# Recommend a heat mat for Dubia roaches



## mudskipper (Jan 4, 2015)

Hi could anyone please recommend a heat mat suitable for breeding Dubia cockroaches. I went to my local store tonight and they said a heat mat won't get as hot as 85 to 90 degrees. I have a plastic tub which came with the colony I just bought it measures 36cm long 30cm wide and 23cm deep. The shop sold me a 60W ceramic heater but I am not sure that is right


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## Jakenicholls (Dec 31, 2011)

I have only around 15-30 watt heat matt ( cant remember) and it heats up to around 45 degrees without a thermostat on it. for a small tub like that you should cover around a third to one half of the tub with the heat mat and set your thermostat to 30-32 degrees. I personally wouldn't recommend a ceramic or any bulb for that matter to provide heat for your roaches.


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## mudskipper (Jan 4, 2015)

Hello Jakenicholls
Thank you for replying. 
So the heat mat wrapped outside the tub, someone said put it inside. Another question, I was thinking of making a wooden crate/box and lining it with foil and them putting the tub inside. Do you think that would work or am I wasting my time. My spare room is quite cold and I wondered if making a wooden box would help keep the heat better


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## Jakenicholls (Dec 31, 2011)

mudskipper said:


> Hello Jakenicholls
> Thank you for replying.
> So the heat mat wrapped outside the tub, someone said put it inside. Another question, I was thinking of making a wooden crate/box and lining it with foil and them putting the tub inside. Do you think that would work or am I wasting my time. My spare room is quite cold and I wondered if making a wooden box would help keep the heat better


Personally I just keep the heat mat directly underneath the tub I have them in this way the heat radiates upwards so the heat isn't lost. Dependant on how cold the room is, the heat mat should keep them fine. I have 4 heat mats in the room I keep them in, 2 for my geckos and 2 for my roach tubs, and this keeps the room warm without having to put radiators on or anything like that.


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## mudskipper (Jan 4, 2015)

Hi Jakenicholls
I bought a 20w 17"x 11" mat and taped it to the bottom of my tub and then put it in a box made from foil faced insulation board, I have a temperature of over 85 degrees now. Last couple of days I have been checking for condensation but haven't had any. Thanks for you help Jakenicholls


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

mine are unheated, room is about 24C, reaches about 26C once all the reptile heating comes on; they breed like crazy...certainly they breed faster if they are hotter, but considering I have far more than I need to feed my Sav and Leo (and a few other lil geckos), i don't see the point, so i don't bother with extra heating


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## thoir (May 12, 2014)

I put a 15w matt under (on the outside) of a tub and tin foil under the matt. Heats one side of the tub good. Breeding well. The cool side of the tub is just for food and water.


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## Rosiebelle84 (Nov 10, 2016)

Hi all I've bought a plastic 80l tub for breeding roaches and a heat mat is it safe to tape it to the side of the plastic tub?


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## tazhearts (Jan 10, 2017)

We are getting a baby bearded dragon (still boiling the Viv) and I want to go down the route of keeping / breading Dubia Roaches. Just getting things set up before I buy a small colony online. 

Any idea how many I should be to be self sufficient? We will be getting our beard in about 4 weeks time.

I am having a bit of an issue getting my plastic Dubia Roach home the right temperature. I will be keeping them in my integrated garage so it's quite a bot colder then inside the house (I live in Scotland).

My large 35watt heat matt has just arrived but it doesn't seem to be getting the tub warm enough! That's before I have fitted any ventilation holes in the lid.


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## tazhearts (Jan 10, 2017)

My Dubia Tub


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## tazhearts (Jan 10, 2017)

Heat Matt


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## tazhearts (Jan 10, 2017)




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## Blackmelo (Jan 12, 2009)

your heatmat is very powerful however they are not designed to heat an entire garage.
What I would recommend is you go to B'n'Q or equivalent to get some polystyrene insulation boards. I get 120cm x 45cm which are 25 mm thick.
For a garage you could even get 5cm thick or get even thicker wall insulation boards.

Lets just put it like this. If you heat a tub without insulation the temp might go up by a degree, if you surround it in polystyrene you can achieve 30 degrees c with only a 10 watt heatmat. The better the insulation, the less heat is lost and a timer can be used to reduce the amount of heat generated and electricity used. Insulation will pay for itself in saved electricity

Since you want to add ventilation you just experiement how big of a gap/hole you need to achieve your desirable temperature but you will need to build a simple box with removable lid made out of polystyrene, held together by some glue like nonails from poundshop. 
Cutting polystyrene is a pain, a polystyrene cutter is best but a heated blade works (poorly lol)


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