How to set-up a Dubia Roach Colony

[@Bradimus1981]

There are a lot of people creating and posting videos on spiders. Dave so far has the best content. He does not add flush, he is educational, keeps things simple and he is friendly. Please keep it up sir and keep'em coming.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thank you really appreciate your support y friend ❤️👍

[@deansartorelli564]

I was having this conversation in the pet shop the other day and the guy even agreed. Daves the man 💪🏻 💯 😉

[@daveslittlebeasties]

@@deansartorelli564 WOW what pet shop was you in 😂👍

[@stephengoad4226]

What size tubs are u using

[@daveslittlebeasties]

@@stephengoad4226 They are 70 ltr tubs 👍

[@ThomasHoover-y1g]

I just ordered 1000 for 60 bucks, tired of paying a dollar a roach to feed my beardie. Honestly excited to start my colony. Thanks for the helpful video!!!

[@testaklese]

Local pet shop had just a few in stock the other day. Bought them all (probably about 100) and hope to set them up and get them breeding eventually. This was really helpful. This is gonna be one of those "better to ask for forgiveness than permission" situations with my landlord lol

[@tylerkrug7719]

What momma don't know , won't hurt her,lol

[@lesleycheryl]

Thank you, I love your videos! This has been helping me get over my roachaphobia, I have been feeding my juvenile worms, since it’s been a little hard finding dubia here.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Glad your finding it useful

[@shellyhyde1328]

Dave I love your videos. Also you have way more patience than myself. Sorry if i’m an arse but how many times can people ask the same question??? Apparently a lot!! Public Service Announcement: Audience please try watching the video and then reading some of the previous comments before posting questions that he has already answered multiple times. For reference: •It is Wheat Bran flakes in the bottom of the tub. Any horse feed store will have it. •He feeds the Dubias greens once a day or every other day depending on how the roaches respond to them. Any greens mix will do. •He also keeps chicken pellets in the tub at all times for the roaches main food source. Any brand chicken pellet will suffice. Thank you and have a nice day. Lol

[@daveslittlebeasties]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Numa92]

Thank you, i'm in the process of setting up my first Dubia Roach colony and this was very helpful.

[@The_HoochGoblin]

Thanks for the video. Super helpful. I definitely feel confident I can manage a Dubia colony now.

[@addiegraves3]

I live in Wisconsin U.S My local pet store sells ONE large Dubia for $0.50 usdc. At that price, I'm starting my own colony 😀 Thank you for the great information keeping Dubia roaches, I appreciate it!

[@avacollins3552]

Stumbled across this channel and video while on my hunt for a way to provide food for my leopard geckos that doesn’t completely destroy my bank (I have 6 now with my breeding project so understandably it gets a little expensive). I immediately fell in love with the tone and educational aspects of your videos. Thank you so much!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thank you and welcome to our channel ❤️👍

[@ZechariYahweahschild]

I like how their little feet sound😍

[@Chris-b4w8t]

I adore dubias, I feed the small ones to my green anole and my smallest tarantula and my big tarantula, pacman frog, and leopard gecko like the bigger ones. I've only ever bought them and never actually bred them but I'm planning on trying to breed them soon. I breed superworms and mealworms though but I just find that dubias are easier to deal with and they're great feeders and very docile too. I sometimes will take out the biggest ones and hold them and just admire them because I think they're really neat looking and the full adults are too big for my animals to eat anyway

[@PacificDubia]

They're great. Give breeding a shot! they do grow slowly so take your time, but once you have your colony going its rewarding.

[@BuffNerdInCa]

Thanks for the video. Ventilation and keep it heated can be opposing ideas if you don't heat the whole room. Got them in the garage with a heat pad on either side. Garage drops to 60 in winter at night. Got to cover the top vent just to get it up to 80.

[@vet_x0]

This Channel should have Well over 100k subs tbh! Wonderful content m8! Keep it up

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thank you so much my friend we never know where this will all go 😂👍

[@therealslimsonny]

1450 subs but he has great community. That's the most important thing. I hope he will get more ppl on his channel while maintaining the same community.

[@victoriabeth805]

Thank you have, I can't wait to start my colony after watching your videos. It cleared up all my questions.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Best of luck!

