Picky Dubias won’t eat?

moricollins

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Heating pad is a big no. They’re just roaches. Mine do fine without any of the extra crap. And I’ve had them for weeks already.
I'm glad your WEEKS of experience have worked out for you so far. People who have been keeping them many YEARS are giving advice to keep them warmer than room temperature, so if I was the OP I'd listen to those people...
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I'm glad your WEEKS of experience have worked out for you so far. People who have been keeping them many YEARS are giving advice to keep them warmer than room temperature, so if I was the OP I'd listen to those people...
Yeah I’ve used a heating pad before despite warnings it didn’t melt plastic , someone probably my sister who moved took all our clear duct tape even mine got taken somehow . Now I gotta hunt down peices of tape or buy some.
Electrical tape works too maybe probably safest option ?I got that . Heat mat really doesn’t get that hot anyways . Maybe it’s too old or defective?

I cut the apple core up to smaller quality peices then tossed the core they seem more interested in little pieces of food . I’ll check see what else maybe carrots, bread they didn’t eat last time I tried .

They’re not breeding yet, or at least no nymphs so I gotta up the heat there practically on life support. I fed off the crippled one, before it ended up wasted. 566CF62D-EB3A-4172-AF0A-EB6715C07FB7.jpeg
 
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kadupul

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I've not kept dubias, but with hissers you can keep them in normal room temperatures without them dying. However, without heating they'll mostly stop breeding and will be more sluggish. So since your goal is to breed more feeders, I'd go ahead and provide heat. I think maybe the ventilation holes in the container may be large enough for nymphs to escape which might be the reason you're not seeing any growth in the population.

Best of luck! :)
 

cold blood

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dog kibble any good
Yes, a high end dog kibble is a great food, the higher protein it offers is helpful with breeding from what I understand...of all the things I fed, dog kibble is a clear favorite.
K they aren’t breeding or eating, 70 degrees
As Dry said, they are tropical creatures, and while they survive at those temps, and even breed in a limited fashion if healthy, but their optimal temps are definitely in the 80F range. For years I kept them at just over room temps....like 72F....and they did fine and even bred, but when I moved them to a place that was closer to 80 (78+), it was only then that I realized exactly what their breeding potential was
Should I try adding an reptile heating pad or something?
That's what most use IME.....if you put it on the side, it will warm the container and as the roaches can't climb thew smooth surface to get to it, there isn't any real chance of over-heating them....and they will do fine in super high temps (from a human perspective).
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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Remove the apple.

A nice inch thick layer of Vermiculite on the bottom.

Whole egg cartons on top of that.

Oranges for all the moisture and vitamin c, fish flake for food.

I don't understand why people buy Tropical creatures then assume everything can be kept at room temperature or below.

Up the temperature to around 80F. They like it warm.

Stop listening to advice about " room temperature will be fine"

Yes short term probably will, they are tropical species that require tropical temperatures.
What do you heat them with, the heat mat seems finished, it may add a few degrees but I don’t think it’s working well.
They seem a lot more active now; my bedroom is a few degrees warmer. Not sure how mine didn’t need heat for a few years but it didn’t end well. :rofl:
lucky I got enough left, pet store is crazy wants $1 ea for medium Dubias I checked because I can’t feed any off. Not sure if I should get a few to speed up rebuild or just wait, mine should have enough left to grow.
10 medium ones for $10 a rip off?
Maybe I should buy crickets again?they don’t seem to eat super worms well.
 
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Ultum4Spiderz

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I mean shipping is expensive, how bad a deal is that I could use a few more males? o_O
they seem to be eating again now that there out of the basement, upstairs. I Just need a better heat pad mine is toast/old barely heats it up a few 1-2 degrees.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I've not kept dubias, but with hissers you can keep them in normal room temperatures without them dying. However, without heating they'll mostly stop breeding and will be more sluggish. So since your goal is to breed more feeders, I'd go ahead and provide heat. I think maybe the ventilation holes in the container may be large enough for nymphs to escape which might be the reason you're not seeing any growth in the population.

