Dubia Roach setup before/after

[Kreamcheese]

Like the setup monster. I did the same with the egg crate and they seem to like it. They're crammed like crazy in there. The only problem i see with that is when I go to clean out the bin it will be hard to get them out of the egg crate. Guess I can just put the egg crates in another container while I'm cleaning it out.

[Sublime]

@Monster Damn, that last picture they're's a lot of adult nymphs ready to molt! Do you keep them in a dark place in that transparent bin?

@Andrew Yeah, that's what I'm going to do... I already have 2 bins setup; one for cleaning, one for a feeding bin.

@Steesy 2000 nymphs are a lot to start out with, nice. You're not going to wait for them to mature and breed though before feeding off or you'll just replenish?

I have a question... I've found these like tube looking isopods on the ground near the food. Are these the babies that the females take back in to give live birth? I know they give similar birth to mammals.

[Kreamcheese]

Mark did they look like this? This is the actual birth I'm not sure what they look like at the start when she takes them back in.

Blaptica Dubia roach giving birth - YouTube

[Sublime]

Yeah Andrew, I saw that video. That's a cool video demonstrating it; I like how they're ghost white at first and then just crawl away and do their business. I hope those weren't babies in the tube, because I threw one of them away thinking it was like food or something... Left the other 'tube' shaped pods in there.

[Kreamcheese]

Can't wait until most of my large nymphs molt into adults. Then I should start seeing the babies pour out.

[MonsterPyxie]

Like the setup monster. I did the same with the egg crate and they seem to like it. They're crammed like crazy in there. The only problem i see with that is when I go to clean out the bin it will be hard to get them out of the egg crate. Guess I can just put the egg crates in another container while I'm cleaning it out.

With the egg crate you can ether pry them apart, and have 2 more ready to go glued together, or just bang the egg crate on the side of the container, and they will come falling out. you will see just how poor these guys are at holding on to anything, as they will tumble right out. You will still need to probably pull the egg crate apart to get the babies out. but I would only replace the egg crate when its saturated with frass.

@Monster Damn, that last picture they're's a lot of adult nymphs ready to molt! Do you keep them in a dark place in that transparent bin?

@Andrew Yeah, that's what I'm going to do... I already have 2 bins setup; one for cleaning, one for a feeding bin.

@Steesy 2000 nymphs are a lot to start out with, nice. You're not going to wait for them to mature and breed though before feeding off or you'll just replenish?

I have a question... I've found these like tube looking isopods on the ground near the food. Are these the babies that the females take back in to give live birth? I know they give similar birth to mammals.

Mark,

I have seen a TON of molting since that picture. Seems like more males then anything that I can see. I am planning soon to take on the task of counting my male to female ratio. I fear I have way to many males, and thats why i have been seeing so many of them acting odd in the last week or so. I will then thin out the numbers of the males if I need too, by feeding them off.

I keep them in what there in. The egg crate stays pretty dark, plus with all them crammed in there its darker/warmer and such then my old set up with a bunch of egg crate and tubes. I will be painting the outside of the container black, leaving a small ring at the top to peak in, that should be more then enough to keep them happy. They should be fine with a day/night cycle, but the darker the better for them.

as far as the pods you are finding, its a sign that the females are dropping the pods from stress. Not a good sign. If It's just a few, I wouldn't sweat it, but if there are quite a few around, you should recheck everything about your set up to see if there is something simple stressing them out.

[Kreamcheese]

Love how active and knowledgeable people are on this forum. Thanks for the advice Monster. I bought a pack of 70 egg flats so I'll have some glued together for spares when I clean out my bin.

[MonsterPyxie]

Love how active and knowledgeable people are on this forum. Thanks for the advice Monster. I bought a pack of 70 egg flats so I'll have some glued together for spares when I clean out my bin.

sound's good, but don't waste too many. Once a month, or when they become saturated.

Remember the babies eat and hide in the poo/frass. So you don't want a bin/enclosure that is spotless. kinda gross, but its how they work. I find it pretty cool that they are that efficient. The roaches fascinate me more then any of my other critters, they are so much like a well oiled machine!

[Kreamcheese]

Yeah I know to only clean the bin rarely, like once every other month. But with my small numbers I may be able to go even longer. And the 70 flats only cost me $12 bucks so not that worried about the cost

[MonsterPyxie]

Yeah I know to only clean the bin rarely, like once every other month. But with my small numbers I may be able to go even longer. And the 70 flats only cost me $12 bucks so not that worried about the cost

Right, you might be able to go quite a while, just pick out the old fruit and such. With mine, I will probably clean once a month, but im not going to worry about every single bit of poo, I will leave a bit in there for the babies.

Where did you get your egg crate? I looked around alot and only found bundles of a dozen or so. I paid about $1.20 each I'm afraid