[@rebel4466]

You can do a lot of different things. While not being as hardy as the kitchen variety of cockroaches, they're very hardy creatures and can handle a mistake. While Dave does everything right, there are a lot of approaches that are also right. I've fed fish food, dog food, cat foot, rodent food and most things in between. I personally don't use anything as a bottom layer because of them burying in it. I don't have the space for the extra tub to get out the burrowed ones and don't feel like sorting them out manually either. But it's a great way to deal with moisture.

[@joanna7007]

Great video, Dave. Just friended you on Facebook as well. My son just got his first Bearded Dragon and where we live it's not easy getting a good, consistent supply of Dubia. Shipping them in by Fedex is okay for now but we'd rather breed them ourselves. We like the more natural bedding and feeding/hydration approach so looking forward to learning a lot from you as we try to set up our own breeding colony at some point.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Welcome to the channel Joanna, setting up your dub colony is very straight forward just keep them warm and in the dark food on tap and you wont be able to stop them 😂👍

[@UCanCallMeJesus1]

This video was very helpful. Started my colony up maybe 1/3 of the way through 2022, and my Colony of dubias is thriving a little too well now 😅I'm primarily feeding them off to Tarantulas and scorpions, so the dubias aren't being eaten anywhere near as often as a reptile would eat them. But thank you for the video, Dave! This really helped me set up a strong tub for my feeders to thrive in! It's peace of mind and wallet having a readily available food source for my T's.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Cool them down to slow the breeding 👍

[@ArDeeMee]

And maybe set up a listing somewhere that you‘re selling cheap dubias.

[@J2982able]

Talk about lucky! I have just been coming to the realization that I would need to start a dubia colony and here this video is! Thank you Dave for such great info!!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thank you 🙏

[@shsd7579]

thank you this was very helpful i ordered 20 roaches today and im thinking to start a colony to feed my ants!

[@autimso7169]

all good ?

[@shsd7579]

@@autimso7169 the order got delayed lol so idk yet

[@bobbibuttons8730]

Great video, still shudder though Thanks to you and the wonderful camera lady It’s great watching your channel grow

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thanks for your support 👍❤️

[@christystmichael3452]

How often do you add the greens? Very excited to try and start a colony with your techniques. Best I've seen so far! Thank you for sharing. 😀

[@daveslittlebeasties]

The greens are only there to hydrate the roaches you can get away with every 3 days no problem👍

[@xiaoranmo7308]

amazing videos. I probably gonna order my dubia roach now, and use this video as a guideline. Thank you so much.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Glad to be of help my friend 👍

[@ejgrace420]

I see a red runner randomly got into your dubia colony as well. I see yours is a full grown male with wings mine was a breeder female. Nice informative video. Lol just as I'm typing this you mentioned the red runner. Watching from Upstate Ny

[@bdamian-ic7sh]

Looked like a German roach to me. But I'm not sure if they are not the same thing.

[@shianehamilton7746]

Am wanting to start breeding roaches myself and this video was phenomenal

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thank you ❤️👍

[@epicpancakes23]

Crickets are starting to annoy me so I'm gonna start a dubia roach colony. Hoping it goes well. Hate taking frequent trips to the pet store

[@grnnt123]

Same here bro

[@Ibaneddie76]

Nice one mate, best Dubia video I've seen yet. Every other video I've seen says to spray them down and provide a water source, it didn't seem right to me so I'm glad to see the way you do it, very clean and dry. I breed ball pythons and rats currently but I'm looking to start breeding various gecko and spider species and want to grow my own happy meals. This video really helped, thanks! Where do you get the egg crates?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Cheers buddy I get the egg crate from Amazon

[@Shellshell222]

We all should just take a moment and realize what a wonderful wife he must have lol ...To let him keep those huge roaches in their home. I would be absolutely screaming and afraid. Love the vids. Keep it up!! 🙂

[@daveslittlebeasties]

You are so kind

[@edzeljudedoncillo8571]

That's A LOT of Dubias haha, very informative video. Keep it up !!! I love Dubias now, they are very clean.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Morning mate yes they are very clean and great food.👍

[@edzeljudedoncillo8571]

@@daveslittlebeasties I buy some next week. nice video

[@wolfe1970]

