Dubia Roach setup before/after

[Kreamcheese]

So when I first set up my dubia bin I was having a problem getting the heat to stay up. It's getting colder at night here and the only place I can keep them is in the garage.


This was how my set up looked before I was given some ideas on insulating the bin. Very basic and had too much ventilation at the top, with no insulation to trap the heat.




This is my new setup. The inside has hardly changed but I did remove some egg crates to keep them less spread out. Only have about 80 roaches atm but I have a few hundred more coming within the next few days.
First pic is my modified Gatorade bottle. I cut the top of the cap and glued some screen. I then tape this above the heat mat and it will evaporate, giving some humidity (The tape keeping it secure so it wont tip and spill when I open the bin).



The next two pics are where I placed the heat mats. I have them both attached to the zoo med rheostat so I can adjust the heat on them as needed.




And the final two pics are the finished product. I insulated the bin with some nice thick blankets. The inside bin has a cut out on top with screen. Now my temps are staying close to 100 and then the 90 range even at night, also about 45% humidity...very happy about the end result.




Any suggestions on anything else I could/should change let me know. Would like to thank Steest, Sublime, Monsterpyxie, BG, ViperJr and anybody else that has been so helpful the past few days

[JeffreH]

Needs more roaches, then it will perfect = )

Just to save you or anyone reading a little cash, I know those zoomed rheostats often sell for upwards to $20-25 at pet stores. You can just use a simple lamp dimmer (rheostat) picked up from a hardware store like Lowes or Home Depot. They sell them for $8-10 or so. I know it was discussed in another thread, but heat tape is also a very economical option due to overall cost and electrical consumption - approximately one square foot only uses about 12 watts and will peak out at 120 degrees F. The UTH's work great though as well!

You may end up playing around with the humidity factor as your roach colony grows, seasonal changes, etc. If you are noticing improper molts, increase the humidity by adding another bottle or keeping a larger constant supply of water crystals available. Being in the garage, they will be subjected to more humidity changes throughout the year as well as temperatures; just keep an eye on condensation buildup and the molts. Too dry - inability to molt properly. Too damp - you'll notice hypopigmentation. If you start getting condensation buildup on the sides and top, its likely too damp and you'll start seeing roaches that appear light orange and red in coloration. These roaches are more delicate due to the negative effect of their molting; same thing can happen to those who are injured during a molt. Furthermore, as the colony grows and a greater rate of respiration is achieved, you'll have less need for supplemental humidity. Your setup looks great, just wanted to give a little tidbit in case you notice any of these issues so you know the proper means to correct it over time.

It's my experience that B. dubia and those in the Blaberus genus like to be crammed together; so removing a few egg flats might have been a good call. You should have enough in there where every roach can hide out of view when disturbed, and it still looks fairly cluttered with em on the insides of the flats. Not so much that they are swimming through each other to get from point A to point B though ; )

Congrats on getting a setup to work out for inside the garage! I know this will be a valuable resource to many who only have this as an option, be it due to parental or spouse rules... I've actually had a younger customer ask me to mark "Beetles" on a package due to their parent's phobia lol!

[Kreamcheese]

Damn could've saved a few bucks on the rheostat! Well now I know in case I need another in the future. Luckily both of my UTH I got for about $15 a piece(Normally $32). And that's funny about marking beetles on the package. I actually still live at home so I had to show my parents some "Documented Proof" comparing the advantages of roaches to crickets. Thanks for the response

[Sublime]

@Andrew That's a nice inexpensive way that you fixed your problem insulating with blankets. Looks good, setup is all clean - good job. I see you used around a whole roll of foil tape to seal the UTH's to the side lol. Did you get your UTH's on Amazon? They sell them so cheap on their compared to retail stores. I'm in the same position as you, roaches get such a bad rep. Crickets don't, it's annoying. I tried explaining many times about how there could be no infestation even if these tropical roaches got out, they didn't buy it. Plus even if some did, it would only be a few if anything - not saying I would even let any out. It's so easy to keep them in compared to crickets. Crickets get out and it sounds like a god damn camping trip all over again. I told them the advantages of B. Dubia's compared to the brown cricket as well, they bought it haha.

@Jeff Very good information. I didn't think the lamp dimmers would of worked the same as the ones designed for under tank heaters. I thought they would only work on actual lamp fixtures with a bulb, now I know that for next time (Thanks for the tip). Out of all the research I've done on B. Dubia I've never come across hypopigmentation - that's good to know. Never would of thought they could become injured from a molt resulting from too much humidity, just knew about how they could have unsuccessful molts due to low humidity causing them to die. I probably won't have to worry about too much moisture as I'm trying to reach a desirable moisture level. A bit on the lower moderate side for humidity, want to get it a bit higher to raise production up.

Yeah right now I'm mostly raising the moisture level by just adding mounds of water gel crystals in there. I'm definitely going to buy a roll of that heat tape though, very economical. Want to raise the temperature up a bit as winter is approaching and use this same technique as Andrew did for insulating the heat. Then I will be all good . The patience level is hard to keep high when you want to already start feeding your pixie frog or any other type of frog you're keeping to give them one of the best possible dietary staples you could ever feed a herp in captivity with all the positives compared to the brown cricket (acheta domesticus).

