Dubias for food

[Lankyrob]

I have heard from various members that Dubia roaches are extremely easy to keep/breed for food.

I have a Spiny Tailed Monitor and a Frilled dragon - are dubias ok for feeding to them?

At the moment they eat crickets or locusts - made a couple of attempts to breed both of these but so far no luck so may change track if its possible.

[Jenn_06]

i would think Dubias will be good for your lizard, my sav loves them, and they are really easy to breed.

[Cor8et]

I`v got a colony of Dubias ( thats an old image, don`t have the turks now ) on the go just now for my Gecko`s & T. Very easy to bread even in our climate.

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af257/saattadad/IMG_0987.jpg


Put them in a big plastic box that`l hold egg cartons, on that image the egg cartons are open for view but you`l want to but egg trays together like below with a heat matt to keep the temp`s up for them breading

http://i1013.photobucket.com/albums/af257/saattadad/IMG_1340.jpg

For to feed them i used bug grub/fish flakes/oats/cereals, a bit of carrot or water gel ( not much ) don`t leave the carrot in to rot.

Benifits from breading roaches

Don`t smell
Can`t climb or jump out the plastic box
Quiet
Easy to maintain ( change the egg cartons about every 3 month )
More meaty and less hard shell
Keep`s the wife & kids out of the living room :D
Worth every penny getting them going and you`l save cash and won`t have to depend on your local supplier for bugs.


Best buy a colony to start with because they take a few month to get going.

Hope it help`s

[Lankyrob]

Thanks mate, i kmow savs have them from others posts. Thing is both my lizards are much smaller than the savs - didnt want to give them something too big?

[infernalis]

I feed my Leo gecko roaches Rob.

Any insectivore will benefit from them.

for smaller lizards, just collect the roaches when they are young.

let some grow up for the Monitor.....

[Lankyrob]

Thanks wayne, think i had a brain fart writing my previous comment, of course the roaches will start small, just select them at the right point of lifefor feeding. Something in my head was "giant roaches too big from babies"!! I blame the medication!!! ;) :) ;)

I think it is the way to go, will be getting things set up over the coming weeks. What size tub would you recommend? And roughly what size colony to start with for two small lizards? Am thinking starting with sixty or so?

Cheers

Rob

[infernalis]

Sixty would be good, as long as the supplier can promise you a percentage are adults at the time of purchase.

I will sort some Male/female photos for you BRB..

[infernalis]

Males have wings (Useless wings, no worries they will not be flying around in your home)


A male and a Juvi...

http://www.danceswithreptiles.com/PG1/images/2aroach.jpg

an adult female....

http://www.danceswithreptiles.com/PG1/images/1aroach.jpg

you will have to leave the roach poop in the tote, sounds nasty, but the babies eat the poop.

I use a 62 litre "rub" (poly tote) and some empty egg cartons.

Dubia love fruit, cut up some pears, apples or melon and supplement with corn flour, instant potato flakes (I mix in a little sugar, they love sugar)

a shallow water container (I have a small fake rock bowl, it is rough, so the can climb in and out without drowning)

[Lankyrob]

Cool thanks wayne, i read they need near 90f constant temp for healthy breeding? Do use a heatmat?

[infernalis]

I keep the roach box near the heat radiator in the reptile room. It's always a sauna in there, so no additional heat is required.

However, your conditions may be different than mine, so I would recommend a small UTH pad below your tote.

[Lankyrob]

Thanks again wayne.

[Lankyrob]

Not good at converting to litres, we have a spare exoterra glass terrarium that has a one foot square base and is two foot high. We have kept frogs in it and it sits happily on a UTH. If i was to construct an interior from egg boxes is it big enough??

[infernalis]

should be.

I thought litres were the unit of measurement in the UK?

[Lankyrob]

I am old fashioned! All feet and inches for me, trouble with being trained by my dad and grandad who did their apprenticeships in the dark ages! I will start collecting some egg boxes and post pics once i have a setup.

[Ameivaboy]

Another good option is blatta lateralis. They do not get as big as dubia but they have their benefits over dubia as well.

Dubia are burrowers, if they get out of a dish/bowl they will burrow into the substrate and may or may not be found.

Lateralis on the other hand while smaller (a little bigger than a cricket) do not burrow,climb glass or fly. They are also super fast!! which gets lizards excited!!
Same with any roach though, if there's some little spot in the viv to hide, they will find it and they will hide there for a long long time lol.

Dubia are good feeders - but only if you're tong feeding or not using a naturalistic substrate

[Freebody]

i put mine in a bowl, then 1 at a time i let my sav take it out, funny how excited he gets when one gets away, i think hes blind or cant see well at all tho or maybe color blind, because if the roach stops moving, he cant see it. ?

[infernalis]

Another good option is blatta lateralis. They do not get as big as dubia but they have their benefits over dubia as well.

Dubia are burrowers, if they get out of a dish/bowl they will burrow into the substrate and may or may not be found.

