Thought I'd share some tips and tricks on how I care for my dubia colony. So far they're all doing good and have exploded in population. I started out with about 100 from November 2009 and a few colonies and sub colonies coming from different people.
Note:
-They are kept at a constant 82-86° F during the day and 77-80° F during the night.
-My heat sources are all ambient. I use ceramic heaters to heat the whole "t-room."
-They are constantly fed with dried cat food replenished every day (if needed) and a constant supply of water gels. I also feed them high quality citrus and sweet fruits and green veggies as well as carrots that are thoroughly washed and properly cut to try to keep the food as spread out to the whole colony as much as possible.
Here is an old video on how I kept my colony when it was still below the 10 crate mark. Keep in mind that I measured the population size by the number of eggcrates needed to contain them without having a fight between the males for territory breaking out.
[YOUTUBE]5zF48o6anSg[/YOUTUBE]
Here is a more recent video with me upgrading the container because of the population explosion over the summer.
[YOUTUBE]vXznkCTipgA[/YOUTUBE]
NOTE:
-Males will become territorial once they mature and will fight and kill other males and sometimes nymphs as well. It can result into making the females go in hiding and will not eat or breed because of all the movement.
-Colony size should be measured with the amount of mouths that you have to feed. Their number can be controlled by dropping or increasing the temperature as well as the balance of citrus in their diet.
I hope this thread helped answered some questions.
Note:
-They are kept at a constant 82-86° F during the day and 77-80° F during the night.
-My heat sources are all ambient. I use ceramic heaters to heat the whole "t-room."
-They are constantly fed with dried cat food replenished every day (if needed) and a constant supply of water gels. I also feed them high quality citrus and sweet fruits and green veggies as well as carrots that are thoroughly washed and properly cut to try to keep the food as spread out to the whole colony as much as possible.
Here is an old video on how I kept my colony when it was still below the 10 crate mark. Keep in mind that I measured the population size by the number of eggcrates needed to contain them without having a fight between the males for territory breaking out.
[YOUTUBE]5zF48o6anSg[/YOUTUBE]
Here is a more recent video with me upgrading the container because of the population explosion over the summer.
[YOUTUBE]vXznkCTipgA[/YOUTUBE]
NOTE:
-Males will become territorial once they mature and will fight and kill other males and sometimes nymphs as well. It can result into making the females go in hiding and will not eat or breed because of all the movement.
-Colony size should be measured with the amount of mouths that you have to feed. Their number can be controlled by dropping or increasing the temperature as well as the balance of citrus in their diet.
I hope this thread helped answered some questions.
