I've got B.dubia babies!!!!!!

Beth-Tex

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Messages
260
WooooHooooo!!!! Today I noticed that there were wee little ones scampering
about.....some were even having some water bites......had not noticed them
before this.....am just soooooooo jazzed!!!! :D

Was thinking about doing a thorough cleaning job & switching out of bins &
doing a count & sorting n' stuff.......when I saw the babies!!!!! Sooooooo
cute!!!!!!!

Got the dubias from James (one lot on Dec 2nd & the other on Dec 9th) & they
are doing great........I guess........since they produced the little ones already!

Did I mention that the babies are just soooooo cute???!!!!! :D :D Must be
doing something right.

edited 'cause of typos 'cause of excitement
 
Last edited:

Cirith Ungol

Ministry of Fluffy Bunnies
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 22, 2004
Messages
3,886
Congrats! I'm still waiting... in fact, your comment made me have another good look in my container but the floor isn't moving yet :( . But I guess I'm still a little early to get any babies myself... :)
 

james

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 20, 2003
Messages
474
congrats

That didn't take to long. Before you know it you'll have hundreds and be on your way. Glad to hear the roaches are doing good.
James
www.blaberus.com
 

Beth-Tex

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Messages
260
Yeppers.......I seem to have a bit of a 'Green Thumb' so to speak regarding
buggies n' critters.......always did have, since I was a little girl......it does
help when one gets good stock......as far as growing them......hehehe......
they did THAT on their own. :p
 

Cirith Ungol

Ministry of Fluffy Bunnies
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 22, 2004
Messages
3,886
I wanna take the opportunity of asking how you keep them? Are you using substrate? How many have you got? How many females have had babies in this batch do you think? What are you feeding them? Do you have it dry or moist? What temp are you having?

:rolleyes: Yes, I'm nosy

Cirith
 

Beth-Tex

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 26, 2003
Messages
260
Well.....the first thing I do with my critters is I never stress as to caring for them......after all......I'm retired & supposed to enjoy these years...LOLOL

Ahem.....to answer........no......I do not use substrate......the roaches will provide that as they do their elimination (frass) & the babies eat that.....yucky I know.......but hey......they are roaches after all, even if they don't smell, etc.

I had initially ordered 100 & then got a 100 more.....they were a mixture of large nymphs & medium sized ones & a few smaller ones.....mostly they were quite large.........that probably explains why they matured so quickly & are producing already......thanks James!!

I really do not know how many females have had babies......don't even know at this time the ratio of males to females as I need to clean out the enclosure & sort them all out......have left them alone since December & now need to clean........I will have a better idea of how many of each & I will most likely be.....ummm......disposing of some males......hehe.......am going to log how many there are while re-housing them.......will aim for a 1 to 3 ratio.......of 1 male to 3 females..................

I always keep available dry food & the water bites (got the crystals from Watersorb)........they even go under the water bites, etc. when they are about to molt in order to soften the exoskeleton.......they seem to have no problems molting due to the fact that I keep water bites in there at all times.

The dry food consists of 3 different types of dog food (we have a dog) & I also put in dry New World Monkey Chow (we have Sugar Gliders)......I grind up an equal portion (mixed together) in a coffee grinder & place the ground up food in a jar & use it as needed.......when I am about to run out.....I grind up more dog food, etc......since we go to pet stores a lot....I pick up samples of hard cat food also, etc & include that in the mix.......the roaches love this mix & seem to do well on it.......they should......it is full of vitamins..................

I do not spray the enclosure at all......there is enough humidity in the air as we live in Texas.....haha........as far as temp......don't really know as I don't use a thermometer........in the house we don't let it get colder than 73 in winter.......too hard on our bones.....LOLOL.......I do use a ceramic heater (100 Watt) which I place on the screening on top of the bin.......must make it nice & cozy for them as it seems to be working.......since they are more active at night & feed more at night.....I keep it on then & sometimes turn it off in the daytime to save electricity.......seems to be working fine & they are all fat & healthy looking..............

After I have done the cleaning & have a better idea of what is going on with them......I might slow down the breeding at times by not having the heating b on......then when I need to plan for more.....will keep it on again continuously.........since they ARE roaches after all.....when the heating is turned off they should not die as we don't keep it that cold in the house........

They are in a 73 quart plastic container that is smooth inside & out on all sides including the bottom.......I use a combo of egg crates flats & other carton items for them to scurry under & around & on top......mostly egg crates flats.......some I use whole....others I tear in half & place them for their enjoyment........since the dubias are not a burrowing species, there is no need to place several inches of substrate, etc.............unless you want it for looks.......it does look nice when you see aspen or something in the container other than just egg crates......but I'm not going to make it hard on myself trying to find them all when they are in a substrate......this makes cleaning easier........I had done a semi-cleaning about a month ago but now need to do it thoroughly.

Several times a week (approx every other day or so)......they also get either apple or carrots or orange.......different types of leafy veggies (though they do prefer the apples & oranges best)......I place this in a very shallow big round lid container & take it out the next day.......usually there is nothing left anyway.....LOL.......I do not use any fruit or veggie that I would not eat.....in other words.....no moldy or bad stuff................

Sorry this is so long......sometimes I get a little long winded....hehe
 

Schlyne

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 19, 2004
Messages
845
I feed mine apples, carrots, oranges (they didnt' seem to care for that too much), tropical fish food, and mango babyfood..which they glut themselves on. The babyfood is whatever the crested geckos didn't eat the night before.

I have had babies in my colony since early janurary....I picked the roaches up the last week of december...however, my colony is has a warm spot of 90 all acorss the back wall of the rubbermaid. Ambinet air temp in there is probably in the mid 80 range. I"ll probably unplug the heating pad in a few months to slow them down a bit.
 

Cirith Ungol

Ministry of Fluffy Bunnies
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 22, 2004
Messages
3,886
Thanks for the info!!! :)

It's only fair I tell you how mine have it:

It's a smooth plastic container. I drilled 3000 air holes in it's lid (and I swear it's the last time in my life I've done such a thing). I have a few egg cartons in there, stashed upright and they seem to like it that way. I go without substrate and without humidity. I have a heat mat under one side of the container and that (within the confines of the egg cartons) is where my dubia mostly chill out. I've seen quite a few dubias mate and had successful moults all arround besides one time. That sad roach became a successful food item for my T instead. I've had my 50(!) minus 6 roaches for about a month now... hm... what more?
I feed them orange, kiwi (which I've never seen them eat), and banana. They throw themselves on the banana and orange. I also have cereal and cat food strewn about so that there is at least SOME dry food in there. I have no water bites but will be cooking together a load of similar stuff using Agar-Agar and fresh fruit.

Well... I hope they come arround soon enough (the little ones).

Cirith
 
Top