roaches

[unknownclown]

So I'm thinkin about breeding roaches for our lizards but I really don't like them. How do you all keep them so they don't escape?

[stephanbakir]

Dubias can't climb, or fly (the males can flutter downwards), they don't smell, don't make any sound (other then the sound of them walking) and have live birth at a rate of 30 babies a month per breeder female.

[Valvaren]

I have mine in a large tub from walmart with a square cut out in the top and plastic grating duct taped over the whole, I don't have escapees anymore, used to when my cat could get at them. They are really easy to keep and everything Stephen said is true, except my males zoom around a lot which is why i'm glad they can't get out of the tub lol.

[ZARADOZIA]

ok...this may be a stupid question, but I am not afraid of asking because I don't know the answer.

How Healthy are they?
I "might" consider them since they can't climb, fly, & don't smell...all major pluses, but would they be healthy for bearded dragons?

What do they eat?
How do you raise them?
Enclosure? Tupperware box or aquarium? Does it matter?
Heat? Do they need heat? (Ee-gads...can't believe I am considering this...)
Lighting? Do they need light? If so, UVA / UVB or just regular?
Do you keep them all together? Or do they have to be separated?
How can you tell the males from females?

[infernalis]

OK...

They eat fresh fruit

Tupperware is best

They carry no diseases, I allow them to walk on me, no problems.

A small heat pad in one corner or just sit the tote over a hot vivarium, I sit mine on top of chompers cage and let chompers escaping heat warm the roaches. around 95 degrees ambient (F) works great.

They are well known as real good lizard food, I feed my lizards Dubia roaches.

They are super cheap to buy, and Even cheaper yet to breed.

They are also fascinating to observe.


http://www.reptard.info/photo/roach.jpg

http://www.reptard.info/photo/roach1.jpg

[stephanbakir]

Sexing them is done by looking at the belly scales for nymphs, and wings for adults.

Flip them over and look at the last segment on the abdomen. Females will have a very large last segment. Males will have a small one.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a74/iloveherp/comparison2-phot.jpg

[Lankyrob]

Whilst we were decorating i had mine in a tub on the kitchen table, they are cleaner than cats for sure!!

Because i tended to forget that i had put fruit in their tub until it smelled i only feed bug grub but they are still healthy and bulky food.

For our spiny tailed monitor we used to feed 12 crickets and we only feed 4-6 roaches (depending on the size of the roaches at that time)

[Gungirl]

Is It sad that I want a lizard so I have a reason to have roaches? lol

[Lankyrob]

Is It sad that I want a lizard so I have a reason to have roaches? lol


Just breed them anyways - sell off the excess for feeders to the local lizard owners!!

[ZARADOZIA]

OK, What about cleaning their enclosure? How nasty are they? I ask cause every one knows Crickets are BLEH.

[Gungirl]

Just breed them anyways - sell off the excess for feeders to the local lizard owners!!

I dont know of a single person near me that has a lizard :( I wish I did....

[stephanbakir]

OK, What about cleaning their enclosure? How nasty are they? I ask cause every one knows Crickets are BLEH.
I clean my roach cage every 3-5 months. My method is really simple... Take a plastic container and cut it so its short and has no lip, then sandpaper the entire thing so its not smoothe and the roaches can climb in and out and ONLY put the food in there, make a second one for the water crystals (Buy this in bulk at any place that sells plants for about 8$ for a 5pound bag (should last you the rest of your life) Clean the food container every time you refill it and just clean the water crystal container every time it gets nasty...

They do seam to do better when ventilated, so add window screening to the top with a glue gun and take the food out after a day or 2 so it doesn't rot. (I have food in my enclosure 2 days on 3 days off and I feed the reptiles the roaches the day I remove the food so they are as full as possible. (roaches store 2-3 days of food in their systems)

[ZARADOZIA]

I dont know of a single person near me that has a lizard :( I wish I did....

Look on Craigslist. Or local ads, like for us we have Southern Maryland Online™ - Your on-line community for Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's Counties.™ (http://somd.com/)

Contact local vets and ask them if you can advertise reptile food with them, (Ask if they have reptile patients)

[ZARADOZIA]

I clean my roach cage every 3-5 months. My method is really simple... Take a plastic container and cut it so its short and has no lip, then sandpaper the entire thing so its not smoothe and the roaches can climb in and out and ONLY put the food in there, make a second one for the water crystals (Buy this in bulk at any place that sells plants for about 8$ for a 5pound bag (should last you the rest of your life) Clean the food container every time you refill it and just clean the water crystal container every time it gets nasty...

They do seam to do better when ventilated, so add window screening to the top with a glue gun and take the food out after a day or 2 so it doesn't rot. (I have food in my enclosure 2 days on 3 days off and I feed the reptiles the roaches the day I remove the food so they are as full as possible. (roaches store 2-3 days of food in their systems)

OK I have to ask...pics please (if you don't mind)? I am a very visual person.

