Topics Forums Everything Else Can you breed your own dubia roaches? YES!

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      CritterDepot
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      Can you breed your own dubia roaches? YES!

      Absolutely!

      Breeding dubia roaches is not a challenging endeavor, because dubia roaches love to breed!  But if you want a predictable, limitless supply of roaches for your fav reptile, then you’ll need to get organized.

      First, you’ll need some mature male and females colony starters.  The only way to tell them apart is when they mature.  The females will have short, stumpy vestigal wings on their back.  This is the easiest way to identify your females.  The males, when they mature, will grow wings as long as their abdomen.  Dubias are about 5-6 months old when they begin to display their wings.

      When starting your own dubia colony, you’ll want more females than males.  The females are the ones producing the nymphs, and the more females you have, the more nymphs you’ll yield.  On average, a female will live about 15 months, and will produce between 20-40 nymphs every time she breeds.  So over the course of her life, she can produce up to 200 nymphs!

      Colony Set up

      Keep it simple – they’re roaches and aren’t that picky.  A dark, rubbermaid container will be the simpliest way to start.  Roaches don’t like light, so the dark sides, with lid, will make them more confortable.  But you’ll also want to add plenty of items for them to hide under (egg crates are above and beyond the most popular).

      You don’t want your roaches to trample over top each other, so make sure they have plenty of room to roam.  If they feel like they are overcrowding the bin, they will naturally slow down their breeding cycle.

      Temps – They like it hot.  Keep your bin at about 85 degrees, and they’ll be content.  They can tolerate cold temps pretty well, but they will slow down during the cold, which will reduce your nymph yield.  So try to keep the temps at 85.

      Humidity – 60% humidity will keep your roaches happy.  This will create a positive environment for them to molt, which is critical for your nymphs to grow.  But, this humidity will also help control their frass, which can cause severe allergies.  So monitor the humidity levels, and use a humidifier if necessary.

      Food – Breeding females typically produce more with a higher protein diet.  So dry dog or cat food is a good source.  But dubias will eat nearly any type of fruits or vegetables.  Just make sure the food is not getting moldy.  The mold on the food can wipe our your colony, so it’s important to monitor their consumption, and clean out any food they are not eating.

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