Picky Dubias won’t eat?

[SpookySpooder]

I’m going to save the crystals for if I go on vacation next year. Although a week without water isn’t going to makes a huge deal. I really wish I could get a 3rd roach species but I’ll be swamped no thanks.
I can buy mealworms for my slings I need dubia mature males to feed my Ts .

Get a job and reward yourself with some emerald roach nymphs. Get a colony breeding and spread the love to other roach keepers

 

[DerGraf]

Yeah, the whole "providing water by feeding veggies/fruit" thing is pretty well documented by keepers by now.

That's also the way I always have done it, couldn't detect any issues with it.

I give my Dubia protein rich food (~33%) maybe once a week, likely even less.
But when I do, I observe them for a bit. If they get really crazy about it, I'll feed them some more. The buggers imho are quite good at picking and signaling what kind of food they need atm.

 

[DerGraf]

Found it !
the sick roach..

That certainly doesn't look healthy! Spooky already said what's necessary, at least keep it separately from the others. Maybe clean the bin.
I myself can't say what that might be, therefore cannot provide specific advice.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

That certainly doesn't look healthy! Spooky already said what's necessary, at least keep it separately from the others. Maybe clean the bin.
I myself can't say what that might be, therefore cannot provide specific advice.

2 things to do isolate it them feed it off or euthanize it. It looked regular until I saw that nasty abdomen. Looks like like it got smushed . I cleaned the bin out already probably have to do so in a few weeks. Zero other female roaches have this issue .

 

[SpookySpooder]

Yeah I didn't come up with the whole idea. I actually saw it first with red runners on YouTube. Noticed some members here did it with their dubias and tried it with my own. I was glad to see it works without the crystals cause the water crystals just got dirty after a while.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Yeah I didn't come up with the whole idea. I actually saw it first with red runners on YouTube. Noticed some members here did it with their dubias and tried it with my own. I was glad to see it works without the crystals cause the water crystals just got dirty after a while.

Yeah these roaches are tough as nails.
I filmed another video of them I easily got enough to feed 15 Ts. Although nymphs take 3-5 months to grow so I can’t feed too many off . I might need more egg crates soon. The second 4w heatmat is mostly unused.

Dubia roach Massive colony!!

Dubia roach Massive colony!!

rumble.com

 

[SpookySpooder]

That's a lot of roaches. How many you think that is?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

That's a lot of roaches. How many you think that is?

easily 750+ if I count the baby’s. Adults & sub adult 450-600 or so.
Baby’s take 3-5 months to mature I think. So I got a lot of waiting.
I haven’t removed egg crates to clean it recently but I’m a few weeks I will.
Maybe I’ll feed my Ts every 2 weeks a male roach. My 3 biggest eaters aren’t eating right now.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

@HooahArmy How much frass should I allow to build up for the hundreds of nymphs to burrow in etc? How often do you clean Your feeder tank out ?
I got plenty of ventilation it seems no mold or anything. I’m using my big 27 gal tank but I’m considering blocking some of the light out during daylight hours.
I finally think I have enough males to feed my Ts it just took 4 starter colony’s ontop of my 70 dubia I started out with. Although once my phampho starts eating it can obliterate a lot of Dubias.

 

[SpookySpooder]

You need a daylight cycle for the roaches to stay healthy. Forgot where I read it but they need a day/night cycle. My roach bin gets a bit of light from the yellow lid + the air vents

I keep about a cm of frass at all times. The young come out very flat and only like 1/5th-1/4th of an inch long. Again they're pretty flat so you don't really need a whole inch of frass for them to be able to burrow.

 

[HooahArmy]

@HooahArmy How much frass should I allow to build up for the hundreds of nymphs to burrow in etc? How often do you clean Your feeder tank out ?
I got plenty of ventilation it seems no mold or anything. I’m using my big 27 gal tank but I’m considering blocking some of the light out during daylight hours.
I finally think I have enough males to feed my Ts it just took 4 starter colony’s ontop of my 70 dubia I started out with. Although once my phampho starts eating it can obliterate a lot of Dubias.

My mum's the one keeping the feeders and she is quite tidy. When she sees the frass reaching a level where she states to me 'time to clean the bin today!', she does so, although I usually don't note the level. Quite sorry, bud, but I haven't lived with her in years and don't know. However, I do know that's she fastidiously tidy. She's always informed me to change any type of substrate, frass patches, or bedding material whenever there is a notable smell, or if it is attracting pests or growing mold. Tidiness is in the eye of the beholder, so you may do what you feel or opt to clean when you think your colony's getting uncomfy.
As an added note, I also know she has a little sieve/strainer and brush set that she uses with the frass to help her separate nymphs when she does give them a shakedown. The nymphs need a place to stay, so I believe she must also keep a certain amount of frass within.

I wonder what the rest of the forum will suggest! I want to hear too!

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Heatmat thermostat placement.

 

[SpookySpooder]

What are those dried stringy brown things in the corner?

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

What are those dried stringy brown things in the corner?

better question is what do they look like? Mealworms or something?
Carrot shreddings I figured most them got eaten but not those ones. 95%were eaten.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Oh, yeah if the carrot skins are left in too long they dry out and most won't eat them. If they turn brown/black/white I think that's mold and you should toss it.

Just googled it and yeah carrot mold is black. Should toss anything that is mushy/wet/molding. I toss out anything that isn't eaten 2-3 times a week when I go to replace the food.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Oh, yeah if the carrot skins are left in too long they dry out and most won't eat them. If they turn brown/black/white I think that's mold and you should toss it.

Good plan, here in a few weeks I’ll have to clean the frass. Last time there was 100+ nymphs hiding in it.
Yeah I don’t mist them or anything all there water comes from food. Trying to decide to feed them next probably apple.

 

[SpookySpooder]

You're getting pretty good at roach keeping. Have you considered separating them into colonies to maximize breeding and then selling them off to local pet shops and hobbyists to fund more T's?

I'm working out a deal with 1 shop and 1 breeder in my area to trade packs of baby dubias for supplies and credit toward slings

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

My mum's the one keeping the feeders and she is quite tidy. When she sees the frass reaching a level where she states to me 'time to clean the bin today!', she does so, although I usually don't note the level. Quite sorry, bud, but I haven't lived with her in years and don't know. However, I do know that's she fastidiously tidy. She's always informed me to change any type of substrate, frass patches, or bedding material whenever there is a notable smell, or if it is attracting pests or growing mold. Tidiness is in the eye of the beholder, so you may do what you feel or opt to clean when you think your colony's getting uncomfy.
As an added note, I also know she has a little sieve/strainer and brush set that she uses with the frass to help her separate nymphs when she does give them a shakedown. The nymphs need a place to stay, so I believe she must also keep a certain amount of frass within.

I wonder what the rest of the forum will suggest! I want to hear too!

Yeah I wish I had more suggestions.

You're getting pretty good at roach keeping. Have you considered separating them into colonies to maximize breeding and then selling them off to local pet shops and hobbyists to fund more T's?

I'm working out a deal with 1 shop and 1 breeder in my area to trade packs of baby dubias for supplies and credit toward slings

I can dream although neither of my local pet shops will buy from anyone but a big time seller. Maybe In a year I’ll have a few thousand and can sell a few.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Removed 4w heatpad and added tape to secure the thermostat. The page reloaded and I had to retype everything .
I fed them lots of bread and carrots , they didn’t care so much for that much bread.

 

[SpookySpooder]

Probably because most bread is nutritionally lacking, especially that white bread