[Nismo89]

You have to make sure not to clean the cage to often or all your babies will die they eat the adults poop. As for our colony we have it in a 30 gallon aquarium with a screen top and uth. We haven't had to actually clean the cage yet since the colony hasn't been going for to long but we have an extra 10 gallon for cleaning.

[stephanbakir]

OK I have to ask...pics please (if you don't mind)? I am a very visual person.
I'll post some tomorrow, all it is is a rubbermaid container, with a half dozen egg cartons and 2 plastic containers on the bottom that have been sanded.

You have to make sure not to clean the cage to often or all your babies will die they eat the adults poop. As for our colony we have it in a 30 gallon aquarium with a screen top and uth. We haven't had to actually clean the cage yet since the colony hasn't been going for to long but we have an extra 10 gallon for cleaning.
My colony of about 2000 roaches is in a 10 gallon, my buddy Mark has about 20,000 roaches in a 4 foot terrarium.

[Nismo89]

I'll post some tomorrow, all it is is a rubbermaid container, with a half dozen egg cartons and 2 plastic containers on the bottom that have been sanded.


My colony of about 2000 roaches is in a 10 gallon, my buddy Mark has about 20,000 roaches in a 4 foot terrarium.

Holy crap didn't realize you could keep so many in such a small area. We only have about 200. I think I might just move them all in to the 10 gallon as it would make it much easier to find the babies. Thanks for letting me know that now I can disinfect the 30 gallon and get another snake lol if I have an empty tank I have to fill it with something.

[stephanbakir]

They really don't need much room, I get about 1-2 deaths every 3-4 weeks, and I only feed off males to make sure I've got a ton of females.
I try to keep a 1:10 ratio.

[Lankyrob]

Our colony just about supports out two lizards with the odd purchase of crickets to add to their diet

The heatmat is at the end nearest the camera, at the other end is a large bottl cap that i put the water crystals in, apart from clearing out rotten fruit we havent cleaned the enclosure at all - the more "dirt" there has been in the bootom of the box the more babies we are getting and the better th colony is growing.

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/11102011090.jpg
http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/11102011091.jpg

[unknownclown]

Thanks for all the comments I think we will get into them. Although I'm a bit nervous last thing we need is roaches loose in our home.

[Gungirl]

I might have to post around and see if I could sell them.. thanks for the advice to use my brain.. ( lack of coffee is never safe) lol

[ZARADOZIA]

I might have to post around and see if I could sell them.. thanks for the advice to use my brain.. ( lack of coffee is never safe) lol


LOL No worries, mine works overtime way too much. I do research for fun...seriously

[Valvaren]

Some of my colony

http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac267/Deemac6/DSCN2060.jpg
http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac267/Deemac6/DSCN2057.jpg

Female in the middle of molting, found it really cool.
http://i906.photobucket.com/albums/ac267/Deemac6/DSCN2056.jpg

[Lankyrob]

Thanks for all the comments I think we will get into them. Although I'm a bit nervous last thing we need is roaches loose in our home.

Not sure. What your ambient temps are but in the UK they cant survive without a heat source, should they escape they will die off pretty quick.

[infernalis]

You have to make sure not to clean the cage to often or all your babies will die they eat the adults poop. As for our colony we have it in a 30 gallon aquarium with a screen top and uth. We haven't had to actually clean the cage yet since the colony hasn't been going for to long but we have an extra 10 gallon for cleaning.

I was going to say this, I only clean out the tote if it gets really gross, let's see, oh that was once, and I have had roaches for almost 5 years.

Just replace the egg cartons from time to time.

Since the babies eat the poop, if your colony is breeding, and you have enough females, the babies will keep the tote cleaned for you.

[infernalis]

Thanks for all the comments I think we will get into them. Although I'm a bit nervous last thing we need is roaches loose in our home.

Dubia insurance, they cannot survie long outside the colony, and REQUIRE care to live, so escapees are not a problem.

Unless you live in a fruit storage facility that is kept hot...or a south american jungle.

[stephanbakir]

Dubia insurance, they cannot survie long outside the colony, and REQUIRE care to live, so escapees are not a problem.

Unless you live in a fruit storage facility that is kept hot...or a south american jungle.
With a suply of poop on the ground for the babies to chow down on.

[Strutter769]

My wife and I have bred Lobster Roaches for a couple years now to feed our Beardies. We're about to turn our focus to breeding snakes, and probably re-home the dragons, so the need for the roaches will no longer be there. My very unscientific hypothesis is since the Lobsters seem to have proportionately less wing or "armor" than the dubias, I feel that milligram for milligram, they are more beneficial and nutritious than Dubias. I can't find any facts to support the theory though.

If anyone is interested in starting a colony of Lobsters, please feel free to contact me!!

[dawnhorn]

I started raising the Dubias about 6 months ago and LOVE them! At first I was a little creeped out because they are "roaches" but they are not cockroaches by any stretch of the imagination. I have had 2 escape (my fault) and found them dead the next day. I keep mine in the back bedroom which is always warm (around 80 or so) so I don't use any supplemental heat. I feed mine duck food (I've heard chick starter works, but had ducks and thier food seems to work great!) and give them some of the dragon greens daily and they thrive. I use the lids from the food storage containers for their greens and duck food. I have a large rubbermaid tote with a section of the lid cut out and screen hot-glued on over the opening. They reproduce like there is no tomorrow. Both the leopard geckos and bearded dragons like them sooooo much better than the crickets and I had read (somewhere?) that they are much more nutritious as well!

