Heating Dubia Roach colony

[acrudy]

How does everyone keep them at the appropriate temps? i have them in my room and i dont really want to have my entire room like 85 degrees so are there any heat mats or anything you can use?

 

[Andrew273]

I never used a heat pad. They breed fast enough as it is plus I've found food molts really fast with extra heat. You can use a heatpad on the side if you like.

 

[acrudy]

I was thinking the heat mat, like one of the ones that sticks on the glass of a normal t encloser but i wasnt sure if it would melt the rubbermade container? I brought this up bc i resently started my first colony and all i ever see them doing is sittin on the egg flats not moving and i thought this meant they were cold am I incorrect?

 

[TheBugBarn]

I keep all my roaches in a closet with a 100w light bulb. Regular light bulbs put off a lot of heat, and are cheap.

 

[ArachnidSentinl]

...I was thinking the heat mat, like one of the ones that sticks on the glass of a normal t encloser but i wasnt sure if it would melt the rubbermade container?...

Being cautious with any heat source is a good idea -- in fact, I recall reading a warning not to use heat mats on plastic. However, I have myself never had a problem with heat mats on plastic. In my experience, they don't give off enough heat to do any damage.

(Of course, the caveat here is that heat output probably varies from brand to brand.)

I keep all my roaches in a closet with a 100w light bulb. Regular light bulbs put off a lot of heat, and are cheap.

Do they mind the light?

 

[ZephAmp]

I keep mine at room temperature and the reproduce like crazy.
Mind you, if you keep them too warm, they'll feel stressed and won't breed; and, generally, at warmer temperatures your adults will be smaller, making smaller babies, etc.

 

[Harrod]

I have a low watt infrared bulb over my colony. It's about 84 degrees under it and they are producing faster than I can keep up with. Heat tape also works well.

 

[rvtjonny]

I use a CVS Heating Pad, Standard Size, With 3 Variable Heat Settings,(keep mine on low 24/7) its 15 bucks. you can find them anywhere but just make sure it don't have a auto shut off built in like the ones from wal-mart.

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=466079&productId=466079&navAction=jump&navCount=3

On SALE! $9.59 /FREE standard shipping eligible

 

[DaveEmory]

I keep all my roaches in a closet with a 100w light bulb. Regular light bulbs put off a lot of heat, and are cheap.

If you do a little quick math, you will see that running a 100w bulb as your heat source is not so cheap. A foot of 3" FlexWatt heat tape is fine for a large roach tub. Costs about $6 including wire clips... and uses 10w. That's a big difference in wattage.


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