Frustrated with Blaptica dubia roaches

[gvfarns]

I could probably deal with crickets despite their other shortcomings if they didn't freaking chirp. When I do get them I end up spending a bunch of time trying to figure out which ones still have both wings and make me crazy with their noise every time I walk away.

 

[T_ROY]

Blatta lateralis (a.k.a. Turkistan)

I think these are the best. All my T's eat them, and there are always small ones to feed my slings and they have soft shells.

 

[AubZ]

I think I will stick with buying crickets after reading these comments.

I have just started a colony of B dubia and some other small roach. I am also awaiting some Lobsters. Unfortunately due to size of all the colonies I will only be able to start feeding them off in about at least 6 months.

From all the input I have seen and all the searching of old threads regarding roaches, I am still optimistic that I won't have too many hassles with B dubia. Even if the T's take a while adapting, it is far better than crics. It is also far easy to breed roaches than crics.

Would be nice to do a poll of Crics vs Roaches. But we already know who will win.

 

[Strix]

I don't mind the B. dubia hiding at all, like i said earlier I flip them upside down in front of the T so they struggle a bit. If the T is hungry it will snatch it up, if not it will let it live.

With the dubia unlike the crickets I don't need to worry about accidentely leaving one in a cage during a molt or that it will harm the T.

If I know a dubia is hiding (mine generally stay near or on the sides of the water dishes) then I will try to reuse that one, if I can't find one I'll toss in a new one.

About 2-3 months ago my T. blondi was going absolutely crazy running around his enclosure, climbing all over the rock structure, etc. I was trying to figure it out when a mm dubia comes jetting out from underneath and he followed snatching it up.

I'm not as experienced with dubias but I was wondering if anyone knows if a stray dubia or two could possibly feed on any mold growing in a T tank? :?

 

[Moltar]

Aaargh... B lateralis can be a hassle (still better than crickets though)

Something happened this morning that seems relevant to this thread:

Apparently, there is a fine balance between the humidity needed to hatch oothecae (eggs) and the ventilation needed to keep the contents from getting foul in a B lateralis enclosure.

2 days ago i put 1/2 of a chayote squash in there for their moisture source (only water they get) This portion usually is perfect for them. What I didn't take into account is that when I rearranged the room I placed the dubia enclosure on top of the lateralis enclosure, blocking some of the ventilation. This morning there was condensation inside the tank, an awful ammonia smell and all the cardboard was soggy. All from the moisture in 1/2 of a vegetable the size of a pear. This happened once before and I had to change out all the eggcrate to make the stink subside. Curently I am at work and they are at home with the top OFF in hopes that it will dry out so I don't need to relocate them all. I know they can't climb out but it's still not a comfortable thought...

Like I said above, B dubia are verrrry easy to keep, B lateralis; not so much. It's not rocket science but neither is it zero maintenance.

 

[RedEarthExotics]

Good info. I have been looking into roaches for my t's. Couldn't figure out which ones to get, I would love to get a few dubia and try them out on my tarantulas before I spend $40 on 50 of them. Other than if the tarantulas eat them or not I am most worried about the mess of cleaning their cages and the smell. How about lobsters vs the lateralis?

 

[Xaranx]

Are lobster babies smaller than dubia babies?

 

[Spiderface]

I have been tryng to decide which feeder roach to use instead of buying crix and after looking at this thread I'm going to give lobsters a try and have already placed my order. Wanted say thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread.

 

[pato_chacoana]

Are lobster babies smaller than dubia babies?

Yes, much smaller. They move a lot and are softer. My choice along with baby crickets when feeding spiderlings.

Pato.

 

[wsimms]

I just broke the cricket habit-a dubia rookie's observations

I just got 500+ dubias from James Tuttle today and tried them on my adult T's at lunch, with mixed results:

My Pamphobeteus sp. Santo Domingo Goliath juvie caught hers in midair, and my P. cancerides caught hers on the first bounce.

Three of my T's gave their first threat displays ever-my GBB, Nhandu coloratovillosus and my A. genic. Only the genic accepted the dubias, belatedly, after they pulled their "playing possum" routine.

Everybody else is pre-molt and ignored them, but they've been ignoring crickets too.

I noticed some of the dubias burrowed but eventually resurfaced in less than an hour. Maybe they don't like my vermiculite/perlite/charcoal mix, or maybe they have ADD.

The dubias certainly seem MUCH more hygenic than crickets and easier to deal with, and are almost as "pet-like" as hissers. I'm going to stick with them.

 

[Mister Internet]

A trick I use is to cut their abdomens with a scissors to let extra scent out, their insides are quite odorous.

 

[wsimms]

A trick I use is to cut their abdomens with a scissors to let extra scent out, their insides are quite odorous.

I will try that. After reading people's other suggestions, I lightly crushed the head of one and put it uphill from my Nhandu coloratovillosum. The roach twitched itself downhill to offer itself up as a sacrifice, whereupon my 5+" beast retreated in fear up to the top of her hide. It was mortifying...like watching someone's toy poodle chase your pit bull down the street. I'm glad no one saw it but me.

 

[reverendsterlin]

with nymphs only 1/4 inch All my slings have been enthusiastic dubia eaters. My adults on the other hand, well lets just say a few took their sweet time switching over. Fortunately, 1 male dubia can impregnate all the females and it seemed to me that all my reluctant T's thought the males (who didn't seem to burrow) were tasty treats, a few males apiece and then no dubia could survive. The males having wings don't seem inclined to burrow and playing dead didn't seem to matter. No stink (some roaches have a defense/fear odor), no noise, no strange T deaths after feedings, great vegan gut loads, not escapes, did I say no noise, no sudden die offs, no lid, no water, no noise (maybe I said that already), no problems taking off for a week collecting, an interesting roach as a pet, no extra foreign insects (fuzzy bugs) in the mix, fantastic meat to shell ratio, 4 adult females feeding even the largest T's (I don't own a blondi), an easy resale to the pet store ($35 @ 100). I'll stick to dubias. Took a little work and time to get everything switched over but I'm really happy with them.
Rev

 

[wsimms]

Most all the ones that didn't eat them are pre-molt. The Nhandu is the only one I have tagged as being a curmudgeon, which is surprising since she nearly always attacks everything that drops into her enclosure, even water drops.

