Keeping and Feeding Dubias

I'd be interested to hear how other breeders keep and feed their dubias. Mine are kept in a large plastic bin. My beardies and geckos are kept in the room-over-the-garage where it stays about 80 degrees, and the dubias's tub just sits on the floor. I do not provide them with any additional heat or light and they do just fine, a.k.a. breed like rabbits.
Before I got my first colony, I read all of the material about supplying extra heat, using heat cables, etc. and maybe this is necessary if the colony is not kept in a warm room, but I haven't used any additional heat source and they do just fine at a room temperature of, as I said, about 80 degrees.
For food, I grind up high protein cat food, cheerios, & oatmeal into a coarse mixture. For moisture, I use sliced fresh orange and apple, as well as the occasional collard/turnip green leaf left over from feeding the beardies.
For the tub, I went to Southern States &bought a stack of egg cartons, opened them up, and leaned them against each other for about 3/4 of the tub. The rest of the space is for the food containers. The tub does have screen-covered cut-outs for ventilation.
So, how does everybody else do it?? What's the word on dubia husbandry??

I tend to keep higher temps in my breeder colonies. They were kept in a tub with 11'" flex watt underneath sandwiched between the tub and a sheet of insulation Styrofoam. My feeder colonies were kept at room temps.

I used a high grade roach chow, and water crystals with the occasional orange (seemed to boost productivity)


I used flat egg crates that i ordered in bulk and set up with cardboard between each for spacing. This is one of my tubs while being cleaned out, pulled over 10 pounds of just roaches from this tub at cleaning

I learned a neat trick last year with interlocking the egg crates so they fit together. It has worked very well.

I keep them about 7' up in an 80 degree room with a human heat pad that gets a little over 100. I occasionally turn it off for a few days to try and slow them down.

I feed them rat food dust, highest protein cat food that I can find, and occasional oats. For water, I use all the vegetable scraps from cooking, all the greens the beardie doesn't eat, all the fruits my son doesn't finish and water crystals (which I think only serve as humidity at this point).

Is the Flukers cricket quencher good enough??

Focal wrote:

I learned a neat trick last year with interlocking the egg crates so they fit together.  It has worked very well.  

I used to keep them like that, found with the cardboard in between easier clean up, more floor space and was easier getting crates in and out as needed. We made chow for the longest time but ended up towards the end buying premium chow, price wise and time at 50-100lbs was more appealing, plus it took awhile to make. Beth at great house was starting to make some awhile back with some nicer ingredients and grounded really fine.

Ginvbch wrote:

Is the Flukers cricket quencher good enough??

Crystals work best, last longer and are much cheaper.

Where can I get the crystals locally? Animal Jungle didn't have it. Pet Paradise?

Pet paradise has them, dont recall pricing. I have quite a bit left, i can make you a gallon at no charge, would just need to pick up

I think Pet Paradise had them for $5 for a gallons worth. You can find them on eBay for a really great price.

Yeah I have to stop by Pet Paradise anyways so I'll buy some there. Thanks though DDogz!

Not a problem. If they work for you grab some online, for a few bucks you wont have to buy any new for a couple years :-p

Yes, I agree. While I support local businesses, there are some prices that are solely for convenience. If you can pull the wait, you can get 10-15x the amount online for the same price.

What's a good site to get it?

eBay was good to me the first few times around. I inherited my last batch that came from JoshsFrogs.com (may have link wrong). These were larger crystals than standard which come in handy for my cigar humidor too. The size is really a preference and I noticed the small crystals last longer, but the larger crystals are easier for me to manage. If you plan on breeding them for a while, buy in bulk (i.e. 8oz+) and get much better deals. Most of your non-colored "floral and decorative" crystals are the same thing and can be found for much cheaper than the "roach" crystals. I would do a quick google search to make sure they are safe (disclaimer) but I have never had a problem.

