# Dubia egg sac?



## anadalite (May 20, 2009)

Hi all 

was checking my roaches today and saw this (sorry for terrible pic) coming out of a roach 










Is this an eggsac? 

if so, how long till it hatches? as im fed up with paying for my livefood now ¬¬

thanks all


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

They're livebearers, so it's not an eggsack.

Mind you, I'm not sure what it actually is, a few of mine have had strange White things coming out of them, I always thought it was a nymph emerging?

EDIT: The colony takes a while to establish but once it does, you'll be overun with them!


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## big stu (Oct 19, 2007)

yep looks like an egg sac (or oothecae as people call them) the female "hangs them out to dry" and then takes them back in, they hatch after about 30 days if my memory serves me correct,


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

big stu said:


> yep looks like an egg sac (or oothecae as people call them) the female "hangs them out to dry" and then takes them back in, they hatch after about 30 days if my memory serves me correct,


Is that where the livebearer bit comes from then, i.e they hatch internally and are "born" when they're a certain size?


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## rockkeeper (Apr 5, 2007)

like this


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## big stu (Oct 19, 2007)

Corsetts said:


> Is that where the livebearer bit comes from then, i.e they hatch internally and are "born" when they're a certain size?


yep : victory:


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

Thanks, now I know :lol2:

Sorry for my misinformation above :blush:


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## anadalite (May 20, 2009)

thats awesome guys, thanks a lot and yes just like the clearer pic posted there. my roaches are breeeding!!!1  

Its just that my beardies are eating locusts atm and you dont get a lot per pound ¬¬ so they are costing me a fortune atm just want the roaches to breed so i can feed off some of the adults knowing that there are babies hatched and growing  

I started with a colony of 10 male adults, 50 females, 50 mediums and 50 smalls so do you guys think itd be ok to start farming off some of the adults once a few clutches of eggs have hatched? as id hate for them to die rather than be fed to beardie


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

Personally, I wouldn't do that.
I made that mistake when I first started and nearly wiped out my colony.
If you wait until the babies themselves are breeding then your colony will be more easily substained.
Those adults will carry on breeding so the longer you leave it, the better it will be.


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## big stu (Oct 19, 2007)

Corsetts said:


> Personally, I wouldn't do that.
> I made that mistake when I first started and nearly wiped out my colony.
> If you wait until the babies themselves are breeding then your colony will be more easily substained.
> Those adults will carry on breeding so the longer you leave it, the better it will be.


totally agree with the above  i got a colony of 42 females and 14 males at the moment, (although im adding to that) gonna leave them untill there offspring mature and start breeding themselves before i even think about feeding off. the only ones id feed of are the adult males although you need to keep a ratio of around 1:3 so i cant do that


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## anadalite (May 20, 2009)

ok guys I will do that  

thanks you for your help and replies, I may order a bunch of them just for feeding then, as im sure it still works out cheaper than locusts ¬¬

Do you guys thinks itd be worth taking a few male and female adults out after the first few clutches are born to start a second colony?


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## big stu (Oct 19, 2007)

anadalite said:


> ok guys I will do that
> 
> thanks you for your help and replies, I may order a bunch of them just for feeding then, as im sure it still works out cheaper than locusts ¬¬
> 
> Do you guys thinks itd be worth taking a few male and female adults out after the first few clutches are born to start a second colony?


not entirely sure on starting a second colony, surely keeping as many together encourages more breeding as they come into contact abit more often, saying that once my colony is reproducing and its huge i will also be splitting them up.


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

The breed better and faster in one big colony, seperating any out will just give you two very slow colonies! 

I agree with the others, I wouldn't consider using any as food yet, just be patient


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

I tried splitting mine into two about a Year ago.

I figured, same amount of 'roaches spread over more room = more 'roaches :no1:

Not so :lol2:


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

You could feed them the males only. As long as you always have two or three you should be ok.
Keep the colony together, the more crowded (without getting, damp mouldy conditions) the better. Also they breed better when kept in darkness.


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## benjo (Oct 31, 2007)

yeah i agree, one big coloney, i started with 4 males and around 70 females.. now have loads of babies


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## imginy (Jun 14, 2009)

Yes it might be worth starting a second colony of turkistan roaches they breed a lot faster dubs take for eva


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## anadalite (May 20, 2009)

also, how often do you guys clean your roaches out? mine are getting quite a layer of poo now and im wondering if they need cleaning out or if its an aesthetic thing?


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## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

The frass (layer of poo etc) will eventually cause build up of humidity and/or mould and start killing roaches.

How often you clean it out really depends on how dense your colony is and how big the tub is, my largest colony has reached the stage where males are constantly making sustained flights to try and escape overcrowing!  At this ridiculous density I'm cleaning mine out every two months...! So for the average colony every six months will do unless you mess up with the food and get any humidity at the bottom.


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## i.am.idc (Nov 29, 2009)

I have false deaths heads and some other type of cockroach (small sold as feeder cockroaches, can take pic on request) they seem to be taking forever to breed. They eat a ton and seem happy enough. I keep them in a clear plastic Faunarium and it is not very dark. They are out during the night. Will they breed more if I keep them in a dark container or in a dark place?


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

I don't know mate. I've only ever kept Dubias and they're in darkness 24/7. They certainly breed quickly when they get going!

I had a big thin-out maybe 3 months ago and removed a load more a month or so ago.
I reckon they've probably increased in numbers by 5 times (very rough guesstimate) even since then.

HTH


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## splimmy (Feb 13, 2009)

yep I would suggest to keep them in the dark and very warm. They will then eat and breed more


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