Have you done a vid on the fruit fly cultures too ? Love these videos, i know ive said it before, but your channel is so straight to the point, no fannying about like alot of the other channels, and for people like me who have a attention span of a nat i can watch these all the way through, and also like that you dont try to make the spiders out as underworld stuff with dark music etc, thank you

[@daveslittlebeasties]

I think we need to do a fruit fly video👍

[@wolfe1970]

@@daveslittlebeasties That would be awsum, thank you Dave

[@Dedlyniteshade]

Its cool to see how other people keep these. I started with 20 adults and keep mosta the tub dry but I give them a section of damp spagnum moss near there water dish and the females love it for laying in so they started breading right away, there was no waiting. I'm cheap aswell lol so I just put them on top of the hot side of one of my snake vivs and it keeps the temps nice and warm for them:)

[@justinking656]

Sir you are an amazing teaching. Thank you.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

So nice of you

[@justinking656]

For the record I ment to say teacher.

[@Spiderdan-59]

This is something I want to know more about, if my tarantula like roaches of any species which is something they haven't had before but if they eat them, I'd like to get into breeding my own for feed💯🕷🖤🖤🖤 wicked video dave n camera lady!

[@Aprilann871]

Is that a spider on the wall on the right hand said top of door way?

[@shayzoo2]

Thank you so much for this info. I was pleasantly surprised at how thorough and clearly you explained everything. We don’t see that too often. I’m so glad I found you! I was hoping to maybe start a colony to make feeding my lizards more economical. But it seems like I would have way too many roaches. What do you do with the extras? Do you know if there are any regulations regarding selling them?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Glad it was helpful! check out our latest video on these roaches

[@Narutojaden]

I have like 500 adults ... using the large ones (not full wings and female nibs) for food but I have a few full adults and watching this to start breeding so I don’t have to keep buying food ... I didn’t know I would ever keep part time pets for my pets lol (having to take care of the food is like a mini pet)

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Its a job in itself thats for sure but well worth the small effort required 👍

[@MrCleanLeans]

Thank you for this video! I was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Got it sorted now!😊

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Glad to be able to help👍👍

[@periplanetamissionary]

I love roaches. It's time you get some Periplaneta species. :D

[@gamewithadam7235]

Good to see a professional doing it.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thanks 👍

[@nourhanateout7187]

Spectacular video! I plan to switch my pets from crickets to dubias. What did u poor as the substrate for them? Is that vermiclular?

[@melanielewismoss2920]

Wheat bran

[@JxyWxstxn]

Just been recommended to watch this video. Very informative & helpful. Thank you!!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

so glad you found it useful 👍

[@JxyWxstxn]

@@daveslittlebeasties what is that stuff you fill the base of the tub with? I've just got some dubias from my local pet store, I've used some coco fibre for now. Is that okay Hopefully? Hopefully have my own colony in time 😁 im tired of buying locusts & crickets haha

[@daveslittlebeasties]

@@JxyWxstxn I tell you in the video 😂😂😂 its wheat bran 👍

[@JxyWxstxn]

@@daveslittlebeasties thanks mate, I seem to have missed when you mentioned it

[@daveslittlebeasties]

@@JxyWxstxn 😂😂😂 no worries bud👍

[@hebelo7738]

One important thing to keep in mind is allergy. Dubias can give you really nasty allergy and breathe problems. I’ve got it after a couple of years and if I don’t use gasmask when handling Dubias I can barely breathe. So... Do NOT breathe the dust and avoid handling them with your hands!

[@intelligenceart6]

This is the first time hearing of this don’t plan to keep reptiles and arachnids anytime soon but will remember this in a couple years

[@Carlos-iz2ql]

Omg I have been doing things so wrong. Thank you so very much for this accurate and great information my colony should be better. Ps. Your Roaches look beautiful

[@christopherbongers313]

I would love to know where you get all your supplies from. Maybe you can post some links. Around here a 50 lb bad of wheat bran is going for $35 and up, and most of the feed stores to not carry it at all.

[@mrsmagoo9739]

This is what I’m trying to find out. I’m new to all of this and don’t even know where to begin or what everything is called.

[@cameronteague76]

If you are in the US I got mine from Tractor Supply. It was in the back so you have to ask for it. It was a 50lb bag for $15.

