? roaches and collecting leaves and logs

[Anonymity82]

So I'm setting up a pet roach enclosure. I have 6 adult female dubia roaches in a cruddy little container and I have 6 large question mark nymphs on their way. I believe it is a 15 qt sterilite tub. I poked a few holes and will lay down some vaseline near the top. I hate vaseline with a passion but I'd hate it worse if the roaches got out. I don't plan on them breeding as they'll likely be on their last legs by the time it actually gets back up to 80 in here but I'm fine with that.

I will be going out to collect leaves and some decor tomorrow. Do I need to sanitize these in any way? Some people say do it and others say there's no need. Just curious what you guys have to say. Trying to find freshly fallen branches that aren't rotted at all and hardwood leaves. I'm curious if I get some non hardwood leaves and/or logs into the enclosure will it harm they roaches?

I'm also thinking of possibly getting some more dubia roaches tomorrow too just to beef it up a bit but maybe I'll leave it as is and just get them as the other die off.

Any idea of life span of a dubia? Thanks for any help!

 

[Hisserdude]

Hi,
Fist of all, Vaseline is not needed for dubias, they can't climb. Question marks adults can climb, but not the nymphs. Also, question marks at least can breed at room temperatures, so they will breed. Also, they take a long time to mature, so even large nymphs could take a few weeks to a few months to mature. Question marks need leaves in their diet, so you should get some asap. I honestly have not been sterilizing my leaves, but I would sanitize wood. Just stick in the microwave for a minute or two, make sure they are wet when you cook them, otherwise you could start a fire. What do you mean by non hardwood, pine? I would not put any pine in the cage, it usually causes more harm than good. Hope this helps!

 

[Beary Strange]

From what I understand, dubia females live around 18 months, so unless yours are already quite old, they're not going to be dropping dead anytime soon. I've had mine for two years, maybe a bit longer and only in the past few months have I experienced die-offs.

 

[Anonymity82]

Thanks! Since the nymphs are supposed to be large and I'm not sure when they'll mature I'll just put a little on for safety anyway. I know what oak leaves look like and am pretty confident in maple leaves. But I also need to get some pieces of wood for them to climb on. I'll do my best to not use any pine and I'll microwave damp wood. I think that would help too since the pine will like leak sap and smell I'd imagine. Thanks for the help and tips!

---------- Post added 10-26-2015 at 10:33 PM ----------

From what I understand, dubia females live around 18 months, so unless yours are already quite old, they're not going to be dropping dead anytime soon. I've had mine for two years, maybe a bit longer and only in the past few months have I experienced die-offs.

Thanks. I've had them for about a year and some were adults when I got them. Maybe I'll get a few more tomorrow. They're only 50 cents a pop for mediums. Thing is they're all females so if I get nymphs they may breed in the summer months and I don't really want a giant colony to care for. Of course, many of them will be used as feeders every couple of weeks.

 

[Hisserdude]

Well question marks like to burrow more than anything, so they don't really need stuff to climb on, just a deep substrate. Maybe a few toilet paper rolls for hides? Honestly I think you could get away with no hides.

 

[Anonymity82]

Okay cool. Thanks. I have to stretch the eco earth a bit so I'm on putting in about two inches but did go out and pick up some leaves and stuff. The wood pieces are too big for the microwave so I'm just going to put them in. I'm tossing some springtails too. I can't wait for these roaches to get here. Also he tossed in black hole spider which is something I've wanted for a long time. Hopefully it's a female!

It would be really cool if this worked out and they reproduced etc... Thanks again!

---------- Post added 10-27-2015 at 11:21 AM ----------

The patch of woods right by my house is full of oak leaves so I picked up a bunch of those. I couldn't find any maple leaves other than the leaves around my building but since they spray I'm not going to try those. I did find some sycamore leaves too so we'll see if they eat any of that. I was told by the seller that they're very hardy and too not worry too much about the leaves. Thanks again for the help!