dubia cannibalizing each other

HepCatMoe

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
134
so one of my freshly molted adults just got mostly eaten (by the other dubia)!!

what the f? i feed them mostly on oatmeal, oranges, carrots, apples, zucchini, and tomato, in that order.

i suppose that means i am missing protein. will tuna work?

still... i didnt know dubia would cannibalize each other....
 

HepCatMoe

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 3, 2007
Messages
134
LOL, don't do it. Dried dog/cat food will work just fine;)
i tried dried cat food when i first got em. stank soooooooooo bad. :barf:

(and no i dont have any substrate in my enclosures. and the only moisture is from the fruit which i put in every couple days)

i just put some dog food in. looks like it will be gone soon, so maybe i can just give to em every once in a while.
 

Buspirone

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 10, 2003
Messages
1,064
Low protein, overcrowding or insufficient hiding spaces would be my top choices for cannibalism.

I never had any odor problems using dry cat, dog or fish foods in roach enclosures. Space the dry foods to opposite corners from water or fresh food sources. Odor is relative though...a dozen crickets stank worse than my 500+ roach colonies.

I used to get alot of free cat/dog/fish food samples from big name pet store chains on the weekends for my roach colonies.

I never knew if it helped but back when I was raising roaches I used to give them some dry food soaked in Olive oil every couple of weeks. I'd read at the time that the olive oil helped with increasing breeding rates. I don't know if it worked but my roaches seemed to like it well enough.
 

Obelisk

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 15, 2009
Messages
337
I use fish flakes, though I've noticed that it gets consumed way faster if it's a cheaper brand with less protein in it.

To the people who use dog food, do you ground it down, or do they eat the "chunks" just fine?
 

brachybaum

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
64
I've had great success with crushed rabbit pellets. They are high in protein and my dubias scarf it down more than cat food. Also has more of a tangy smell.
 

H. laoticus

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
1,017
I use fish flakes, though I've noticed that it gets consumed way faster if it's a cheaper brand with less protein in it.

To the people who use dog food, do you ground it down, or do they eat the "chunks" just fine?
I know a lot of people ground it down, but I just use the chunks and so far they do just fine with it. I read from someone's experience that the ground form they were using was quickly getting mold, so they switched to the chunky form to which molding took longer.
 

Neill

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
16
I use dry dog food, bran flakes and a handful of crunchy nut cornflakes.. blend them all down to powder, and put it on a flat lid.
I have never had mould, ever. Usually you make more powder than needed, so I rotate it every week, and only put in a bit of fruit/veg, taking it out every few days.
 
Top