# Dubai Roaches.



## Reptilover (Jan 15, 2007)

Ordered a small coloney of Roaches from a member on here. :2thumb:

I wanted to know wether i had everything set up correctly.

64lt Realy Usefull Box with airhole.
On top of a Vivarium which gives off heat from the top heating the box.
Lots of egg box's and tubes, but some of egg box's are like a plasticy type thing.
No substrate.
Feeding bowl and vedge bowl/plate for convenience. Vedge will be in water before feeding, will this give them the needed water?
Feeding on hamster food, seeds, any other bits of crap from left overs or whatever. 

Can they eat meat? Like leftover chicken, beef whatever?
Fruit? 
Sweet stuff?

Also do they smell like you know, like crickets?

Thanks for your help :notworthy:


----------



## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

The tub is huge for a colony of roaches - how many have you got = a tub that size would comfortably house thousands

everything sounds good - dont feed meat - yes fruit and veg - i also feed dried ferret food,

no they dont smell

in terms of temp they like it pretty warm but if you get the temps right they breed well


----------



## Tom_b (Sep 23, 2008)

sharpstrain said:


> The tub is huge for a colony of roaches - how many have you got = a tub that size would comfortably house thousands
> 
> everything sounds good - dont feed meat - yes fruit and veg - i also feed dried ferret food,
> 
> ...


Why no meat? I have kept roaches before the current colonies i have and have fed meat before without problem infact i believe it made for larger healthier roaches with the odd chicken carcase in there.


----------



## NXSmiggy (Oct 29, 2008)

thing is raw meat = more protien = more protien for roaches but more importantly more protien for bacterium + mould. i would surgest a veg diet with fish food and cat/dog/ferret biscuits for extra protien.


----------



## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Don't use raw meat but cooked meat (like Tom said) is fine. If you have a large enough colony all you will have next morning is bones.


----------



## Reptilover (Jan 15, 2007)

Thanks for the advice. With the size of tub been so large will be hurt them in any way? Like make them stressed or anything? Theres lots of tubes and egg box's and stuff in there for them.

What tempreture am i looking to achieve?


----------



## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Minimum 70F/21C maximum 80F/27C.
Cooked meats are fine to feed infact they are used much like maggots in that they are used to strip meat off of bones as since they are so clean still allow for DNA/bonemarrow to be taken from the bones.


----------



## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Heat the tub like you would if it contained a reptile. Provide a temp gradient, either with a heat mat (stat not required) or place on top of warm viv. To get best results i.e reproducing & growing fast they like to be warm. Hot end 90f+ cool end 70/80f. Provide plenty of fresh fruit & veg, biscuits, brown bread, cooked chicken etc. I feed mine every evening.


----------



## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Meant to add your size tub will be fine, as long as they have plenty of cover.


----------



## Reptilover (Jan 15, 2007)

Thankyou very much for your help guy, iv got pretty much everything set up


----------



## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

johne.ev said:


> Meant to add your size tub will be fine, as long as they have plenty of cover.




I forgot to add that aswell lol. You cant really get a "too big" tub. Your only restricted by what you can fit into the room.


----------



## edgar1981 (Nov 6, 2007)

my small colony turned up today too, all look massive and healthy, thanks to todds_out! 

i'm planning on using one of those shallow tubs on wheels, the ones that are meant to slide underneath beds. i'm guessing roaches don't need much depth?


----------



## loogielv (Dec 7, 2008)

edgar1981 said:


> my small colony turned up today too, all look massive and healthy, thanks to todds_out!
> 
> i'm planning on using one of those shallow tubs on wheels, the ones that are meant to slide underneath beds. i'm guessing roaches don't need much depth?


i just got a b dubia colony today (for free) and while i'm curious and trying to do research for them, the first thing that came to mind in your situation is whether your "motel" (egg crates, cork board, whatever) where they stay hidden inside their little home is high enough to allow them to get close to the lid, which will *ALWAYS* equal escapees. just a thought from someone that has never kept em before. All i know is if my wife find a single roach, i'm a dead man


----------



## edgar1981 (Nov 6, 2007)

they're alright i think, it's about 8 inches deep so they can't get too near the lid. the highest point of the egg boxes is right in the middle of the tub anyway, so they're nowhere near the edge even if they do climb up there.


----------



## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

edgar1981 said:


> they're alright i think, it's about 8 inches deep so they can't get too near the lid. the highest point of the egg boxes is right in the middle of the tub anyway, so they're nowhere near the edge even if they do climb up there.


