# Dubia Roaches



## Cheshire Gleam

I feel like I've read about this somewhere, but I honestly can't remember so I'm checking here first. I've been watching a lot of reptile care videos and with that comes feeder breeding, leading me to this thought. Dubia roaches are supposedly even easier to breed than mealworms and more nutritious, so can/should mice consume them?


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## KazzysKritters

Cheshire Gleam said:


> I feel like I've read about this somewhere, but I honestly can't remember so I'm checking here first. I've been watching a lot of reptile care videos and with that comes feeder breeding, leading me to this thought. Dubia roaches are supposedly even easier to breed than mealworms and more nutritious, so can/should mice consume them?


I've fed them to mine. They have better protein, and a low amount of chitin (which can be more difficult to digest).

I'll say the mealworms are just as easy to breed, if not easier. The roaches need heat, and won't produce well if messed with too often.

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## Amtma Mousery

I have never raised meal worms. Although, I have found Dubia roaches very easy to breed and do not smell.

When I tried to feed my mice Dubia roaches, they often end up getting away and burrowing. I have found crickets as a more reliable and entertaining meal for special occassions. If you want a simple protein source... dog food or cooked-meat?


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## KazzysKritters

KanRen said:


> I have never raised meal worms. Although, I have found Dubia roaches very easy to breed and do not smell.
> 
> When I tried to feed my mice Dubia roaches, they often end up getting away and burrowing. I have found crickets as a more reliable and entertaining meal for special occassions. If you want a simple protein source... dog food or cooked-meat?


Put the dubia in a plastic container. Keeps them enclosed for the mice. Mine seemed to like them, but I'm trying to boost my colony so I don't feed the dubia to anything very often.

I'd also love to watch the mice chase a cricket down. They are just too much of a pain for me. I've bred them before, too, and no thanks...loud, smelly, and apparently immortal if the escape the tub...haha!

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## Cheshire Gleam

KanRen, I've given them dog/cat food, but it's a bit of a boring option for me, especially since dog/cat food is undesirable to them now. I like trying different things with them, giving them variety and want something to put effort into, so that's why I'm looking to breed mealworms/dubia roaches. 
KrazzyKritters, I've heard about how awful crickets can be, and I wouldn't want to deal with the noise and smell, either! Plenty of people say they don't have much luck getting them to breed, too and I don't have the patience or will to waste money on something that could end up pointless. I might try to get a colony of dubia roaches going sometime, but for now I'll try mealworms first before I get ahead of myself!


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## KazzysKritters

Cheshire Gleam said:


> KanRen, I've given them dog/cat food, but it's a bit of a boring option for me, especially since dog/cat food is undesirable to them now. I like trying different things with them, giving them variety and want something to put effort into, so that's why I'm looking to breed mealworms/dubia roaches.
> KrazzyKritters, I've heard about how awful crickets can be, and I wouldn't want to deal with the noise and smell, either! Plenty of people say they don't have much luck getting them to breed, too and I don't have the patience or will to waste money on something that could end up pointless. I might try to get a colony of dubia roaches going sometime, but for now I'll try mealworms first before I get ahead of myself!


You'll love the dubia. I find them quite fascinating as well. Everyone freaks when I tell them I purposely keep and breed roaches, lol!

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## Cheshire Gleam

Haha, I bet! I've always thought they were really cute and they're another thing to care for. Just hope my grandmother doesn't find them! :?


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## KazzysKritters

Lol! Well, keep them in a dark tote, you should hopefully be fine. They've got some cool color variations as well.
Ignore the burn on my arm...had a fight with some hot oil, and I lost lol
















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## Cheshire Gleam

Dang, that oil got you good! Certainly don't envy you that. :shock: The roaches are really pretty, probably sounds weird but oh well. Does their color change with age? I've seen little gray nymphs, though I never looked into if it can be more drastic than that.


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## KazzysKritters

Cheshire Gleam said:


> Dang, that oil got you good! Certainly don't envy you that. :shock: The roaches are really pretty, probably sounds weird but oh well. Does their color change with age? I've seen little gray nymphs, though I never looked into if it can be more drastic than that.


I'm a massive klutz...lol

The are gray throughout most of their life before adulthood. Some of mine turn tan as they get bigger. I've got a few adult females in my colony with a nice gold color, and some that are almost completely black. That gold male passed a few months ago. Hoping a few of his offspring grow to look like him. Thought he had just molted, but he kept that color until he died.

Of course, there are a ton of other species of differing colors. Check out Green Banana Roaches, or Domino roaches. There's also hissing roaches, which are fun. I had a small colony of them years ago.

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## Cheshire Gleam

Sorry I'm late replying, things have kinda gotten ahead of me. :roll: Are dubia roaches more commonly bred for feeders because they're easier to care for/readily available or something? Just curious. And also, a little off topic, do you know anything about breeding morio worms? I've read that they're difficult to get breeding, don't know if the authors meant in comparison to mealworms or what, and that they take longer to mature which makes sense. Probably still going to breed mealies instead, but thought I'd ask since you seem quite knowledgeable on raising insects.


