Dubia Roach Help???

geckogoddess

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
4
I have a leopard gecko and I keep a colony of dubia roaches to feed her. I have an abundance of them so I have them in 2 different tanks the bigger tank being 10 gallons and the smaller one being 5 gallons. I separated them all from their tanks and into smaller holding containers so I could change the old substrate with some fresh and also change their food and water. Well, after I finished cleaning the tanks and setting everything back up, I started putting the dubias back into their tanks. The colony in the bigger tank are completely fine, but the colony in the smaller tank are literally ALL dying as soon as I put them back in the tank. Let me point out that there was nothing wrong with them when I took them out and I did not clean the tanks with anything harmful, only replaced the substrate. What could have caused them to all die off in such a mass?? I'm very confused because all was well beforehand.
 

Almadabes

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
163
Is the substrate really moist? hows the ventilation?

I personally don't use sub at all because it will raise the humidity.
Maybe it's okay in the larger tank but might be making the smaller one stuffy?
 

geckogoddess

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
4
Is the substrate really moist? hows the ventilation?

I personally don't use sub at all because it will raise the humidity.
Maybe it's okay in the larger tank but might be making the smaller one stuffy?
The substrate is coconut fiber and it's not moist at all. They've been thriving on it. And the tank is very well ventilated, the lid being a wire mesh top like the ones on reptile enclosures. I've done the same cleaning routine countless times and nothing like this has ever happened, but just all at once around 200 or so roaches dropped dead just like that. My colony in the 10 gallon tank is still thriving so it's not a total loss but I don't understand what could have went wrong.
 

Almadabes

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
163
The substrate is coconut fiber and it's not moist at all. They've been thriving on it. And the tank is very well ventilated, the lid being a wire mesh top like the ones on reptile enclosures. I've done the same cleaning routine countless times and nothing like this has ever happened, but just all at once around 200 or so roaches dropped dead just like that. My colony in the 10 gallon tank is still thriving so it's not a total loss but I don't understand what could have went wrong.
Strange indeed.

Any variables between the two colonies?

Different substrate bags, maybe one ran out and you used a different bag of the same stuff?
What about the containers you stored them in while cleaning? Were those repurposed from a store-bought product like food or something?
Was it cleaned out any differently than the colony bins themselves? I doubt it - as you already said you don't clean with harmful stuff and I would assume you took precautions. Just throwing ideas out.
 

geckogoddess

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
4
Strange indeed.

Any variables between the two colonies?

Different substrate bags, maybe one ran out and you used a different bag of the same stuff?
What about the containers you stored them in while cleaning? Were those repurposed from a store-bought product like food or something?
Was it cleaned out any differently than the colony bins themselves? I doubt it - as you already said you don't clean with harmful stuff and I would assume you took precautions. Just throwing ideas out.
Nope, same bag of coconut fiber. Sealed up so nothing can get into it. The holding containers I use are just those little reptile travel containers and they're only in there for maybe 30 minutes to an hour at most while I'm cleaning. I only really clean the tanks with hot water since the roaches tend to not be messy.
 

Almadabes

Arachnoknight
Joined
Sep 20, 2020
Messages
163
I'm not really sure then, maybe something microbial?

I would quarantine the colonies from each other and other feeders.
And although the large one looks good - monitor and quarantine that one too for the time being to make sure they're okay.
 

geckogoddess

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jan 7, 2021
Messages
4
I'm not really sure then, maybe something microbial?

I would quarantine the colonies from each other and other feeders.
And although the large one looks good - monitor and quarantine that one too for the time being to make sure they're okay.
Since the entirety of the smaller colony died I just dumped the tank and moved it out completely as to not risk transferring any possible sickness or whatever it may have been to them. I've been monitoring them since last night and all is well so far, no indication of anything wrong. Is it possible that in the short time that they were in the holding tank thay they could have suffocated one another? I've done it countless times and it's never happened but could thay be a possibility??
 
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