# Dubia Temps & Food



## jhzgto (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi All,

My dubia colony seems to be doing pretty well now, they are VERY active & eating extremely well, but they don't seem to be "following the plan" !

They are housed in the usual RUB with vertical egg crates.

The rub is in a steel "locker type cabinet which it stat heated to 30 degrees

Pitch dark at all times other than feeding time

i also have a heat mat wrapped around the rub which is stat controlled.

Digi temp sensor right in the middle of the egg cartons shows 40 degrees

If i turn the heatmat off it is around 30-35 on the temp readout & they dont seem quite as active.

It *seems* hotter than they need but they seem happier ???? Any opinions ??


On a completely different track - Food: I feed them fresh veg daily, orngs etc there is also a tub of roach chow, muesli and water gel in there.

They munch the veg as fast as I can pop it in there but hardly touch the chow, muesli or water gel 

Would it be better to restrict their veg intake ?


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## AOTP (Mar 22, 2012)

Mine are similar, in some respects. 

I used to put ground up dog biccies in there with a little veg and it would all disappear overnight, then i seperated my roaches. . . 

I put all my adult females and males into a seperate tub, and the variety of nymphs into another. 

The adults pretty much ignore the protein stuff and just enjoy veggies / fruit.

The nymphs seem to eat more biscuit.

One universal truth is that they all devour oranges in an afternoon.

Heat wise, I have a small heat mat underneath each 80l tub, and the tubs are stacked, temps inside are around 27-32 degrees.

My adult tub of 600 females 150 males, has produced roughly 4000 babies this month!!! :2thumb:

I did a count as each egg holder had between 10-20 babies in it, so 300ish a side. . . . im super happy about that!

Id say as long as you're producing babies then, worry not! I wanted to see if things were right so yeah I seperated the adults into a clear tub so it would be obvious when they produced babies.


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## jhzgto (Apr 24, 2012)

Hi AOTP

Thanks for the reply.

just done a cleanout of the feeding section (the half without egg crates) & there was no rotten food in there. Some of the salad was a bit withered but it's all clean with fresh stuff in there now.

Moved the egg crates & found another 5 dead females and 2 males, not good news :-(

I am hoping the deaths are from the original colony & might be due to the life cycle but not sure. one or two look to be on deaths door but will see if they make it.

Babies: i don't know if it's producing or not. I got the original colony 4-5 weeks ago & have added to it 3 or 4 times since then (adults), so maybe too early to tell.

I do have a lot of small nymphs around 3-5mm in length, could these be ones that have hatched since I have had the colony ?? 

After reading about yours, I think I might have mine too hot - if yours are doing well @ 27-30 internal & mine are 40, that sounds too much to me.

I said they seem more active @ 40 degs but now i think about it, the heat mat is wrapped around the crate end & me seeing activity means a lot are at the feeding end which is cooler - maybe escaping the heat ??

Your advice is much appreciated - thanks again ;-)


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## AOTP (Mar 22, 2012)

Yeah that sounds too hot to me matey, the activity at the cool end would indeed be them escaping it. If its about right they congregate around the heat, and you will see most of the fatter females sitting there. 

2-3mm is baby size yes, so you must have had some babies so far. 

As for dead males and females you will get them due to age and fighting if you have many males. 

From personal experience I seem to notice that newer males and females are much much shinier and the banded colour brighter, as they age it seems to dull, so if you have some slow dark brown ones chances are they are old. 

Also beware of how much copper may be in food or vegetables as copper being ingested in mineral form into roaches will kill them very quickly, some dog biscuits can be higher in it than others (so im told anyways).

I have lots and lots of holes in the top of my lid to help ventilate and the heat mat placed UNDERNEATH, reason is this gives me more surface area for heat to rise through the cardboard stacks giving a much better heat gradient than if i have it on the side. My heatmat covers 50% of the bottom of my tub, food I put at the cool end. Keep me posted on changes please =)


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## jhzgto (Apr 24, 2012)

i think i owe you a pint or 3 mate 

Earlier today i turned the main stat down to 27 degs & left them alone.

just had a look tonight & the core of the rub is 29 degs & the adults have all spread throughout the egg flats, just a few nibbling away at the veg.

I am pretty sure I have killed off the older & weaker ones with heat, so hopefully now they will be a bit happier & reward me with some more babies ;-)

Still can't see any tiny white nymphs but as I opened the box there were lots of 3-5mm scuttling around on top of the cartons (for a few seconds until the light frightened them), so i am hoping they have been born since I got them & I have achieved something !!

I just can't find a "lifecycle" chatr anywhere for dubias, my inquisitive mind wants to know how many moult stages from birth to adult & approx sizes at each stage - any knowledge on that one ???

As said before, many thanks for the hlep - even after watching all the roach hut videos I still managed to get it wrong ! 

:2thumb:


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## AOTP (Mar 22, 2012)

I could use a beer right now, just cleaned out my Bosc and Tegu and had them charging around the place! 

Ok good to know they have moved about more, as for the translucent tiny 2mm babies I have had my Dubias a few months and have never seen a birth! 

From what I know the babies within about 30 mins of being born turn to grey/brown as they dry out. 

And the super white as they moult only lasts about a day. Ive seen a few adults undergoing their final moult thats pretty interesting. 

This website will explain just what I have and perhaps in more detail so enjoy reading! :2thumb:

Dubia roach: Care, Breeding and Feeding


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## zzxxy (Aug 28, 2011)

mine seem to love special K or, Lidl's own brank which has rice in it too! i do throw bug grub and weetabix in there too but they love the lidl stuff!!
I very rarely feed them cat food or use bug gel. I just make sure there is apple, orange or strawberries in there for them along with carrots etc.


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## AOTP (Mar 22, 2012)

Yeah cheap weetabix dissapears fast I noticed that after throwing some in, might try some all bran or muesli for variety, bloody roaches eat better than I do!


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## lysnenaowan (Jun 12, 2012)

Id say as long as you're producing babies then, worry not! I wanted to see if things were right so yeah I seperated the adults into a clear tub so it would be obvious when they produced babies.


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## DannyP91 (Apr 25, 2012)

dont no to much about them but i started a colony not long ago my temps are at between 25-27 (not got them on a stat cause dident have one spar) but yeah when i do open the tub(black box from bnq so its always dark) to add fresh food there always running about so there active and i only have 10 females and 5 males atm but even after a week i have seen maybe 15-20 babies(think they where gravid when i got them) but im guessing if my temps were to bad then they wanted even have laid, also I have been feeding, oranges, apples,oats(ready brek) and a bit of carrot, got the gel water but ive never actually seen any of them drinking from it, also have egg crates of course, so im hopeing in a week or so i have a decent amount of babies, :2thumb:

----edit----

But im sure it will take a few months to really get them going, gonna hold back some nymphs to grow to adult size to build my colony does anyone know how long they take to become adult i heard after 4 sheds and they shed about once a month is this true? 
Thanks


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

keep em warm keep em dark feed em ground up dried cat food and chicken food and cut up butternut squash and they thrive - I dont use water or gel , they moisture from the squash - I put in a bit of cucumber now and then.

If you can dont disturb them much and the colony will suddenly explode after 4-6months., try and keep 3-4 fems per male 

when my colony go large I split it into two - fed from one and left the other to breed, then switched over - works a treat


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