# Roach colony



## tonyb12 (Jun 19, 2012)

Search keeps messing up on my phone and im sure this would of been asked before but here it goes.

Just acquired 100 mixed roaches from a roach colony. Im looking to start my own but im reading totally different things. Whats the best setup to make them thrive?

The colony is only for one 3 year old beardie


----------



## Emma30 (Apr 18, 2008)

Well ive been keeping mine in an 80ltr rub, heat mat on the bottom on the outside, on a stat set at around 30c, egg crates stacked up i use pva glue to stack mine together so they dont fall and crush the roaches. Food on the top of the crates on icecream tub lids, one with roach chow and one with fresh fruit and veg, this has been working for me :2thumb:


----------



## tonyb12 (Jun 19, 2012)

Emma30 said:


> Well ive been keeping mine in an 80ltr rub, heat mat on the bottom on the outside, on a stat set at around 30c, egg crates stacked up i use pva glue to stack mine together so they dont fall and crush the roaches. Food on the top of the crates on icecream tub lids, one with roach chow and one with fresh fruit and veg, this has been working for me :2thumb:


How many egg crates do you use? Also do they fill the whole rub?

Ive got cricket water that i got advised to use and change every 2 days and i will be gut loading fresh veg.

What holes do you have in the rub?


----------



## Emma30 (Apr 18, 2008)

Yeah i fill the rub with crates, i get mine from ebay around 100 for £9.99 posted they last me quite awhile. I dont use water crystals but thats just me personally. I have mesh on one half of the lid and lots of drilled holes on the other side :2thumb:


----------



## ChelsNLuke (Jun 23, 2012)

Emma30 said:


> Yeah i fill the rub with crates, i get mine from ebay around 100 for £9.99 posted they last me quite awhile. I dont use water crystals but thats just me personally. I have mesh on one half of the lid and lots of drilled holes on the other side :2thumb:


Could you post a pic? Sorry to hijack the thread 

-Luke


----------



## Emma30 (Apr 18, 2008)

ChelsNLuke said:


> Could you post a pic? Sorry to hijack the thread
> 
> -Luke


Yeah will do, a little later on tho :2thumb:


----------



## Emma30 (Apr 18, 2008)

Just took some now so here ya go :2thumb:





































I glue around 5/6 crates in 2/3 separate pieces so its easier to clean out or take some out, also when i need to put the crate back in i tip the tub on one side with the remaining crate/s so all the roaches slide down the side and then I can put my crate back in without squashing any : victory:


----------



## jb1962 (Sep 21, 2009)

I've been breeding for just over two years and I don't use bug gell.
I spray pre-bowled water and keep them at 82f plus.
I feed em most things..But Not banana.


----------



## jb1962 (Sep 21, 2009)

Emma30 said:


> Just took some now so here ya go :2thumb:
> 
> image
> 
> ...


You would do much better with a total black container..they hate light and love it dark and hot.


----------



## Emma30 (Apr 18, 2008)

jb1962 said:


> You would do much better with a total black container..they hate light and love it dark and hot.


They breed like mad for me so im happy lol

They live in my attic rep room so no lights on at night anyway : victory:

Might give it as go tho and see what happens!!


----------



## simon31uk (Jan 6, 2012)

yeah get some black insulation tape and cover the sides theyll breed alot more
i wrap big dark towels round mine and just remove to feed and put back


----------



## tonyb12 (Jun 19, 2012)

Weres the best place to get egg cartons? I can only find half dozen egg cartons on ebay but think i will need dozen ones


----------



## stecal (Aug 11, 2011)

tonyb12 said:


> Weres the best place to get egg cartons? I can only find half dozen egg cartons on ebay but think i will need dozen ones


hi here you go
egg trays in Poultry/ Hatching/ Incubation | eBay


----------



## tonyb12 (Jun 19, 2012)

stecal said:


> hi here you go
> egg trays in Poultry/ Hatching/ Incubation | eBay


Cheers mate exactly what i needed! So getting them ordered, got a 80l rub, heat mat, mat stat, lids for feeding. Can i also get mesh for the lid on ebay?