Best of luck! :)
Why do petstores charge $1 per med dubia ? What’s are odds is it worth spending $10 to hopefully get a few more adults in a few weeks if they grow fast? I got 3 males like 9 females or so hardly any medium ones.:rofl:
They seem to be eating again, no nymphs yet. They can’t reach the ventilation holes but that’s a good point I should fix that regardless!!!
thanks
 

WhiteMoss

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When you place the egg crates in put them vertically not laying flat. if your using a standard 12 pack egg cartons you can put them on their side or vertically depending on the height of your bin. I also use the lids of the cartons to cover the top so they are less disturbed when i open the bin to feed them. I don't have dubias but I know with surinams if you disturb them too much the females will drop the ootheca (they give live birth instead of laying eggs) prematurely which hinders population growth. I recently started a discoid colony, which lay eggs, and as a rule of thumb I don't dig around in the enclosure or move the egg cartons around to check for nymphs in order to disturb them as little as possible until I have a decent size population. I only open the bin once a day to replace the food and pick out any visible sheds.
20230106_222037.jpg
I removed the top from the middle so you can see what I meant by laying them on their side. Also disregard the substrate. I started them in it because I had no egg cartons at the time lol
 

madagascarhissinglover

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Heating pad is a big no. They’re just roaches.
I would suggest a heating pad- yes they are just roaches but if you're feeding it to a larger animal you keep, wouldn't you want the food to be the best quality? Also you've only had them for weeks yet people with way more experience are recommending them
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I would suggest a heating pad- yes they are just roaches but if you're feeding it to a larger animal you keep, wouldn't you want the food to be the best quality? Also you've only had them for weeks yet people with way more experience are recommending them
yeah I’ve kept this colony for years This is my first big issue, the basement just isn’t warm enough.
I got 10 mid sized ones for $10 to try and rebuild the colony without hassel of ordering online. It should work I hope.:D

Were would I get a cheap quality heating pad that won’t melt plastic ? Mine seem like it’s finished. :sad:
does this work also ? As cartons
43BD0617-D8C6-404B-9769-CE1FFB6E3CE2.jpeg
 

madagascarhissinglover

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yeah I’ve kept this colony for years This is my first big issue, the basement just isn’t warm enough.
I got 10 mid sized ones for $10 to try and rebuild the colony without hassel of ordering online. It should work I hope.:D

Were would I get a cheap quality heating pad that won’t melt plastic ? Mine seem like it’s finished. :sad:
does this work also ? As cartons
View attachment 436390
I’ve found a few cheap heating pads on Amazon, though I would definitely suggest checking replies or emailing the sellers and verifying it won’t melt plastic.
And the egg cartons look great! Your Dubias will love them I’m sure
 

kadupul

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I use a Fluker's one that seems to get the job done. It came from just a regular pet store.
 

coolnweird

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The key is a thermostat, never use a heating lamp or pad without one. With a thermostat, the temp will never get high enough to melt plastic
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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The key is a thermostat, never use a heating lamp or pad without one. With a thermostat, the temp will never get high enough to melt plastic
So a heat pad with thermostat built in?
I can tell the heat pad works but only raises container a few 2-3 degrees maybe is that not enough?
A7421DB0-85CA-47FC-B003-2A796D1296FC.jpeg
I use a Fluker's one that seems to get the job done. It came from just a regular pet store.
Ok do you need a thermostat or anything to keep track of temps or no? I take it you set it on the side of the container?
 

Introvertebrate

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Picky Dubias won’t eat?
I don't seem to have any problem with my dubia at 90 degrees. My lats, on the other hand, have proven more troublesome. I gave up on my first batch of lats, because so many died off. I'm trying again with a second batch.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I don't seem to have any problem with my dubia at 90 degrees. My lats, on the other hand, have proven more troublesome. I gave up on my first batch of lats, because so many died off. I'm trying again with a second batch.
Yeah I have them around 75 f, the hottest room in the house can’t figure out why they won’t have nymphs yet ? Just keep feeding them hope I don’t gotta buy another starter colony.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I'm glad your WEEKS of experience have worked out for you so far. People who have been keeping them many YEARS are giving advice to keep them warmer than room temperature, so if I was the OP I'd listen to those people...
Any tips for getting nymps the females loook plump , but ℹ still haven’t got any babies in a month or so since I got the colony in one new plastic tank again. Temp prob 75. Do I need to buy more dubia or something?? I got around 20-30. 4-7 females per male.
I Never this problem until colony dropped under 50. Is it Dubias need bigger numbers to breed ?
 
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