Its simple. Put the eggcrates in the middle of the box so they cant climb onto it then over the sides. They are very poor climbers and cant climb smooth plastic and will only just climb textured plastic for a little while before they fall of because of the the weight.


----------



## Grayspoon (Nov 6, 2008)

Hmm I jsut stumbled upon this thread and subject... These dubai roach colonies... are they just self sufficient (minus foor and water) live food?? Im spending 15 quid a week on hoppers for my beardie at the moment... If Im right does anyone know where I can get a colony?


----------



## loogielv (Dec 7, 2008)

Grayspoon said:


> Hmm I jsut stumbled upon this thread and subject... These dubai roach colonies... are they just self sufficient (minus foor and water) live food?? Im spending 15 quid a week on hoppers for my beardie at the moment... If Im right does anyone know where I can get a colony?


yup, self sustaining for the most part. keep em warm, keep em humid, keep em fed and some some water crystals available and they should reproduce. 

Mine I've only had for a few days, but it's almost an established colony. The lady I got mine from seriously neglected them, but had them for about 4 months, so i've got a few dozen adults and many large nymphs about to go mature. There's also some new babies, so i think i'm gonna be ok.

Do alot of research on them, and you'll see that they're the perfect starter for breeding your own feeders. Alot of people have more advanced colonies of roaches as feeders, but are also more advanced at keeping them and dont mind an occasional escapee. Most need vaseline at the top of the bin to keep them from climbing out. 

Blaptica Dubia cannot climb smooth plastic, can't fly, don't smell, make NO noise and have more meat to shell ratio than crickets. It's easy to tell the males from the females, so you can keep a perfectly balanced colony for breeding (about 1 male to 4 females seems optimal. any more males and females stress and have less babies. go figure). 

Do alot of research and check the food/feeder forum of every reptile, amphibean and insect forum you can find. You'll see lots of setups and learn quickly that a small bin of roaches vastly outweighs anything you could get from crickets. Especially when you have to buy them weekly. And we all know, if you're buying crickets weekly, you're not feeding your beloved beardie enough anyway. So to truly keep them happy and healthy, you need to be buying new hoppers AT LEAST twice a week, and that adds up really REALLY fast


----------



## Grayspoon (Nov 6, 2008)

Hey thanks for the advice, I shall do a bit of readin up.. Still need somewhere to buy the colony if anyone knows?

... Just to re-assure people we buy our hoppers in bulk bags of 100 and keep them fed so they are fresh for our beardie all week plus greens


----------



## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Best way to keep/breed them is in a large & deep (18") plastic tub. You can also use black plastic dustbins. They are best kept with no lid on, as a build up of moisture can result in tiny black flies (i even had tiny maggots) in my tubs when i used lids. Too much humidity will also kill them. And lids can lead to odours. If the sides are smooth you will have no trouble with Dubia escaping.


----------



## loogielv (Dec 7, 2008)

johne.ev said:


> Best way to keep/breed them is in a large & deep (18") plastic tub. You can also use black plastic dustbins. They are best kept with no lid on, as a build up of moisture can result in tiny black flies (i even had tiny maggots) in my tubs when i used lids. Too much humidity will also kill them. And lids can lead to odours. If the sides are smooth you will have no trouble with Dubia escaping.


i really disagree here. there's no reason to not have a lid with some holes poked/drilled into it. good air exchange but also good humidity


----------



## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Fair enough. How long you been breeding them?


----------



## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

loogielv said:


> i really disagree here. there's no reason to not have a lid with some holes poked/drilled into it. good air exchange but also good humidity


In a way your both right really, its just a matter of where you keep your rocahes, in what, what they are fed, what heating they have, what the humidity is in the room etc. But roaches do well with 50%-80% humidity but at 80% you may find it stinks and mould grows easily, so if you have a high humidity room then they will do well with the lid off, but if they are kept in say, a garage then they are best with a lid on, same as if you have a very deep bin you keep them in then humidity should be fine wherever they are, but in a shallow, well ventilated bin/tub/box they should have the lid on, if you use a heat mat then you will probably need the lid on, if you have a heat lamp then you should be fine with the lid off as long as they have a water bowl or crystals. If they are fed foods such as cucumber, iceberg lettuce etc then humidity will be kept high with the heat so you will do ok with the lid off usually but if you feed things like dog food, carrots etc then humidity wont be very high so lid is best on (keeping in mind if you do use dog food then keep to the 50%-60% humidity to slow down the process of mold growing)
Anyway, they turned into a post longer then I had first thought lol.

