# Is my roach colony too humid?



## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

Hi guys,

I keep my Dubia Roaches in the basement where it can get damp. You can't see any dampness on the walls etc, but if you leave things down there, they get damp.

I have noticed little droplets of water at the top of my RUB where the lid goes on, the food mixture is damp now also.

Found one medium size roach dead just now and it was very wet. I have only had the roaches a few weeks, so I see no sign of breeding yet.

Any ideas?

Thank you.

Ps. Where do you take your temperature from to ensure it is at 30c or so? I have a heat mat at the bottom of the RUB and a small one of the side. Should I take a reading from the plastic at the bottom of the RUB or the air temp anywhere in side?

If it is anywhere inside the RUB, it is getting nowhere near breeding temp.


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## madavies65 (Jan 21, 2009)

Hey there,

Sounds like you need to get some ventilation int the tub... Once the water gets into the food, mold will get in and start killing your little fellas.Also try and make sure your temps are optimum to try and dry it out also.


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## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

Dam.

Better change the food out then. It has ventilation, quite a big meshed hole compared to the RUB to be honest.

May not be getting warm enough. Would the heat pads be best under the RUB or taped to the side? Maybe I could tape it inside the RUB?


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## imginy (Jun 14, 2009)

Once the damp sets in it's quite hard to get rid of........

You will either have to clean them out and start again or leave the lid off for a couple of days. As they have started dying I think it be best to have clean out and start fresh and have some bigger ventilation holes.

I think it's best to have heat mat on the inside wall then you can have some nice big ventilation in the top and still have hot spots for the roaches.


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## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

Didnt have time to do much last night. I have give the inside a wipe and changed the food out.

I also put the heat mats inside of the RUB. It was damp under the RUB due to them being kept in the basement as the heat mat did not appear to be working suffiently.

I'll check on the again tonight and if it is not drying out I'll have to start over.

If I get the temps up, will it keep the dampness out even though the nature of my basement is damp?

Oh and here is a picture of my ventiliation hole, not big enough?


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## madavies65 (Jan 21, 2009)

Changing the food as said above is a good idea and great that you have already done that 

Also change the egg cartons and dry out as best you can before placing them back in.

Heat mat on the side will be fine, and if the temps are not getting 29C in the hot side insulate a little bit. 

If your basement is normally damp however you will probably struggle in the colder months. A neat tip is to fill up a bowl with dry aqua crystals and they will absorb excess moisture too.

Your mesh seems a little too compact.. you may need to get some mesh with larger holes in it, the size of the area seems fine though.


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## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

madavies65 said:


> Changing the food as said above is a good idea and great that you have already done that
> 
> Also change the egg cartons and dry out as best you can before placing them back in.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your help.


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## madavies65 (Jan 21, 2009)

So long as they dont feel damp the cartons will be ok, they should be rigid when you lift them around.

I have my probe on the inside of the tub, about 1cm away from the heat source, but your way should be fine too.

Give the crystals a shot, you may notice the difference given time.

With the mesh, if the aim is just to make sure there was enough fresh air in the tub to keep your roaches breathing then this fine mesh would be ok, though to get more of an unimpeded air flow through to keep your guys dry, you need wider mesh. There are a few DIY places out there that have the mesh in the size you need, 

Your welcome:welcome: - Try cutting out the wet food for a few days too.


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## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

Cool, I'll give this a shot and see how it goes.

Thanks again.


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## ojo (Jun 8, 2011)

Go to dobbies and get theire mesh, 2.99 a metre ands its perfect


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## The Roach Hut (Mar 29, 2008)

take a look at my site link below. there are pleny of videos showing u how to set up your tubs to prevent this


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## GeeUK (May 2, 2011)

Where specifically?

Looked at your video's, shows how to set up etc but not specifically how to prevent?

Got a question BTW, how often should I be seeing deaths occur? Had the colony maybe a month or a little over and taken out about 5 dead....?


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## The Roach Hut (Mar 29, 2008)

i got a very sorw mouth atm and can hardly talk, give it a day or two to make it better and il make a vid about just that. in mean time change ur cards and clean ur tub out completely.

tony


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