[@fortysanchez3071]

Very well explained, quick easy straight to the point, good info. Thank you

[@catherinehubbard1167]

That tub full of roaches sounds just like a summer rainstorm. Just as I wrote this, Camera Lady said it too.

[@brianduffy9757]

Great video Dave! I will have to get a colony going thanks for the info!

[@donaldretallack9743]

I really need to see this. Been getting a lot of conflicting husbandry.

[@robertwilson6918]

Brilliant video I'm definitely setting up my own breeding

[@daveslittlebeasties]

You will save a fortune mate 👍

[@nicolaipetersen6031]

Hi Dave :) I love your channel! I want to ask, if its important that the plastik boxes are food grade? I am wondering, if i just buy regular plastic boxes, if there could be any harmful chemicals or other stuff, that will get in my Dubias, and later in my spiders. Best regards from Denmark :)

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Mine are just regular boxes

[@nicolaipetersen6031]

Thanks alot Dave :) Again, i really like watching your videos, keep up the great work

[@pumpkinchow]

Appreciate the advice definitely going to give it a shot I had to start new colonies since I fed my old ones off to the 80 baby monitors I just had hatch

[@Timefortracy]

Great feeders but geez I never get over the sound of a Dubia colony 😂 all the hairs on my body stand straight up every time I go in my “insect closet”

[@Stacie-MaiFlanigan-yi9tc]

Thank you for this!! Really useful. Would they be safe to feed to my beardies with chicken pellets in them? Also what do you use to fix the mesh to the lid safely?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Yes they will be fine and I silicone the mesh to the lid

[@nblack6954]

What are you feeding your roaches? Chicken Pellets (from garden store)? And lettuce for hydration? Daily handfuls?

[@FC360D]

Very nice video as always when my tarantula collection grows, if it does which I'm hoping it will, I shall return to this video and use it to correctly setup a dubia colony :)

[@daveslittlebeasties]

You won't regret doing it mate , but I would start now because they can be slow to start😂👍

[@Yes-e6u]

If I feed them like you do, how often a week? once a day or twice a week or? Thank you!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Its all in the video, chicken pellet every day. and greens every other day is fine 👍

[@cs4870]

I’m pretty new to the channel, but I’m loving it! Great info

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Welcome my friend 👍

[@Troy-Echo]

