Strange die-offs in dubia colony...advice welcome.

[nicodimus22]

So, I've had this dubia colony since late 2016. Over the last month or so, I'm seeing (and smelling) a lot more deaths than usual. It doesn't seem to matter what size/age/sex the roach is...they end up on their backs and die that way. I do turn them over when I see them upside-down, but it's often too late. I admit I'm not checking every day for upturned roaches...but I never had to before, so why would that change?

Setup: Huge plastic tub (which a small person could fit in) with egg crate flats standing up on one side of it, with cardboard dividers in between them. Small external heat mat underneath the egg crate side, set with a rheostat so that the inner floor of the tub is about 90 degrees. Water crystals in two fake rock bowls. Food given 3 times a week...baby carrots and the usual roach food from Amazon (has all kinds of oatmeal, veggies, and other stuff in it.) The lid has large sections cut out of it, and then screen hot-glued in so that 75-80% of the lid is screen for ventilation. The house is kept at 72 degrees. I clean out most of the frass every 3 months or so.

I haven't read anything that would explain this. Nothing has changed about the way I keep them for almost a year when I put them in the larger tub. Could I be overfeeding? Why do they die on their backs? Help appreciated.

 

[krbshappy71]

Have you checked for mold on the egg crates? We have die-offs here and there, but they breed faster than they die-off so I don't worry too much about it. Sorry am not much help, we have a different setup. We don't use the water crystals, nor a heater, and put in food weekly making sure it isn't near their water source so it won't mold. Could one of their water sources have tipped creating mold on the cardboard? I'm sure other folks here will chime in.

 

[nicodimus22]

Have you checked for mold on the egg crates? We have die-offs here and there, but they breed faster than they die-off so I don't worry too much about it. Sorry am not much help, we have a different setup. We don't use the water crystals, nor a heater, and put in food weekly making sure it isn't near their water source so it won't mold. Could one of their water sources have tipped creating mold on the cardboard? I'm sure other folks here will chime in.

I pull different egg crates out each time I feed to get a look at them, and I haven't seen any mold yet. I put food in the half that is away from the egg crates, and they are usually all over it within 15 minutes and it's gone within a few hours.

 

[Liquifin]

Are you introducing new gene pools to the colony?? Dubias tend to do not-so-well with inbreeding, which inbreeding shortens the lifespan of the next a bit from what I've experienced. Also a picture of the colony would help a lot.

 

[nicodimus22]

Are you introducing new gene pools to the colony?? Dubias tend to do not-so-well with inbreeding, which inbreeding shortens the lifespan of the next a bit from what I've experienced. Also a picture of the colony would help a lot.

I have added new batches of roaches to the colony twice so far in the last 2 1/2 years.

 

[krbshappy71]

Wow, nice clean setup. Sorry I don't know, maybe change out the water crystals for new ones? Maybe with the dubias climbing all over it they get germy? I understand what you're saying in that you have had them fine for so long with this setup, just throwing out ideas.
Oh one more thing, was reading this article and it says too much protein over time can build up in them, maybe check the protein percentages on the Amazon food compared to other sites that sell dubia food and see if its higher in protein than others? https://dubiaroaches.com/pages/what-do-dubia-roaches-eat

 

[Teal]

Why do they die on their backs

This is usually seen in deaths caused by chemical exposure. Any new air freshener, perfume, essential oils, cleaning products, etc? Did you notice more die offs starting with a new batch of food?

I'm curious why you have cardboard dividers between the egg crates? Dubia actually do better with a bit of crowding, but aside from that even I don't understand dividing them like that.