I had started a colony of b. dubias on October 1st. I use a 18 gallon rubbermaid container with an opening on the lid w/ mesh about 14"x6" for ventalation. I was expecting to get 450 roaches(150 adults & 300 assorted nymphs), but the website i ordered from had a double your order sale and ended up with over 1000 roaches(300 adults and 720 assorted). I had some freebies thrown in as well. Anyways the past few weeks i have noticed a rotting smell comming out of the colony and have been finding about 30 dead nymphs every week or so. I have not seen one dead adult yet, and just about every death is on its back. I used to have a heat lamp, but i removed it because i thought it might be contributing to the problem. After removing the lamp the deaths have continued. I know there can be many factors involved, but does anyone think i have overcrowding? If so does overcrowding result in nymph deaths? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
B. dubia nymph deaths
- Thread starter RyRyFive
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- Sep 8, 2003
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Do they have enough moisture? My dubia CRAVE their water crystals!! CRAVE Them! I do live in a very dry area so I make sure they get a lot of water sources such as moist foods and a constant supply of water crystals.
Thats the only thing I can think of.
Thats the only thing I can think of.
Don't know what the problem is but it's not overcrowding. I have a way higher density without any problems.
If you can smell the dead ones it sounds like it's pretty humid in there (?). If so check to make sure there is no mold on your food.
As Old Hag mentioned as long as they have adequate water (fruit/veg) they are almost bullet-proof IME.
Sounds like you're not the only one with this problem. Maybe you should check the other posts and see if the others got their dubia from the same place as you. May not be your husbandry but a problem on the vendors end.
If you can smell the dead ones it sounds like it's pretty humid in there (?). If so check to make sure there is no mold on your food.
As Old Hag mentioned as long as they have adequate water (fruit/veg) they are almost bullet-proof IME.
Sounds like you're not the only one with this problem. Maybe you should check the other posts and see if the others got their dubia from the same place as you. May not be your husbandry but a problem on the vendors end.
The males can fly/flutter but will usually only do so when there is alot of them.
I did have a problem with the males escaping without a lid, but i have a good amount of water crystals, and my bug room is about 55%-65% humidity on average. I dont mist the encloser at all. Do they need more moister?
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I wouldnt think they would need it moister. Just as long as you have a bowl of water crystals or something on that line.
Could be disease as Dom mentioned. Maybe steming from the vendor you bought them from. Who knows.
I had the same escape problem with dermestids. The beetles would fly out of the enclosure so I got some mesh from a fabric store (on the dollar table
) and put over the tub and got some elastic and put around the edge like a big rubber band around the outside holding the fabric on the top. It allows for TONS of air exchange and stops escapes. Bet that would work well for your escaping males and let the humidity escape.
Could be disease as Dom mentioned. Maybe steming from the vendor you bought them from. Who knows.
I had the same escape problem with dermestids. The beetles would fly out of the enclosure so I got some mesh from a fabric store (on the dollar table
) and put over the tub and got some elastic and put around the edge like a big rubber band around the outside holding the fabric on the top. It allows for TONS of air exchange and stops escapes. Bet that would work well for your escaping males and let the humidity escape.