Dubia roaches

Christianb96

Arachnoknight
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I had some feeder Dubia in a tank with my hissers (just for convinence) and thought they where all small and not mature, but I happen to look over and saw that one molted and now has full wings. At what point are Dubia able to reproduce. If there ready I may start a small colony.
 

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Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Once they mature, they can begin to reproduce. That male is good to go already (soon as he hardens up and turns black). Dubias go through several molts in the "nymph" stage, which is when they are more of a light brown color and no wings. Once they reach maturity, they will be much darker in color and shiny. And the exoskeleton is also thicker and more rigid as adults. Once they are adults, they'll start to breed. Keep them warm and humid, and provide fresh fruits (especially citrus) and you'll start seeing babies everywhere pretty soon.
 

Christianb96

Arachnoknight
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So there mature when they get the wings (half wings for females)? I figured breeding them was just like my hissers
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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IMG_0788.JPG Yup.... wings for males. Females end up with teeny stubby wings. Here's a photo of a mature female I just pulled from my colony for you to see:)
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Thank you! I guess I'll start a little colony. Will they breed around 76 degrees? Generally room tempature in my house, I don't want to go buy more heating stuff :(
My apartment hangs around the same temp as your house. They're actually pretty sluggish at those temps, unfortunately. One time, my heat pad burned out. And the way I noticed it was out was seeing how slow my roaches were moving. Took me a while to realize it was not hot enough in there for them. I'm sure they do ok at those temps, but you'll have much more success with higher temps I think.
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Careful with heat pads, though. My old one burned out because it overheated. There needs to be airflow around the pad. So you'll need to prop the enclosure up an inch or so. I grow my roaches in a Rubbermaid tub. The heat pad just sits under it, between the tub and the table. When it burned out, it left a big black mark on the wooden table. Made me feel pretty fortunate that it didn't catch fire..... but also nervous as heck!
 

Christianb96

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Maybe I'll do a little experiment then, I'll keep the Dubia at 76 and see what happens, I'm still waiting on my hissers to start booming and they stay in the 80s. Thanks for all of the information!
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Sure thing! Let me know how the breeding goes at that temp. I'm always too afraid of something happening to them if I suddenlyditch the heat pad. But if all goes well with your colony, then maybe I can. After that burnout, I'd much rather not deal with heat pads if I don't have to.
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
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Apr 18, 2015
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Thank you! I guess I'll start a little colony. Will they breed around 76 degrees? Generally room tempature in my house, I don't want to go buy more heating stuff :(
From what I understand they can breed at those temps, but not nearly as fast as when they are kept in the high 80s to 90s.
 

Christianb96

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From what I understand they can breed at those temps, but not nearly as fast as when they are kept in the high 80s to 90s.
Ok cool. I'm trying to breed my hissers because they are larger and don't burrow but even if slow going a Dubia back up would be nice to mix up feeding
 

socalqueen

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Jan 16, 2017
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From what I understand they can breed at those temps, but not nearly as fast as when they are kept in the high 80s to 90s.
My home is never that high temped. So what would you reccomend for giving my hissers heat that's not dangerous?
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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Awesome, we will look into that. Reading about heat pads burning out scares me, so most likely will look into heat lamps.
You know, something else I've considered is a small ceramic heat emitter. It's a ceramic piece shaped like a mushroom that is assembled like a light bulb, but only emits heat. I have large ones mounted in my reptile enclosures that I built from scratch with very good results. If you take a trip to a hardware store, you can often find basic light boxes that are designed to screw into a ceiling (they're usually blue plastic). If you couple that with a basic ceramic fixture (which are like $4), you can mount that onto a piece of plywood and use it as a lid. That way, you won't lose too much moisture. And with the lip on the light box sandwiched between the ceramic and the wood, it creates a nice insulating layer to avoid fire hazards.

My next little project:)
 

socalqueen

Arachnoknight
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Jan 16, 2017
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You know, something else I've considered is a small ceramic heat emitter. It's a ceramic piece shaped like a mushroom that is assembled like a light bulb, but only emits heat. I have large ones mounted in my reptile enclosures that I built from scratch with very good results. If you take a trip to a hardware store, you can often find basic light boxes that are designed to screw into a ceiling (they're usually blue plastic). If you couple that with a basic ceramic fixture (which are like $4), you can mount that onto a piece of plywood and use it as a lid. That way, you won't lose too much moisture. And with the lip on the light box sandwiched between the ceramic and the wood, it creates a nice insulating layer to avoid fire hazards.

My next little project:)
It sounds like a great idea, do you have a picture? My house stays on the colder side which doesn't work well with what I'm trying to accomplish and love this idea.
 

Anoplogaster

Arachnodemon
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It sounds like a great idea, do you have a picture? My house stays on the colder side which doesn't work well with what I'm trying to accomplish and love this idea.
I'll snap a few photos when I get home tonight. It'll be late.... I teach until 9pm:dead:
 

SlugPod

Arachnoknight
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Sep 28, 2015
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If you use a heat pad for heating, all you need is a thermostat to control how hot it gets and you should be okay.
Just check on it at least once a day to make sure everything is running okay.

You could also use heat tape which is suppose to be safer. Again just make sure everything is hooked up to a thermostat.
Heat lamps work well too, just again thermostat to prevent it getting burning hot.
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
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Ok cool. I'm trying to breed my hissers because they are larger and don't burrow but even if slow going a Dubia back up would be nice to mix up feeding
I agree, it's always nice to have a backup feeder colony. :)

My home is never that high temped. So what would you reccomend for giving my hissers heat that's not dangerous?
Well I was actually talking about the dubia, but yeah, hissers do need high temphs to breed, preferably in the 80s. A heat mat or cable should suffice, though if you have the space, I hear a lamp is the best method for heating roaches.
 
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