Dubia Roaches are great feeder insects to breed because they reproduce quickly and allow you to feed your pet a highly nutritious bug. They require a few basic things but are otherwise very easy to care for.
Housing: We house our Dubia in a large Rubbermaid bins that have an under tank heater on one side. We line the inside with upright egg crates in a row starting on the heater side. I leave some space at the end as I want to have room for feeding and watering. I put 2 dishes on the other side, one for food and the other for fresh fruits and veggies.
Feeding: We use fresh bananas, oranges, apples, potatoes, carrots, high protein dog food, mustard greens, and high calcium cricket food. We try to use food with reptile's nutrition in mind. Dubia will eat just about anything so feeding them with your animal's nutrition in mind will boost the Dubia's nutritional content. We keep a constant supply of food in the bin. Tip; oranges work like Viagra, so if you are trying to grow your colony quickly feed oranges once a week.
General: We put a lid on the bins but we cut a hole out in the middle, and replace the solid plastic with screen, or weed block. This is to allow ventilation so that the bins don't mold. They do need high humidity so the hole can't be too big, and allow all the moisture out. Keep in mind though that one reason Dubia will not infest your house is that it is too dry, so make sure you are feeding high moisture foods regularly.
Cleaning: We rarely clean out our Dubia bins as with regular feeding off should keep deaths at a minimum. Babies eat and need to hide in the waste at the bottom. Also, we have found that even with thousands in 1 bin, they do not give off the odor that crickets do. We take out any non eaten food items (rare) and dead dubia (also rare) as they arise. I don’t clean out all the waste in the bin but will remove some as it gets to be too much. Take care when doing this, the babies hide in the waste at the bottom.
If you have any other questions about Dubia breeding, please call us! We are happy to answer any questions you may have! (855)323-5655