----------



## stecal (Aug 11, 2011)

tonyb12 said:


> Cheers mate exactly what i needed! So getting them ordered, got a 80l rub, heat mat, mat stat, lids for feeding. Can i also get mesh for the lid on ebay?


maybe this will do? not used it myself though

Fine Mesh Netting for praying mantis stick insects spider inverts fruitfly | eBay


----------



## tonydavo (Mar 10, 2008)

My set up for Dubia roaches is almost identical to Emma's but my rub is black. No water for mine, they get a bag of mixed salad once a week, cat biscuits, bran flakes and fish flake. I have a heat mat covering about 2/3 of the base.
Best place for mesh in my view is Halfords, they have car body repair mesh for about £1.99 its about 12" x 9" and work really well.


----------



## marijan2 (Mar 2, 2013)

My setup is like this:










so there is water bowl with mesh on(so they can walk over it, didn't got a single drownie in several months) to raise humidity inside. few eggcrates. dog/cat food on bottom all over and fruit every few days(they like banana best, apples, oranges and other fruit do work too, only thing they won't eat is kiwi). you need to keep eye on humidity, you'll have better ootheca realisation that way, if you don't put water inside definetly put water crystals or give watery fruit every day, like oranges!

40x30x30 box is fine for ~500-750 roaches, no need to give excess space for them, it's practically a waste. for smaller colonies(<200) it's completely safe to go with 20x20x20 variant


----------



## tonyb12 (Jun 19, 2012)

marijan2 said:


> My setup is like this: image
> 
> 
> so there is water bowl with mesh on(so they can walk over it, didn't got a single drownie in several months) to raise humidity inside. few eggcrates. dog/cat food on bottom all over and fruit every few days(they like banana best, apples, oranges and other fruit do work too, only thing they won't eat is kiwi). you need to keep eye on humidity, you'll have better ootheca realisation that way, if you don't put water inside definetly put water crystals or give watery fruit every day, like oranges!
> ...


Thank you mate that is great help!!! I was going to use a bottle with water in with a few holes in the lid for humidity. I have these blue water crystals, am i best scrapping them?


----------



## marijan2 (Mar 2, 2013)

tonyb12 said:


> Thank you mate that is great help!!! I was going to use a bottle with water in with a few holes in the lid for humidity. I have these blue water crystals, am i best scrapping them?


if you already have crystals use them, they are still good  i, despite having water bowl inside i still mist them once a day on all sides so they can drink if they want(and they usually do)


----------



## tonyb12 (Jun 19, 2012)

marijan2 said:


> if you already have crystals use them, they are still good  i, despite having water bowl inside i still mist them once a day on all sides so they can drink if they want(and they usually do)


Ah ill stick with them. Is there a ratio i should stick to of how many males and females are in there? I have 100 roaches ready to go in or can i put them all in? After that im guessing its just leave for 6 months and change food daily?


----------



## marijan2 (Mar 2, 2013)

tonyb12 said:


> Ah ill stick with them. Is there a ratio i should stick to of how many males and females are in there? I have 100 roaches ready to go in or can i put them all in? After that im guessing its just leave for 6 months and change food daily?


just keep them all together, there shouldn't be problems. ratio of 1 male on 5 females is enough. take note that, when female gets gravid once she will be fertile for life and there is no need for another pairing. 

for food you can basically put ~200 grams of dry food inside and they will have it for months. keeping them well fed and warm(30-32°C) all the time is key of good reproduction rate. fruit/veggies are enough once in few days. for example i put half an apple inside, wait until they eat it, and 2 days after repeat the process


----------



## arussell87 (Jan 14, 2010)

I keep mine in my reptile rack in a rub obviously heat mat on the back end.

No lid as they cant climb up the plastic,

Feed them lots of veg and have a bowl with H2o balls.

Lots off egg crates

They do fine only found 2 dead ones in last 3 months.

Im not saying its the best way but more of a simple way.

Lets be honest they say If there was a nuclear war roaches would survive lol.


----------

