Dubia Roaches/heat mat?

[Kreamcheese]

I bought a 30 gallon tote from walmart and have a 30-40 gal zoo med heat mat. Can I use this heat mat on the bottom or will it melt the tote? I know the mat says not to use on plastic but I've seen plenty of people do it, just wanted to more advice.

[Sublime]

Plastic totes are usually made out of high density polyethylene and are food safe. For common commercial grades of medium and high-density polyethylene the melting point is typically in the range 120 to 130 °C (248 to 266 °F). The melting point for average, commercial, low-density polyethylene is typically 105 to 115 °C (221 to 239 °F). If you have a durable Rubbermaid or Sterilite tote, there's no need to worry... I've been using mine for a week now with a heat mat at 110°F on the bottom with no problems of degrading, melting, fumes on a 22 gallon with the same heat mat you're using 30-40 gallon zoo-med. All the warning labels say that because they have to put it for the one person that puts it near something unsafe or puts it on some type of plastic that doesn't have a high melting point. Best advantages of using plastic totes over glass tanks for breeding is: Holds humidity better, cheap, doesn't break if dropped. You're good dude.

[Kreamcheese]

Thanks for the good advice as usual. So I had it going for most of the day and had it between 84-82. But now at night its at 76.

[MonsterPyxie]

Thanks for the good advice as usual. So I had it going for most of the day and had it between 84-82. But now at night its at 76.

those temps are "ok" for the dubia, but will not promote good breeding. Some WONT breed at that low of a temp.

Lowest I keep mine are around 88f at night and highest can be 105 during the day. I keep them in my bathroom and heat the room with a space heater, so the temp can very pretty extreme sometimes.

[Kreamcheese]

During the day I'm able to get it between 90-98. It's much hotter at the bottom because of my heat mat and so there is gradient of heat as you go up in the tub. Still at night though it goes to the lower 80s. Can I cover up the top mesh part at night with some Styrofoam to try to insulate the heat or no? They are in my garage and I cant have them anywhere else.

[BG]

I keep them in my boiler room. The water heater is on and keeps the room at 80. Pretty soon the heat will kick on.The house is warm to begin with. I,m lucky in a way. The room the frogs are in is 77 cause its next to the boiler room. .In my room i keep the turtles, monitor,and geckos. They use lights. Oh the whites have a 25 watt blue night bulb..

[Sublime]

During the day I'm able to get it between 90-98. It's much hotter at the bottom because of my heat mat and so there is gradient of heat as you go up in the tub. Still at night though it goes to the lower 80s. Can I cover up the top mesh part at night with some Styrofoam to try to insulate the heat or no? They are in my garage and I cant have them anywhere else.

You could try insulating it with a blanket wrapped around part of the top and sides, just make sure it's safe you know. If you can't insulate the heat enough, you'll probably have to pick up another heat mat, preferably the internal one I was talking about putting it inside or wrapping it around the outside.

[ViperJr]

Yeah I've heard that dubias don't require substantial amounts of moisture in the air, they can do fine in drier climates. Just a few people from experience including "MonsterPyxie" said that the higher the humidity was for them the more the dubias started to breed at a faster pace. I know that they do require a little bit of moisture though to molt through their cycles without have an unsuccessful molt and dying off. I'm sure there's enough humidity in mine as of now, I just wanted to get optimal range for humidity to bump up the breeding process since my temperature is perfect. Thanks for the clarification, is your colony really thriving? How many are you up to right now after you started out?

I don't really have any numbers for you, but perhaps around 600. And yes, they're breeding. I usually see one female with eggs every other day.

Sidenote about the food: I've read hundreds of different opinions on what to feed them. I just use the cheapest dog food there is and it's working do far.

[Kreamcheese]

I plan to use cat food. Any difference in nutrition between cat and dog food for the roaches?

[Sublime]

I plan to use cat food. Any difference in nutrition between cat and dog food for the roaches?

Cats have a much higher protein requirement then dogs, so crude protein in cat food is going to be higher than most dog foods. Also cat food is going to have a lot more meat products in the ingredients including essential vitamins that dogs don't need or can convert. Dog food will have higher grain products with the addition of meat and plant products.

[Kreamcheese]

So which do you think is better? Just a mix of both? 50/50? I mixed some oats with the cat food.

[Sublime]

So which do you think is better? Just a mix of both? 50/50? I mixed some oats with the cat food.

Yeah a mix. The addition of the oats your adding is good too. The next batch you make, try adding a whole grain dry breakfast cereal like Grape Nuts for a little bit of sweetness. They love sweets.

[ViperJr]

I'm no no means an expert, so you're probably better off listening to the more experienced on this topic, but I've read that cat food is not that great. Supposedly, there's a too high concentration of... something, that's bad for the roaches. Then again, this is what I've read on the good ol' Internet, and I can't say if it's true or not. Just got me cautions enough to use dog food instead.

[Sublime]

I don't really have any numbers for you, but perhaps around 600. And yes, they're breeding. I usually see one female with eggs every other day.

Sidenote about the food: I've read hundreds of different opinions on what to feed them. I just use the cheapest dog food there is and it's working do far.

The roach chow I made at home with a coffee grinder is: Beneful dog food, Fancy Feast dry cat food, Oats, Grape Nuts cereal.

I could add some more to the ingredients like powdered milk, etc., but I don't want to go overboard with it. That's cool that it's working out for you though.