Dubia colony questions

[Heatheranne]

Merry Christmas to you guys also .

Oh, I forgot to mention...common sense really...I keep the heat lamp over the dry food side .

Have a good day everyone! Time to enjoy some Christmas breakfast with the family .

[fish4all]

All good Jeff. Aquaria can be expensive but once in a while Petco has them for $1 a gallon. Still higher than you would pay for a sterlite or other tub but not bad for prices. $10 isn't bad at all for 10 gallon tank.

I can see your point about the temperature regulation though. If they are not filled with water then the temp will fluxuate a lot. I was more worried about the light problems but Heather helped with that.

I will probably get heat tape sooner or later but the cost of the thermostat is going to make me wait for a month or 2 before I can get it all ready but may be that long before I get the roaches. Can anyone recommend which thermostat to get. Also, do you put the probe on top of the heat mat for temperature readings or inside the bin/tank?

[Heatheranne]

I use a 100watt infared bulb with a dimmer lamp.

[unkempt1]

I'd also be interested in this forums insights on a decent heat tape, but one that can be used in a sterilite tub. The heat pad I use has a really bad heat transfer; I jut want something more efficient and effective, and I can always use the heat pad for a second tub (or heaven forbid for myself when I get sore).

[JeffreH]

Heather's on it with a dimmer - you can pick up a cheap lamp dimmer (rheostat) from Lowe's or Home Depot for ~$10. Obviously, you won't get the accuracy and convenience that the thermostat offers in controlling temps, but if you have a thermometer you can simply dim your undertank heater, heat tape, or light to the appropriate temperature range. You'll just have to check temps every now and then to adjust the dimmer switch accordingly for seasonal fluctuations in your ambient house temp. This is how I generally prefer to run things - as my basement stays fairly constant in temperature year round anyway and I have a few tempguns at my disposal for easy point and shoot temp readings to adjust.

If you do use a thermostat, you'll want the probe on inside, bottom surface of the bin. Assuming you have your heat tape or UTH under the bin, you want the reading right above it. I like to shoot for about 90 degrees on the inside bottom surface. With a closed bin and a small area of ventilation, this allows my 20 gallon tubs to reach ambient temps in the 80's throughout much of the volume with heat tape running beneath the entire bin.

I've heard decent things about a Thermostat used for hydroponics called Hydrofarm... literally just heard about it today from a fellow hobbyist. They run a lot cheaper than other thermostats I've used... I've used Rancos and Herpstats for my snake collection and have been very pleased with them.

Unkempt - I use Flexwatt Heat Tape. I personally get it from my buddy Eric Erb (owns ReptileTubs.com) who vends most of the Ohio shows and Tinley Park, but I've only ever purchased it from him via expos. The heat tape peaks out at a surface temp of ~115 degrees F, making it relatively safe to use even on full power in most situations. There are a variety of online sources... if my memory serves me correctly - The Bean Farm and Reptile Supplies, Dog, Cat, Small Pet Supply & Aquarium Products sell heat tape and associated materials.

Be sure to install heat tape correctly! If you do not know how to solder, you'll want to buy the clips and have electrical tape at the ready to insulate them. Very cheap and very easy to install... All you need to some pliers to clamp the clips in if you opt to do it that way. I can get a 1ft section of 11" wide heat tape for about $6 at the show with the extension cord and clips included. Each additional foot is only about $4. I rig these up on my rack and can heat most of the colonies for dirt cheap...plus they only run about 10watts or less per foot.

Again, be sure to install it correctly and cover it in foil tape! This is often overlooked, but essential for the well-being of the heat tape. I have a link with instructions in my How to Keep and Breed Roaches guide... I'll paste it below. Very useful, plus pictures!
Pro Exotics Reptiles, the Nation's finest captive bred Snakes and Monitors, your source for Infrared Thermometer, Temp Gun.

[fish4all]

Heather, if you don't mind, would you direct me to a picture of your setup and possibly a bit more detail. I keep my house at 72F all winter and I am thinking your setup might work really well for me. Even if it isn't perfect for me, the more information I gather the better.

[Bruce]

I prefer the KISS method... Keep It Simple Stupid!!

Nothing fancy needs to be done with roaches I use a big plastic tote with a square hole cut in the lid, screen hot glued to the lid, and a heat lamp on a dimmer for heat. Fill with egg crates standing up so the frass (poop) falls to the bottom.