Brain fart, but the larger crystals stay "fluffier" allowing more surface area to be exposed to air. This is handy if you need to bump humidity. If not, I would go with the smaller crystals which settle and last longer.

Focal. What do you use to feed your roaches? I am starting up my own colony and and looking to find a good cheap chow for them I dont have to prepare on my own. I also read/saw a guy mix in calcium/vitamin powder into the roaches diet to make a more effective gut loaded feeder. Seemed to work great for him. Thoughts? Also do you guys seperate the feeders from the breeders?

I've had great results for years using premium chick feed. Just make sure its non-medicated of course.

For hydration/other food, we give vegetable and fruit scraps as mentioned above. If your giving a variety of veggies, vitamin powder supplements are unnecessary. I would not give calcium supplements to a colony. I have no direct experience, but I've heard from invert keepers that too much calcium can hurt exoskeletons. Of course, this is probably species specific but I see no reason too when dusting is so easy.

Whats a good one to get? I was thinking something high in protein and other good nutrients to be good for gutloading as well.

Look for about 18% protein in crumbles form. If you want to crank the protein up, gamebird feed (for Turkeys, guineas, pheasants) comes in 28% protein.

I didnt see that. I found one with 18% protein that was high in calcium and vitamins. About 5% calc. I also figured to amp up the protein I could add protein powder.

I also use gamebird feed, 28% protein. Forgot to mention that in my original post. I'm in Chesapeake and I get it at Tractor Supply on Centerville Turnpike. Tropical in origin or not, let's remember these are roaches! They will eat a variety of foods. But, in a controlled situation to provide a food source for our reptiles, our goal is max production. Thus, a controlled diet high in protein helps us achieve that goal. Raising dubias is not rocket science. Give them what they need and they'll do the rest.

Just trying to find an effective way to gutload and breed them. I just started and have done a bit of research. I do give them fruits and veggies. I did not see gamebird at my tractor supply.

I feed rat food crumbs from my mazuri bags, high protein, dry cat food, sometimes a little oats or chickfeed, any scrap vegetables or fruits from cooking, leftover greens that start to age if the dragon doesn't eat them quick enough and water crystals in between fruits and veggies. I tried adding the calcium to the food last year and it was a waste. It didn't seem like they eat it nor the food that was covered in it. It was easier and more cost effective to just shake them in it before feeding.

Mind you, I don't feed all these at the same time, all the time. I used to try, but after slacking, I realized I had the same results and a good colony. They are really easy to care for and simplistic feeders if you just make sure they have good protein, good heat, proper ventilation and hydration. Following these guidelines, I have never had a colony "mold out" or perish.

I feed ours cat food, table scraps of vegetables and fruits. They breed like crazy.

I have a question about feeding so much protein. It's my understanding that this can be harmful to the animals you feed them to. It is especially so because of the red dye used in the feed which builds up in the roaches and can be toxic to the animals you feed them to. I have a rather large colony that only gets vegetables, fruit, roach chow, and bread. I do grind cereal and grains up when it goes stale, but not very often. I used to feed ground dog food but stopped afterI readthis. I have found they produce better now with the non-protein diet too. Has anyone else heard about or experienced this?

red dye is bad for reptiles and u shouldnt use anything that has it. I also heard calcium is toxic to the roaches. So dusting them for feeding will supply the needed calcium for the reptile.

Correct, and most, if not all dog food has red dye, so I'd be careful using it. That's why I stopped.

Roaches will eat damn near anything but will thrive when fed a quality diet. Id lean towards cat food or Mazuri over dog food, cereal fish food, Layena vege or other protein probiotics exc exc theres all kinds of stuff used in various recipes. With left over veges and fruit and a good gut load your colony will explode.

I found buying a premade roach chow in bulk to be easier then making. Beth at GHF was working on a new chow awhile back, she sent me a sample and roaches seemed to love it. I sold my colony of 30k+ shortly after and never did more then the sample but if i remember correctly the ingredients were top notch.

You can get plant water crystals at Home Depot