# Dubia roaches not doing much ?



## jhzgto (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi Guys & Girls,

just wondering if anybody has experience of dubia breeding colonies ?

i have had my colony for a week now, started with 30 females 5 males, & added another 35 females & 5 males a couple of days ago. 

The original colony had various nymphs from tiny to half adult size.

i have lost one adult & 3 or 4 smaller ones which I expected.

The "problem" seems to be that they aren't doing much, just seem to be permanently hidden away in their egg crates ?? There is a tiny amount of frass around the feeding area but not much.

My setup is as follows:

medium size (about 26" x 13") rub with a 9"x 8" mesh in the top
heated from underneath, floor temp 29 - 33 degs
humidity showing 32%

I have vertically stacked my egg trays, 

Water crystals 
fresh bit of veg daily
piece of apple
crushed, moistened cat pellet food
fish flakes
small piece of bread

Anything ringing alarm bells with anybody ??

thanks

John


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## l morgan (Sep 5, 2011)

you only need veg 2 -3 times a week 

and your roach chow should be - meat meal , fish meal - oats 

or get it from roach hut , mine was the same until i got it from them , just had to give 1000's away 

ebay


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## jhzgto (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi, thanks for the quick reply.

i will get some roach chow from the roach hut, doesn't seem expensive & much easier than messing around trying to make something suitable.

Veg / fruit: do you put it in for a day, then remove it & leave them without if for a day or so ? or can it be left in for 2 days & then changed ?

I only have about 60 females, various smaller offspring & about 10 males, so don't suppose they will eat much !

All advice much appreciated, I keep watching roachhut videos but of course they are setup for much larger colonies.

john


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## antcherry88 (Mar 28, 2011)

They'll take months to become established. Keep them dark, warm and don't disturb them. Just put food in twice a week. Don't move the egg crates about or anything just let them get on with it. Check the crates in 8 weeks and you should see the numbers have increased.


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## popitgoes (Oct 24, 2010)

jhzgto said:


> Hi Guys & Girls,
> 
> just wondering if anybody has experience of dubia breeding colonies ?
> 
> ...


hi there 

try to keep your conoly at a 5.1 ratio (female.male) at most .
i keep 150 adult roaches to each 40 litre rub so 300 adults - 80litre rub and onwards.
i keep my roaches at a 28c at all time with my heat mat wrapped around the rub i find this best as it keeps the temps spot on all through the rub.


about feeding always have dry foods in the rub with the roaches at all times you can get quality roach chow from The Roach Hut or you can grind your own up i use

cat food alfalfa chicken layer pellets fish flakes oats sugar puffs, dry bannana special k digestive biscuits and much more

also only give them fruit and veg twice a week


hope this helps 

if you need anymore help feel free to PM me


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## jhzgto (Apr 24, 2012)

pop & ant

thanks for that  It sounds as if it's just a waiting game, patience ... Hoping it all works out in time, maybe I should have bought a big colony as a "going concern", more expense to start with but quicker to feed out of.

thanks again for the advice;-)


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

Dubia are slow to start - best to just leave them alone for a 3or 4 months apart from feeding and the colony will suddenly explode -


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## popitgoes (Oct 24, 2010)

jhzgto said:


> pop & ant
> 
> thanks for that  It sounds as if it's just a waiting game, patience ... Hoping it all works out in time, maybe I should have bought a big colony as a "going concern", more expense to start with but quicker to feed out of.
> 
> thanks again for the advice;-)


yep it is a waiting game the more you buy the better but i would leave for 6 months and take a look at how many you have and decide from that but the longer you can leave it the better it is as you will have shitloads more

what i would do if i was you is to buy some large nymphs about 100 of them it will be alot cheaper then 100 adults then in less then 6 months they will be adults and breeding 

if you want roaches that are quicker at breeding i would go for turks my colony of turks seem to grow so quicker and breed much more then dubia


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

The others are right.I bet if you look at them at night you will see them scurrying about.They are very nocturnal.


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## jhzgto (Apr 24, 2012)

More excellent advice thanks chaps  Not a bad idea about buying larger nymphs, would certainly give the colony a good foundation. 

No doubt I will be back with more newbie questions soon, doesn't matter how much research i do, sometimes I need to hear it from those that have done it - much appreciated.

john


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