Cleaning! Remove egg crates. Bang against bucket until roaches are off. The babies at the bottom in the frass can be retrieved by putting an egg crate back in, and when they climb back up you just bang them into the bucket. You'll have some casualties, it's unavoidable. If your colony is reproducing as it should it shouldn't matter.

Keep the temps warm (88-92 is optimum breeding temps I've found) and plenty of food. Citrus fruits and banana's seem to be their favorite, which has enough water for them to thrive, however water gel should be offered if using dry foods such as cereal (they go nuts for Cheerios and monster cricket chow)

That's that!

[Heatheranne]

Sure... I just cleaned mine, so you'll be able to see well.

I have too many right now so it's quite crowded. If you're going to have more than 300, I'd recommend a 15 or 20 gallon tall. ($1 sale is going on at Petco right now)



I feed mine to my frogs when they molt because they are nice and soft.

[Heatheranne]

@ Bruce...

A few casualties, lol!... None...well, if your a goober like me and sift through the poo for hours to save them all, lol!!!

(Bruce sold me my starter colonies and taught me how to take care of mine.)

[Bruce]

@ Bruce...

A few casualties, lol!... None...well, if your a goober like me and sift through the poo for hours to save them all, lol!!!

(Bruce sold me my starter colonies and taught me how to take care of mine.)

Lol!!! I don't like sifting through poop, thank you very much

[Heatheranne]

Lol!!!!!

[fish4all]

Too funny you two. But I will likely sift through mine also. One to catch as many smaller ones as a I can but also to get them out so I can throw the frass in my composter. During winter months it may not matter as much because the cold would kill any stragglers but to have a few get in my recycle bin and start their own colony would be a disaster.

Heather, are you talking about 300 breeding adults or 300 roaches? And thank you for the Petco sales update.

[fish4all]

Okay, couple more questions. What type of thermometer do you use with the heat lamps and where do you put it?

I looked more and more at yours Heather and it is not what I imagined mine being as far as where the crates would be and the food. I figured on putting the food and water crystals in one side of the container and the crates on the other. Jut seemed logical I guess but when I raised rickets I put the food and water crystals on top of everything so I guess it really doesn't matter. I did put everything in containers.

Seems like the KISS method works and i like that method. When I try to mke things too complicated, and I do this a lot, things always go haywire in one way another.

[badkelpie]

Thermostats with roaches? Really? Mine don't even have a thermometer. They have an old reptile heat rock (the kind people used to use that burned your reptiles), $2 at a thrift store. Put that in the tub with some sand (to disperse the heat some), egg cartons. Throw some food in there occasionally. They breed like mad.

Don't overthink it, they're roaches.

[JeffreH]

If you don't like digging through frass to find all of the nymphs, you can employ this sifting method:
http://www.frogforum.net/food-feeder...phs-frass.html

I still believe its a good practice to have some control device on any heating element; be it for feeders or herps. I've seen melted bins that resulted from heating devices being left unattended. It's ultimately personal preference on risk assessment, I just don't trust anything that can potentially be a fire hazard.

Christopher - if you are good with dubia, I think you've got a nice chunk of information from everyone here. If you do go with the turkistan roaches, you'll definitely have to go with the ooth separation method if you opt for an aquarium unless you can cover the screen top with something to hold in moisture better. Keep an eye on molts too ; )

[Heatheranne]

I hate to say it, but I just have an aquarium thermometer strip. Nothing fancy. You can judge by the roaches behavior too. If they're all at the top under the light, they're cold. If they're all hiding at the bottom, they're too warm.

Yeah, I prefer the food at one end, but there's not enough room. I just have too many. I have more than I thought ... realized when I cleaned them out. The cartons are actually somewhat heavy when you pick them up. Roaches on both sides. I'm guessing near 600, minus the nymphs. I'll sell some this summer.

I put the frass in our flower garden. Well, in the snow yesterday, ha ha! Makes the flowers bloom like crazy .

[Bruce]

I use a digital probe thermometer. Keep it at the top, right under the light, and when the temp hits 95°F, you're good, as it gets significantly cooler as you go under the egg crates.

Here's a few pics of my set up

[Heatheranne]

A quick mist of the top helps them molt, but not too much bc your cartons will get soggy.

[fish4all]

Whatever works, I have an aquarium thermo on my frog setup. I double checked it with a digital but it is what I use and works pretty well.

600 adults in a 10 gallon seems like a lot even to me never having raised them. Thankfully I will hopefully have a friend who will be able to take extra adults to feed his reptile.

[Heatheranne]

Exactly! I only feed out about 15 a week. Need to sell a bunch.