Lateralis on the other hand while smaller (a little bigger than a cricket) do not burrow,climb glass or fly. They are also super fast!! which gets lizards excited!!
Same with any roach though, if there's some little spot in the viv to hide, they will find it and they will hide there for a long long time lol.

Dubia are good feeders - but only if you're tong feeding or not using a naturalistic substrate


It may sound like a pain in the butt, we give chomper his roaches one at a time, that way I can keep an eye on consumption and assist (poke the corner to get the roach out and running again) .

It takes longer, but I'm rather used to it.

My gecko I just give him one fat roach a day. he looks forward to it. When he sees me approaching with a fat Dubia, he stands up real alert and pounces instantly when the roach hits the floor of his cage. It's kinda gross with the gecko though, he squishes the darn roaches guts out before he swallows it up.

Chomper just freebases them......

[Lankyrob]

I have found a colony locally!!! Just need to do the final setup and i can go pick it up! Hope to have it in before Xmas ready for feeding off the first lot early spring.

[Ameivaboy]

cool, good luck with them.

I have found a great staple diet for many roaches is chick starter.
Then day before feeding dump in a variety of fruits/veggies.

Fish flakes are also a great source of protein.

Best of luck with your colony

[Lankyrob]

Am finally gonna make itto the reptile shop tomorrow, not been out much recently cos of my back playing up but snakes need food for monday as well so trip to the shop for some rats and some roaches.

Will get some pics once they are in.

[infernalis]

Another old thread worthy of a look.

[beardeds4life]

you can just put them in a deeper bowl

[ZARADOZIA]

Because of the information threads here about Dubias, I got some for myself. Right now I have both Dubias and crickets and my Dragons prefer Dubias over crickets. They will avoid the crickets at all costs, with the exception of Terra...she will eat anything. She has even tried to eat my emerald, opal and wedding rings...

I do prefer the dubias even though roaches creep me out (big time). But the Dubias remind me of rolli-pollies (Pill bugs) so that's what I think of every time I see them and I'm not as creeped out by them.

Strangely, I think all the ones I have are female...none have wings yet but they are rather small too. I have another shipment of mediums coming this week, hopefully some will be male.

How long does it take for them to mature Wayne? 4 months? (Mature as in breeding age)


**Side note: Even though roaches creep me out, I have found that I prefer them to crickets, at least so far. I haven't dealt with any full grown adults yet. Dubias do have an odor, it's faint and smells like an old musty house, reminds me of dried mold, but it's not mold. It isn't a bad smell, just an odd smell and barely noticable.

[infernalis]

I never really timed the maturing process.

[KORBIN5895]

I think it takes two months.

[Lankyrob]

Because of the information threads here about Dubias, I got some for myself. Right now I have both Dubias and crickets and my Dragons prefer Dubias over crickets. They will avoid the crickets at all costs, with the exception of Terra...she will eat anything. She has even tried to eat my emerald, opal and wedding rings...

I do prefer the dubias even though roaches creep me out (big time). But the Dubias remind me of rolli-pollies (Pill bugs) so that's what I think of every time I see them and I'm not as creeped out by them.

Strangely, I think all the ones I have are female...none have wings yet but they are rather small too. I have another shipment of mediums coming this week, hopefully some will be male.

How long does it take for them to mature Wayne? 4 months? (Mature as in breeding age)


**Side note: Even though roaches creep me out, I have found that I prefer them to crickets, at least so far. I haven't dealt with any full grown adults yet. Dubias do have an odor, it's faint and smells like an old musty house, reminds me of dried mold, but it's not mold. It isn't a bad smell, just an odd smell and barely noticable.

Just remember NOT to clean up the mess in the bottom of their tank, the babies eat the adults waste :)

[ZARADOZIA]

Just remember NOT to clean up the mess in the bottom of their tank, the babies eat the adults waste :)

I remember!! I read and reread the thread discussion we had so I would not make any mistakes.

[stephanbakir]

Because of the information threads here about Dubias, I got some for myself. Right now I have both Dubias and crickets and my Dragons prefer Dubias over crickets. They will avoid the crickets at all costs, with the exception of Terra...she will eat anything. She has even tried to eat my emerald, opal and wedding rings...

I do prefer the dubias even though roaches creep me out (big time). But the Dubias remind me of rolli-pollies (Pill bugs) so that's what I think of every time I see them and I'm not as creeped out by them.

Strangely, I think all the ones I have are female...none have wings yet but they are rather small too. I have another shipment of mediums coming this week, hopefully some will be male.

How long does it take for them to mature Wayne? 4 months? (Mature as in breeding age)


**Side note: Even though roaches creep me out, I have found that I prefer them to crickets, at least so far. I haven't dealt with any full grown adults yet. Dubias do have an odor, it's faint and smells like an old musty house, reminds me of dried mold, but it's not mold. It isn't a bad smell, just an odd smell and barely noticable.
Do you have a lid on their enclosure? if you don't, the egg cartons or whatever substrate you chose to use won't get humid and there should be no smell at all.

If you use a food bowl that has been sanded down with rough sand paper, all the moisture from their food/water should stay in the bowl.