[infernalis]

Back on to roaches.....

moved the rest here...

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/general-discussion/83989-let-s-talk-i-m-bored.html

[Lankyrob]

Lol - yeah i thought the thread got a little of track!! :)

[stephanbakir]

I've had my colony for quite some time and it was doing fantastic, almost at 2000... till last night... I generally keep my roach enclosure on my retic cage because it puts their ambient where I want it, but last night I had a brain fart and put the box of roaches on the sav cage.... I'm now down to about 30 healthy roaches and 200 twitching ones that can't really walk....
Lesson learned.

[infernalis]

shovel a bunch of the twitching ones to the sav, let your lizard have a chow fest.

[millertime89]

and get a video!

[stephanbakir]

Hes still a wee one, he can only handle 2-3 large roaches, the small roaches turned into a roach paste at the bottom of the tub.

[DeesBalls]

OKay, so i got a mlae and female and some babies at the expo. can i put them all in the same tupperwear tub i got? and i plan on putting egg crates and some egg crates with some oranges....
what do i do for?....
water?
substrate?
other food?

thanks!!

[ZARADOZIA]

Pet stores sell gutload gel and dry cricket food. I have "Fluker's Cricket Quencher Calcium fortified" to keep the crickets watered, that way they don't drown. The dry food is also by Fluker's. The label reads safe for all feeder insects. Costs about 8.00 USD a jar. I don't see why that wouldn't work.

[Lankyrob]

Put all in together they live fine like that. Egg crates are great for them to house up in. I use Bug Gel for water and Bug Grub for food for mine. You can use fresh fruit and veg for both water and food but with my memory i foget it is in there and then it goes mouldy which threatens the colony as well as creating a mess/smell.

I also feed them the left overs in the bottom of cereal boxes/any that daughter drops on floor (that the dog doesnt get too first!!). Anything dry will last much longer without mould so it creates less of an issue for me.

NEVER clean the container, the young roaches feed on the adult poo so if you clean the mess out of the container then the young will die off. I found my colony was barely growing at all at first but as the "mess" has built up in the bottom the colony is growing quicker and quicker and we are able to feed off more and more whilst maintaining numbers.

Also when feeding them off i feed of more males than females, one male will "service" around 15 females or so. So the by keepiing a 1male to 10females or so you are vreating a efficient colony.

[infernalis]

I always hold out on all big breeder females, you can tell on sight, they look like queens of the colony, shiny dark coloured shell with bright caramel/orange spots.

I never feed them to anything, they kick out live young like little bug factories at that stage.

[candyraver69]

Pet stores sell gutload gel and dry cricket food. I have "Fluker's Cricket Quencher Calcium fortified" to keep the crickets watered, that way they don't drown. The dry food is also by Fluker's. The label reads safe for all feeder insects. Costs about 8.00 USD a jar. I don't see why that wouldn't work.

That stuff is good but some of the stuff recommended earlier on in the thread is a bit cheaper. You can mix jurassical in with the water you make up crystals with if you want high calcium crystals :) Feeding them fresh fruit at least once in a while is important to keep them breeding at their full potential though. It also depends what you are feeding them to. For reptiles high calcium gutload is great, but I for example feed cat food because it's low in calcium and high in protein which is what my T's need. Too much calcium has potential to harm T's.

I've been doing a small colony to feed my T's, and compare to crickets, it is SO simple. I wish I knew about dubia roaches when I had geckos. No more going to get crickets twice a week, because forget about those loud smelly things breeding in my house! Dubias are quiet, don't really smell anywhere close to what crickets do, and even if you drop one, its pretty easy to catch it. And my rats LOVE them for an occasional treat, hahaha! I started with 4 adults and 25 mixed nymphs not too long ago and easily have 200 in there now even with feeding babies to my T's.

And since I didn't see anyone post pics of what they do with the food, just the upper portion of the container... (and yes it's about time to replace crystals, they look gross). Not sure if you can see, but I used sandpaper to sand the containers so they can crawl in and out
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/294322_10150346972485488_549355487_8382405_8451684 58_n.jpg

and some more pics:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/305704_10150346972630488_549355487_8382407_5795359 08_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/293344_10150346972655488_549355487_8382408_2589170 62_n.jpg

[ZARADOZIA]

My husband said no to roaches. Crickets is it. I am breeding them I think...I have more now than what I started with...lmao

[candyraver69]

My husband said no to roaches. Crickets is it. I am breeding them I think...I have more now than what I started with...lmao

Hahaha! It took some serious convincing for me to sway my husband. But fyi if you are trying to breed crickets, stick a small tub of moist peat in the tub for them to lay eggs. It took me a while to figure out what I was doing wrong when I was trying for the geckos.