ETA: as a side note, you are best off with "vents" made on both sides of the bin, as opposed to the lid as it allows proper ventilation.


----------



## loogielv (Dec 7, 2008)

LoveForLizards said:


> In a way your both right really, its just a matter of where you keep your rocahes, in what, what they are fed, what heating they have, what the humidity is in the room etc. But roaches do well with 50%-80% humidity but at 80% you may find it stinks and mould grows easily, so if you have a high humidity room then they will do well with the lid off, but if they are kept in say, a garage then they are best with a lid on, same as if you have a very deep bin you keep them in then humidity should be fine wherever they are, but in a shallow, well ventilated bin/tub/box they should have the lid on, if you use a heat mat then you will probably need the lid on, if you have a heat lamp then you should be fine with the lid off as long as they have a water bowl or crystals. If they are fed foods such as cucumber, iceberg lettuce etc then humidity will be kept high with the heat so you will do ok with the lid off usually but if you feed things like dog food, carrots etc then humidity wont be very high so lid is best on (keeping in mind if you do use dog food then keep to the 50%-60% humidity to slow down the process of mold growing)
> Anyway, they turned into a post longer then I had first thought lol.
> 
> ETA: as a side note, you are best off with "vents" made on both sides of the bin, as opposed to the lid as it allows proper ventilation.


really informative and well put. Thanks!


----------



## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

loogielv said:


> i really disagree here. there's no reason to not have a lid with some holes poked/drilled into it. good air exchange but also good humidity


Lidless is definitely the way to go  A few rounds of mould, flies and stinky sweaty roaches will soon change your mind :whistling2:
Dubia's can thrive at as little as 40% relative humidity.

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feeder/233213-livefoods-careguides.html


----------



## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Saedcantas said:


> Lidless is definitely the way to go  A few rounds of mould, flies and stinky sweaty roaches will soon change your mind :whistling2:
> *Dubia's can thrive at as little as 40% relative humidity.*
> 
> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feeder/233213-livefoods-careguides.html


Would have put that in but have heard of alot of people having trouble with moulting, but then again too high humidity can also cause problems with moulting lol.


----------



## loogielv (Dec 7, 2008)

so the safest humidity is in the 70% range I'd imagine?

edit: that is to mean safest range to allow for the health of the roaches, allow for breeding, and also keep other issues to a minimum?


----------



## Tehanu (Nov 12, 2006)

loogielv said:


> so the safest humidity is in the 70% range I'd imagine?
> 
> edit: that is to mean safest range to allow for the health of the roaches, allow for breeding, and also keep other issues to a minimum?


No.
50% is enough. I've run a number of colonies at this humidity with no additional water (no gel etc, just fresh foods) for two years, I "inherited" them so they were running a number of years before that too.

Humidity for shedding isn't really critical in _B. dubia_, Friedrich and Werner recommend 30-40% in their book.

You would be better advised to keep them at as low humidity as possible and watch for issues, if you start to see shedding problems then address it, but if you can get away with minimal humidity it would be better for your roaches maintanence all round.

Lotte***

P.S: Don't forget there will be at least areas of local higher humidity around fresh foods, roaches are more than happy to shed on the egg carton underneath a slice of apple or otherwise 

Did you have a look through my careguide yet?


----------



## loogielv (Dec 7, 2008)

Saedcantas said:


> No.
> 50% is enough. I've run a number of colonies at this humidity with no additional water (no gel etc, just fresh foods) for two years, I "inherited" them so they were running a number of years before that too.
> 
> Humidity for shedding isn't really critical in _B. dubia_, Friedrich and Werner recommend 30-40% in their book.
> ...


great tips. I'll get the humidity lowered asap. I'd much rather keep it down than up. However i'm concerned for all the people saying they can't breed except in tropical conditions. 50% is hardly tropical. Hell, we have that out in the desert 8 months a year









is your guide the one at the top of this forum? i read through that one, and many others. Wasn't able to find anything concrete, just dated information in general and severl people contradicting each other but keeping with a few very basic guidelines. 
I shouldn't complicate things. They're roaches. They breed like roaches and they eat like roaches. We seem them outside eating everything from dead birds to manure, to hamburgers and french fries (hot chips if not American









edit: that is to say wasn't able to find anything concrete throughout ALL my research through the web. not in your guide. it was very informative and helpful.


----------



## Reptilover (Jan 15, 2007)

loogielv said:


> french fries (hot chips if not American


There just "Chips" :no1:


----------

