity (so they can shed/molt) oranges (they LOVE them and is a fruit that get's them going if you get my meaning)
I am knee deep in roaches lol so to manage how fast they produce you lower the temps, feed off a few adult females.

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

This is what I do: I have 30 gal clear bins but I covered them in dark paper as they do not like light, they do best in the dark. I use egg flats set in the ends so the poop (fras) falls to the bottom to feed the nymphs and also used for cover for them, this is their substrate you let that accumulate until it gets about 2-3" then you remove some leaving a min of 1" as the nymphs eat the fras. I have a lid for the water crystals, a lid for fresh oranges, a lid with a roach chow I make (fish food, guinea pig food, chicken feed, oats, corn meal and a few other things I can't think of) I keep a 3:1 ratio, I have heat lamps on them and their temp is 78-80F with humidity of about 25-30%. What I do is I have my breeder bin that's my original colony, then I have my feeder bins where I put all the nymphs and any extras that I pull from the colony.
Key things they need to produce: dark, heat, humidity (so they can shed/molt) oranges (they LOVE them and is a fruit that get's them going if you get my meaning)
I am knee deep in roaches lol so to manage how fast they produce you lower the temps, feed off a few adult females.

Alright! Are heat lamps 100% necessary? Because it's a pretty shallow bin I'm using. I just measured it and i'ts roughly 20 inches long x 15 inches wide by 6 inches deep. I feel like the heat lamps will roast them alive or possibly melt the plastic. Speaking of which how do you keep it dark and humid for them?

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

Alright! Are heat lamps 100% necessary? Because it's a pretty shallow bin I'm using. I just measured it and i'ts roughly 20 inches long x 15 inches wide by 6 inches deep. I feel like the heat lamps will roast them alive or possibly melt the plastic. Speaking of which how do you keep it dark and humid for them?

Oh! I didn't see the part about dark paper at first. But as for humidity do you mist them?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Alright! Are heat lamps 100% necessary? Because it's a pretty shallow bin I'm using. I just measured it and i'ts roughly 20 inches long x 15 inches wide by 6 inches deep. I feel like the heat lamps will roast them alive or possibly melt the plastic. Speaking of which how do you keep it dark and humid for them?

As long as your temps are around 80F you should be just fine getting them to produce.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Oh! I didn't see the part about dark paper at first. But as for humidity do you mist them?

No I don't mist them as that can lead to mold which will destroy your colony... what I do is in the water crystal lid I make sure I add a bit more water to them, and in a corner outside of the bins I have a cup of water...You could put a tall glass (so they don't crawl up and drown) of water inside your tub.

 

[Allthingsterrarium]

No I don't mist them as that can lead to mold which will destroy your colony... what I do is in the water crystal lid I make sure I add a bit more water to them, and in a corner outside of the bins I have a cup of water...You could put a tall glass (so they don't crawl up and drown) of water inside your tub.

Excellent idea! Thanks! As for darkness I can actually put them in the dim cabinet under the dragon tank.

 

[Tony McAhren]

6" deep is awfully shallow. They love the egg rates set up vertically in a larger tub.

 

[Hdrydr31]

6" deep is awfully shallow. They love the egg rates set up vertically in a larger tub.

I do have to agree on this one, while if you only have the small nymphs up to dime size they will tol that but when they get bigger and if your going to raise them they will get up to 2" in length and will have to have more room. They will start climbing on eachother and will get out of your tub, hang out on the top of your lid and when you go to open they scatter and well your chasing down roaches