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## Amtma Mousery

Here is a summary of characteristics of why Dubia Roaches are a good feeder choice:

-Larger protein to shell ratio compared to other insects, like meal worms and crickets
-Do not bite/do not fly, unlike other Roach species
-Are not good climbers and slow speed and thus have little escapees
-Do not have a significant smell, often are scentless if changed monthly (unlike crickets which stink in a matter of days)
-Simple set up of container and eggcrates, and can eat a variety of food- thus low housing/feeding requirements
-Breed large quantities and live bearers


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## KazzysKritters

Cheshire Gleam said:


> Sorry I'm late replying, things have kinda gotten ahead of me. :roll: Are dubia roaches more commonly bred for feeders because they're easier to care for/readily available or something? Just curious. And also, a little off topic, do you know anything about breeding morio worms? I've read that they're difficult to get breeding, don't know if the authors meant in comparison to mealworms or what, and that they take longer to mature which makes sense. Probably still going to breed mealies instead, but thought I'd ask since you seem quite knowledgeable on raising insects.


KanRen hit the mark with why dubia are great.

As for morio worms, I haven't kept them, so I don't have any experience with them, but I do know they are primarily kept as "cleaner crews" in feeder bins (like dubia bins). I did some quick reading, and looks like they are cared for similar to mealworms, but the worms must be separated in order to pupate, like super worms. I'd definitely suggest the mealies over the morios for that alone. Just too much work, for similar rewards.

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## Cheshire Gleam

Thanks KanRen, great post! Definitely going to get a colony going. Morio worms on the other hand, not in my plans. I was nervous at first from just handling them, they're so strong and feisty! A little nippy, too. But anyway, thank you both.


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## Cheshire Gleam

One more question, should hopefully be my last for awhile.  Is there anything really healthy to feed roaches to make them more nutritious? I know most give them potatoes and carrots, which isn't bad, but I was wondering if there's something that could possibly be better to gutload them with?


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## KazzysKritters

Cheshire Gleam said:


> One more question, should hopefully be my last for awhile.  Is there anything really healthy to feed roaches to make them more nutritious? I know most give them potatoes and carrots, which isn't bad, but I was wondering if there's something that could possibly be better to gutload them with?


I feed mine dry dog food or cat food for protein (bowl available 24/7) and veggies/fruits (squash,apples, carrots, greens, etc) every few days. I give honey occasionally as well (they go crazy for it), and, if I have any, bee pollen is great.

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## Cheshire Gleam

Good thing I have a dog! Thanks a lot for being so helpful.


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## KazzysKritters

Cheshire Gleam said:


> Good thing I have a dog! Thanks a lot for being so helpful.


Anytime! 

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## artgecko

I do not have mice right now, but keep pet rats. I have a huge dubia colony and have found that the rats (like most of my other critters) love eating dubia. Before you setup a colony, you may want to order some and try them out to see if your mice will eat them.

I would agree with either putting them in a smooth glass, ceramic, or metal bowl to contain them, or tong feeding them to your mice. I have also ever frozen excess roaches and then fed them frozen / thawed to my rats.

I feed my colony organic chicken feed (layer crumbles with extra calcium), fresh organic veggies like kale, squash, etc. and they love citrus fruits like oranges..They will reproduce faster on them. They will also eat anything sweet like banana.

In addition to the veggies and chicken food, I use the plant hydration crystals (I get the miracle grow kind without any chemicals in it). You add hot water to the crystals and they expand, forming gel "nuggets" the roaches can use for water.

You can also dust roaches with a calcium / vitamin supplement.

I agree with the others that dubia are quiet, don't smell, and reproduce easily. That said, they need a dark tote with a ventilation hole cut on the lid (covered in screen), a heat pad attached to one end (or kept in a warm place), and a good bit of time to reproduce. I would start your colony with as many adult females as possible, and males should be in a 1.4-8 ratio (i.e. 1 male to 4-8 females). I let my colony grow for about 4 months before feeding any off. Cardboard egg crates make great places for them to live on in the bin. I stack mine vertically, so all the frass falls out to the bottom of the bin.

One last note, roaches can climb rough surfaces, so add a layer of clear packing tape around the top inside of the bin to prevent escapees.


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## Cheshire Gleam

That's helpful, I'll be getting a Leopard Gecko soon and I want to get a colony going in awhile because bunches of nymphs are quite expensive. For now I'm just breeding mealies and it's been going really well. Thanks a lot.


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## Laika

I feed my roaches a mix of ground oatmeal, cat and dog food, and they seem to do pretty well on that diet.


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## Cheshire Gleam

I ordered my first dubia roaches last month since I have a leopard gecko now and I feed mine fresh fruit and veggies along with a chicken feed based ground, dry food. It's cool watching them nibble on apples!


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## MoonfallTheFox

They're easy to breed.

Be cautious using dog and cat food, veggies or fruits should be the majority of the diet. They will overload on protein if they eat too much cat or dog food.

I also breed hissing roaches. And mealworms.


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## Amtma Mousery

What happens if they receive too much protein?


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## Cheshire Gleam

It's not good for the reptile the dubia roaches are fed to because when fed too much protein, the roaches convert in into excess uric acid which can cause gout and other potential health issues in the reptile. Not sure if it negatively affects the dubia roach itself though.

And yes they are, I've just had two females give birth to the first babies! Very cute.


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