[Kreamcheese]

I actually bought mine at a pet store called kahoots. They sent me 50% off any one item coupons. Had one for September, one for October. Both bought my heaters. And I did use a bit of foil tape to secure them in the spots I wanted haha. The bin has some awkward shape to it so the UTH weren't getting as close of a connection to it as I wanted.

[Sublime]

Oh ok, cool. Yeah I know what you mean about the bins where you can't apply the adhesive on where it has an ergonomic design . It's always the roughneck heavy duty Rubbermaids that are like that.

[Kreamcheese]

Once I get my new shipment of roaches I'm gonna add some fruits. I know oranges are good. Ever use grapefruit?

[Sublime]

No I haven't. Other than oranges for breeding, I stick with carrots and apples If I got them. No harm in using grapefruit.

[JeffreH]

Be weary using the rough/rugged bings that have thick plastic; the insides are often just ever so slightly textured where newborn B. dubia nymphs (and those from other species) can actually get a grip and climb up them. I started noticing baby nymphs all over the place in my house caught in small spider webs of the basement and dead in random locations [all the more proof the will not thrive in or infest your home, lol]. I soon realized the issue was the bin when I caught some of the babies clnging toward the top and scurrying down the sides being able to climb up the wall. They were actually small enough to squeeze through the closed lid of the bin after climbing up to the top... Be sure to get the nice smooth plastic totes like those made by Sterilite to prevent escapees = ) And unfortunately, applying vaseline doesn't seem to help the matter for these bins.

You can use virtually any fruit or veggie to feed the roaches, although I opt to avoid avocado and rhubard due to known toxicity in birds and unknown toxiticty levels respectively (probably more applicable to reptiles). They can be picky, most of mine won't touch pineapple, parsley, cilantro, hotter peppers and other herbs. If they're thristy enough though, I convinced they'l consume almost anything. Also, be sure not to feed the green, "plant" parts of tomato vines or pepper plants if you are harvesting from your garden (very toxic to herps).

As for using using citrus fruits and beta-carotene containing foods, I've actually not noticed any substantial increase in production using them. But hey, it never hurts to offer it up just in case!

[Sublime]

Ah man, that's no good having babies running everywhere in the house haha. If that ever happened to me my parents would immediately make me get rid of them. Instead of vaseline, I learned this from TheRoachRanch - apply clear packing tape all along the side walls. This will do the same job as a smooth plastic tote or glass enclosure for these guys. I've never had any babies escape so far, it's worked out great. Yeah the baby nymphs have small projections on their legs that the adults don't have allowing them to cling on.

Thanks for letting me know about some of the toxic levels found in certain fruits and vegetables. That's why I just like to be careful and use 'suggested' available fruit. Good to know that citrus and beta-carotene speed up production from what most people have found. I love taking care of these roaches, so much more than crickets! Haha.

[Kreamcheese]

Yeah I have sterilite and it's pretty smooth. I also made sure I added a nice thick strip of packing tape like Mark said. Did that with my first attempt too. I would honestly be a dead man if any got out so I need to take every precaution! In the last pic you can actually see my line of tape going around the top.

Side Note: One of the coldest mornings here in San Diego. Literally shivering standing in my garage, yet the roach bin is a nice 90 degrees!

[Kreamcheese]

Mark I may be having the opposite problem now; too much heat! Have about 400 roaches now and I looked and the temp was 100. But I know it's hotter than that right where the heaters are placed. Seemed like all of the roaches were crowded under the food and water crystals. I turned off the heater on the side and I'm gonna see if that helps. Currently they don't really go up the egg crate at all and the spots where they were the heat pad isn't touching. At least now I'll be able to reduce the heat as needed instead of struggling to get enough heat.

[BG]

Keep the citrus coming. Andrew if you give them fruit,take out the water source. It can get damp in there. Its looking good.

[Kreamcheese]

Gonna go buy some citrus right now. Also I have a head of lettuce that is going bad; can I toss that in there for the roaches?

[Sublime]

Well lettuce is fine to put in there, but one that is going bad I wouldn't. Will produce mold a lot faster and lose most of it's nutritional value. So, really no point.

[Kreamcheese]

Threw out the lettuce. Got some fresh cut orange in there now. What do you think about my temps? The roaches seem to be avoiding my egg flats and staying on the bottom just packed on top of one another.

[Sublime]

Around 100 is fine in some areas towards the bottom, higher than that is unknown. I keep mine at about 90-105 towards the bottom, they mostly bunker down towards the bottom. The egg flats are their cool off area. My whole ground floor is covered with a heat mat so they can't cool off down there. If they're mostly on the bottom then that means the temps are fine down there. Keep them that way, they will choose where to go. I know ideally you should just have it 90-95 throughout for optimal breeding, so just try to achieve that and you'll be good.

[Kreamcheese]

Alright yeah that makes sense. I hooked the other heater back up. The entire bottom is basically covered with the bottom UTH so that's where they want to be. I keep checking on them which is insane, I need to just let them be haha.

[Sublime]

Yeah I do the same thing... Spent good money on these guys and want to make sure I get the most production out of them before they die... Seems kind of harsh, lol.

[ConVexity]

Crafty! lol
Macgyver!