Dubia Roach Heating

[Braden]

Hello. I have a newer colony of Dubias and it gets cold in the winter. They are in a large tub, 20 length x 16 width X 16 height(in inches). I have a large heat mat about 11x6 inches.
Can I put the heat mat on one side of the tub without the use of a thermostat because they have plenty of room to move away from it?
I would love to hear your opinion(s)
Thanks

 

[Liquifin]

Yes, you can use a heat pad on the side as long as it doesn't get too hot. Thermostats are not necessary if the enclosure is warm. Dubia's tend to be attracted to heat when it gets cold around them. There's more information that other people can provide, but I only have one dubia colony so maybe some more people can chime in on advice and care.

 

[Braden]

Yes, you can use a heat pad on the side as long as it doesn't get too hot. Thermostats are not necessary if the enclosure is warm. Dubia's tend to be attracted to heat when it gets cold around them. There's more information that other people can provide, but I only have one dubia colony so maybe some more people can chime in on advice and care.

The heat mat gets pretty hot. Like do they know when they are too hot to move away or are they dumb and will overheat?

 

[DomGom TheFather]

You can elevate the tub so it doesn't sit right on the mat.
Two pieces of wood trim work great.

 

[Liquifin]

The heat mat gets pretty hot. Like do they know when they are too hot to move away or are they dumb and will overheat?

That depends on the scenario of external temperatures. If your house is cold in the winter and you use your heat pad to warm the enclosure, they will most likely run towards the heat source and they will most likely disregard the heat danger. I've seen this happen before to where they all literally pile on top of each other towards the heat source to prevent them from being cold. It's almost like suicide to an extent.

I recommend using using something to place in between the heat pad and enclosure so it doesn't cause direct heat onto the enclosure. Use a piece of styrofoam, wood, or something to place in between the enclosure and heat pad so the enclosure doesn't get the direct heat from the heat pad. This will cause a secondary heating effect, so they will get the warm but not all the heat from the heat pad.

 

[Braden]

How cold are they able to get. Like the temp drops to about 65, sometimes a bit lower.

 

[Liquifin]

How cold are they able to get. Like the temp drops to about 65, sometimes a bit lower.

Probably around 70F at lowest, because these are a tropical species of feeder roaches that originated from South America. The signs to notice that it's getting colder for them is if they start to slow down, become a less aware, slower growth and reproduction, and if they don't eat as often. A healthy dubia colony will be aware of light, eat well, move and react normally. I recommend people to keep their dubia colony in dark places or dark bins to block out light and to keep them warm to promote growth, reproduction, and normal behavior.

Cold temperatures are something that isn't good for any feeder colony. So I probably say 70F is the coldest you can keep them, but just note this will cause them to produce slower and grow slower.

 

[Frogdaddy]

When I was keeping a large Dubia colony I didn't use a "reptile heat pad". In the summer.I just kept them in my garage and it was plenty hot. In the winter I used an old fashioned human heating pad. You know, the kind older folks used for sore muscles. It had a cloth bag around the heating element and I only put it on one half of their sterlite bin. These may be a bit hard to come by these days as most "modern" heating pads have some sort of digital timer that turns.the heating pad off after so many hours.
The advantage was depending on my ambient room temperature I could turn the heating pad on low, medium, or high and because it was encased in cloth there was a decent amount of temperature control without too much contact with the plastic bin.
Hope this helps.

 

[Smotzer]

When I had mine I used a heat lamp, to heat them up. I prefered this as, over a mat, I could set it different distances depending on time of year to regulate temperature. This method worked better for me.

 

[Braden]

That depends on the scenario of external temperatures. If your house is cold in the winter and you use your heat pad to warm the enclosure, they will most likely run towards the heat source and they will most likely disregard the heat danger. I've seen this happen before to where they all literally pile on top of each other towards the heat source to prevent them from being cold. It's almost like suicide to an extent.

