dubia nymphs

[Gesticulator]

I have just noticed that my Blaptica dubias have procreated!!! Since this is my first go at starting a colony I have a few questions.
Do I now wait till I have a small stock of dubias in varying sizes...ie: when the next set of babies are born...to feed my tarantulas?
How many adults should I always keep on hand?
What ratio of males to female adults?
Life span...when do I use the adults as feeders and how do I know which are the "elders"?

 

[Mister Internet]

It depends entirely on how many inverts you have, what their feeding requirements are, and what temp you're keeping the roaches at... how many prey items would you say you need per week, and what size? How many adults and total roaches would you say you have now?

 

[Dark Raptor]

dubia nymphs

Hmmm... maybe I'm wrong, but name 'nymph' is reserved to 'the last larval stage of Hemimetabola insects'

Do I now wait till I have a small stock of dubias in varying sizes...

Yes. You should wait. This is good idea because you will always have some procreating females in every moment.

How many adults should I always keep on hand?

As much as you can. I've got 13 T's and keep 50 adults (I will not count smaller specimens). And remember... "more roaches in tank, quicker they breed", this works with all species I have.

What ratio of males to female adults?

1:3 is enough. I supose that 1:5 will also work.

Life span...when do I use the adults as feeders and how do I know which are the "elders"?

My adult roaches are now more than 3 months old. Old specimens are much slower, they've got dammaged wings, anntenas, legs ect.

 

[Gesticulator]

I have 20 tarantulas; 3 slings who eat small crickets and 17 adults and juvies who eat large crickets. So can I feed the smallest roaches (I was told were called nymphs...) to the slings? I currently have 5 male dubias to about 15 females. There are others that are a bit smaller that don't have wings. I don't know at what stage males show their wings. I'm new at this and eager to learn how to keep a colony thriving, so any help is appreciated.

 

[james]

Be patient

All good things come in time. I would hold back your first 50-100 NYMPHS and raise them up. Your goal is to produce enough food so you don't have to buy crickets. Any other babies produced after the first group your holding back you can use as feeders. On dubia males usually live 8-12 months and females 1-2 years. Once you have a bigger colony it's easy to hold more back and feed off older adults.
James
www.blaberus.com