Dubia roaches it is!

[Diesel]

I've decided no crickets thanks to everyone that commented badly on them. lol. But, i do not trust these personal breeding people off of sites because i have been ripped off before and i feel they will die during the shipment. However,here in utah i have this thing called ksl.com and people sell off of it. There is this one colony started it comes with 40 breeders and 60 mixed ones for $30..is this a good idea?. Will 40 breeders be enough to start it fast so i can start feeding them off. any tips on keepin them please let me know. Since i live in a desert and they need to be kept humid do i mist them or will that make them drown?.. or mold. Should i keep a heat light or heat pad? Thank you again everyone sorry if i am being obnoxious with these posts but i will be going to get them soon so i am curios. thank you!

 

[james.w]

I have a dubia colony, I keep mine in a 30 gallon ( i believe) rubbermaid. I have some egg flats and paper towel rolls in there. A dish with roach chow and a dish with the water gel cubes. I don't mist mine and I live in the desert as well, they may breed faster with higher humidity though, I may have to try it. I don't keep a heat pad or light on them either, but my herp room stays around 80 in the day and 75 at night.

 

[Diesel]

think you can ship me a little part of you colony to me since we are tegu talk family . but really? i heard that water gel crytals are not really a necessity since they can get their water from fruits and everything?. what do you think? i am excited to get a good colony started!!

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wow las vegas. that is way dry. i am actually planning on taking a trip their soon. Sorry i just realized where you are from.

 

[james.w]

Alot of people just use fruit and veggies to give their colony moisture, and it works fine. Sometimes I use oranges or the stalk of collard/turnip greens. I don't even have enough in my colony, I still have to buy crickets 3 times a week. I started with 350 mixed sizes, I need to get another 500-1000 to be able to use it consistently.

 

[Diesel]

wow really? when did you start out with it?! i dont think i will do it if it takes forever! i thought it would be a few months.

 

[james.w]

I was feeding them off before I should have I think. I have tons of babies just have to wait for them to grow. It is a very good investment if you have lizards that eat insects.

 

[Diesel]

yeah all three of them do. so hopefully it works. Could you let me know how long youve had yours for and how long it took for them to grow a lot? thank you for replying i really appreciate it! you were a lot of help.

 

[james.w]

I can't remember how long I have had my colony. Not very long though, 5-6 months I would guess. It is definitely saving me money over buying crickets all the time.

 

[Jefroka]

I live in southeast, Louisiana. We have mild winters and warm/humid summers in fact humidity is quite high throughout the year. I had a Dubia colony for about two years. I traded them in when I didn't need them anymore.

I kept mine on coco fiber and fed them a varied diet of fruits and vegetables and fish flakes.

I saw population explosions when I would increase their water intake. This type of roach needs a lot of water to be happy and reproduce.

I would mist every day, they like the substrate somewhat damp.

If you start with forty you will need to wait to start feeding I would guess five to six months.

If you begin with a few hundred you should be able to start feeding one -two months.

BTW, you can get 500 for eighty bucks from Ken the bug guy: http://www.kenthebugguy.com/index.php?cPath=31&osCsid=qj89fjt57eg4rvosj2cm3e2t12

...Jefroka