I recommend using using something to place in between the heat pad and enclosure so it doesn't cause direct heat onto the enclosure. Use a piece of styrofoam, wood, or something to place in between the enclosure and heat pad so the enclosure doesn't get the direct heat from the heat pad. This will cause a secondary heating effect, so they will get the warm but not all the heat from the heat pad.

How does this look? I set the tub on top of these pieces of wood with the mat between them(so it isn't direct heat)

 

[Liquifin]

How does this look? I set the tub on top of these pieces of wood with the mat between them(so it isn't direct heat)

Before I had my useful space heater, I used a thick Styrofoam sheet and placed it on-top of the heat pad. So the heat pad would be under the Styrofoam which the colony bin was on top of it all. I added another thinner layer of Styrofoam to get it just right for them until I got my space heater. But that was how I did it. The wood will most likely work, but you have to try it to know for sure. Turn on the heat pad and wait for the surface to get warm/hot, then once the surface gets hot, feel the wood and if it's very warm then it means it's working. You want it very warm, but not hot and if it turns out warm then it probably needs some adjustments. I find Styrofoam works better in this case, but give it a try. Most likely, you're going to have to adjust it until it works the way you want it just like me.

If you have a space heater, then a heat pad wouldn't really be necessary as a warm room doesn't require additional heating for a colony.

 

[Braden]

Before I had my useful space heater, I used a thick Styrofoam sheet and placed it on-top of the heat pad. So the heat pad would be under the Styrofoam which the colony bin was on top of it all. I added another thinner layer of Styrofoam to get it just right for them until I got my space heater. But that was how I did it. The wood will most likely work, but you have to try it to know for sure. Turn on the heat pad and wait for the surface to get warm/hot, then once the surface gets hot, feel the wood and if it's very warm then it means it's working. You want it very warm, but not hot and if it turns out warm then it probably needs some adjustments. I find Styrofoam works better in this case, but give it a try. Most likely, you're going to have to adjust it until it works the way you want it just like me.

If you have a space heater, then a heat pad wouldn't really be necessary as a warm room doesn't require additional heating for a colony.

Wait Wait Wait! Here, I got a ceramic heat emitter, a thermostat and a thermometer(with a probe) I set the temp to 94F. How is this?

 

[Liquifin]

Wait Wait Wait! Here, I got a ceramic heat emitter, a thermostat and a thermometer(with a probe) I set the temp to 94F. How is this?

It'll probably work, but I don't know how to use heat emitter nor do I use one so I don't know much about it to be honest here. This kind of heating isn't in my area, so someone else can probably chime in and advise on it.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Many things will work.
Just be careful. Not only of fire but of overheating.
They can handle things on the cooler side. Just a few hours of being a little too hot and they're cooked.
I try to keep all of my roaches around 80 so that I have some wiggle room with the temperature.
Hope this helps.

 

[Introvertebrate]

I've seen this happen before to where they all literally pile on top of each other towards the heat source to prevent them from being cold. It's almost like suicide to an extent.

So they killed themselves?

 

[Liquifin]

So they killed themselves?

No, they just stayed on the hot surface which is quite unpleasant to see as it's almost just sad as it's like neglect but for roaches.

 

[Braden]

Many things will work.
Just be careful. Not only of fire but of overheating.
They can handle things on the cooler side. Just a few hours of being a little too hot and they're cooked.
I try to keep all of my roaches around 80 so that I have some wiggle room with the temperature.
Hope this helps.

Ok I set the thermostat to 80. The thermostat isn't 100% accurate so it will most likely always be ~between 75 and 83

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Ok I set the thermostat to 80. The thermostat isn't 100% accurate so it will most likely always be ~between 75 and 83

That is a good range.
Just keep a close eye out for any issues with both the roaches and overheating.
Nobody wants to be the guy who started the infamous "roach fire" of 2020. Lol

 

[Braden]

Yeah that's all this year could use lol