Nearly all of my T's are South American. Since dubias are native there as well, I would think they are on my T's "genetic prey list".

 

[Ogdred Weary]

I just started a dubia colony for my T's and Leopard gecko. Some of the t's are only about 2" so far. It was frustrating because the nymphs would freeze and burrow.To eliminate that problem, I have dining chambers that I put T and nymph into. The chambers are plastic containers with NO SUBSTRATE. Voila! Within a couple of hours the nymphs have always been eaten.

 

[codykrr]

Blatta lateralis has become a staple for my picky or stubborn eaters.

They breed quickly, never stop moving, work well for slings as the nymphs are the same size as pinhead crickets.

the only reason i like dubia, is there make a good solid meal for stuff like L. parahybana, T. blondi, L. violaceopes and most of my larger T's. they do have there place as a feeder for sure. i use there burrowing qualities to my advantage. for things like my King baboon i throw a medium sized dubia is and it will burrow right into her burrow where she readily eats them. same for my pedes. I have an Angulata angulata pede that hasnt came to the surface since i received it. i throw a dubia in there and a day later the remains are on top.

for arboreals use males. they tend to climb and run around like crazy at night. perfect for sub burrowing species like, L. violaceopes.

Also i like keeping different sp. of roach because i like to switch it up every now and again.

I have grown to love the B. lateralis. at first, i hated them, mainly because i was over caring for them and expecting a million roaches overnight. but after about 2 months they started booming. I havent had any escapees either(thank goodness because my wife would crap down both legs)

dont give the dubia up, but pick up another species.(they make usefull trades eventually too)

 

[blash]

From my experience, Blaptica dubia has no smell. Shelfordella lateralis smells sweet and bad but Nauphoeta cinerea is the worst. They smell like you are hiding a corpse in your basement. This would make my decision easy.

 

[Minitrucker21]

Roaches

R u willing to sell ur colony of dubia roaches? Is so how much?

 

[malhomme]

I just started feeding dubias from my colony.

So far 9 out of my 12 adults and juvies love dubias. The remaining three are on a diet (bedonkadonk!) so I haven't tried to feed them dubias yet. Considering how the others have taken to 'em I have no reason to suspect there will be problem feeding those t's.

Results for my arborial slings are a mixed bag, but mosly because dubia nymphs are so good at hiding in the cork.

All my terrestrial slings are pre-molt, so haven't fed 'em this week, but like the adults, I don't foresee a problem.

Why B. dubia:
1. I hate paying $0.11/cricket...no matter how small.
2. I don't like hearing chirping crickets ALL the time
3. I HATE the smell of crickets!!!!!
4. I want more control of my feeders diets (no polyacrylamide or junk food)
5. B. dubias are less of a concern for molting t's
6. Very low odor
7. Nutricious
8. Not likely to escape
9. I'm not spreading some one else's mites or viruses into my enclosures.
10. Easy to raise.

 

[webbedone]

My B.Dubia Story

I used to make a trip to the local pet store every week, every god beepity bleep bleep week for cricks, untill i got my dubias, i couldnt start feeding them to my T's right away because i bought only 25 of them at the North Berks Reptile show, and wanted to just try them out. Couple of months later when is started noticing more and more nymphs in the bin then there was originaly, i thought to my self: i'll let my Ts have a snack and pulled out some adult males. I

was surprised to find out that some of my Ts wanted nothing to do with them! So i thought: Fine you littls shits starve and see if i care because i not buying any more cricks!

Few weeks later i tried again, and to no surprise hunger and survival instinct screaming: eat now or forever hold you peace kicked in. And even most picky eaters took their food. There is such a thing as getting hungry even for a tarantula.

Why i personaly like B.Dubias:

1) They are MEGA QUIET.
I keep the bin in my bedroom next to my side of the bed and absolutely cant hear them from less than a foot and ahalf away
2)They dont stink.
yea there is a smell IF I STICK MY HEAD INTO MY ROACH BIN AND INHALE.
3)Dubias can hold their stomache contents for up to 72 hours
thats like a fatty meal for any T, and trust me once the T gets hungry enough it will eat anything. Whats better than a fleshy meat popsicle with legs?
4)Nothing beats Being able to share my oranges with my Dubia, my wife has a bad habit of buying more food than we can consume and when the fruits start to go i cut em up off to the dubia they go. Not to mention that oranges make Dubias Hump faster.
5) I have no fear of infestation, Dubias cant climb any smooth surfaces, they cant fly or jump and its a tropic roach so even if it does escape chances of it making it on its own without my care are slim to none.
6)They are extremly easy to take care of and they even survived the winter in my house with just a heat pad.


Why i dont like B.Dubias:

1) I had to retrain or get my tarantulas used to Dubias
2) It takes a female dubia 30 days from impergation by a male to actually give birth
3) It takes a nymph roughly aroud 6 months to mature to an adult, so you cant just buy 25 and hope to have a colony fast.
4) THEY DO NOT BREED IN TEMPERATURES UNDER 68F
5) They play pretty good gosh darn dead
6) They arent easy to aquire, pet stores dont sell them so you only have chances of getting them through a reptile show or a online dealer and that can get pricey
7) my wife is scared crapless by them so she is making me put down a number 7