I saw that male Red-Runner early in the video. You probably could have split them into 3 or 4 colonies to be honest, which you said further in the video. :0) What do you keep your Dubia bin humidity set at? Every year I've had an easy time keeping them between 40-60% humidity. This past year I've struggled to keep my humidity up. I've used water crystals with no issues for years, and I've been using more moist veggies than dry food as in the past, but I'm going to have to start spraying mist each day to boost the humidity unless you have another idea. I use a large black bin, and the lid is yellow and even using 2 holes in the side about 3 inches around, and 4 holes that size in the top, the humidity is too low. Like you, as long as I don't feed directly on the egg crates, I never have issues with the egg crates being moist and rotting. I've noticed I only seem to get those tiny gnats when I feed bananas. I've never seen them again since I stopped feeding bananas. So, if someone out there reads this, I hope that helps. Dubia do like higher heat. I've found they breed MUCH better at temperatures above 85 degrees, preferably 90-100 degrees. Dubia come from Central America, just below the equator and from a tropical rain forest. They have temps over 110 degrees in the day, and heavy dew at night, on top of frequent rain, so they have all the water they can drink. Having a higher humidity helps them grow as it keeps their exoskeleton a little softer, so they have an easier time going from one instar phase to another as their shell breaks and is easier to escape. With lower humidity, I've found a slower breeding rate, which I'm attributing to fewer roaches surviving due to harder exoskeletons and trouble breaking out. A professor named Ken (a biochemist) I spoke to that has been putting out research papers on roaches since 1966 said pretty much every roach he had studied could thrive on as little as 4% protein. Some people bicker about protein from meat being different than protein from vegetables, and that's not true. This biochemist said the RNA (similar to DNA) strand for protein is the RNA strand for protein, whether or not it comes from meat or vegetables, it's the same protein RNA strand. I split my similarly. Once I remove all the eggcrate with the roaches, I put 2-3 down flat and leave a light on to herd them onto the bottom side of the egg crate, and I can get a great deal more out in 10-15 minutes. When I stack the egg crates in the bin, I reverse the egg crates every other one, so they have more space in between to help air flow, so I have less potential for mold or mildew. For heating, nothing seems to do very well so I bought a heating matt designed for people that stand on cold cement all day long to keep their feet warm. It has a high and low setting, and I put the temperature sensor on the bottom, and connect to a thermostat, and it cycles on and off. I like the sound of the Dubia crawling around, but my favorite was the constant chirping of the crickets before I started with Dubia. I'd have 500 in a bin with the lid closed, and with all the males making noise at once, and contained inside the bin, it was a very pleasant white noise in my work office. They stink though, and although not many people know this, when a cricket dies, it starts giving off a gas that is toxic to other crickets. That's part of the horrible odor you get from crickets. Cricket breeders don't tell people that because they want people to buy more crickets, but having good ventilation will keep crickets alive much longer. Still not worth it versus Dubia. Crickets have about 6x the exoskeleton to Dubia, and we almost lost our bearded dragon a couple times from impacted bowels from the amount of exoskeleton. Never had a single issue since switching to Dubia. There are over 4,800 species of roaches, and of that, only 30 species are classified as pests to humans. The rest, if they were to get loose inside your house, the first thing they would want to do is get out of your house. Dubia more than most because they like high heat, and most homes are kept between 68 and 77, which is pretty cold for Dubia. I think I start to notice males fighting and chewing off each other's wings when I get much past 1 male per 3 females, but that's a guess. I've not noticed predation on the nymphs in the 7 years I've breed, but I don't think the nymphs would give off the same odor or pheromones that a sexually active adult male would, so I doubt they really prey on the nymphs. I've never really watched that aspect closely either.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thank you for this very interesting read 👍 I stand my eg crates so they fit inside each other this helps the humidity when breeding and they you nymphs can hide unmolested as the adults cant et in them , they rest I leave a ap between for the adults to hide in, mixed salad leaves provide enough moisture fro my colony which I place on the unheated end of the enclosure , hope this helps 👍

[@Troy-Echo]

@@daveslittlebeastiesI've never noticed any smaller roaches being bothered by bigger roaches. I've only seen sexually active adult males competing for breeding rights and chewing wings and such. I'll turn one of my egg crates inward like that just in case. No harm either way. :0) I built a large bin 4-5 years ago and it's big. I think it was 64 quarts. I mainly bought this bin for the height on the sides. I've only had 3 males escape, but that ended with the taller bin a few years ago. Every year low humidity wasn't a problem. Actually, the bin was so humid I had to leave the top of the bin off or partly open. Now my humidity is really low, even with the bin on tight. My hydrometer was always pretty high in the past, to the point I bought a small dehumidifier for my office to try and help. Right now, the humidity is at about 22% in my bin. I didn't trust that hygrometer, so I brought the one from my Bearded Dragon enclosure and it reads 1% different, so I don't think both are faulty. I have the bin in the same room, and nothing has changed. I feed the roaches the same things as before. Roach chow and leftover greens from salads, potatoes, oranges, apple cores, and I keep water down 24/7, but now the humidity dropped. The only thing I can figure is that I have such a small colony right now that they are not processing as much food, thus giving off less humidity. Either that, or both hygrometers are broken, but still reading at 1% difference in humidity. Another thing that professor said was roaches can regrow legs that get pulled off, chewed off, removed, etc. I'm not sure about wings. He didn't say, and I haven't tested that myself. With the number of males you have, you could take one out with mangled wings and stick it in a small bin for a month and see if the wings regrow. This professor also made one or more of the roach killer baits. That was his project with his kids and he used these funds to pay for their college education, all by finding and reproducing which types of mold would kill roaches. I also used physics to circulate air in my bin. I cut a few holes on the opposite end from my heat source and cut a few holes over the heat source. Since heat rises and expands, as the warm air leaves the bin through the top holes, it will automatically pull in air from the opposite end of the bin. Great idea, but the humidity was too high for this to be an effective solution.

[@MaryGold-il4cl]

Hey, facing each egg tray so that two similar ends are always touching may help with providing more air flow. Having them stacked (as they would potentially come packaged) may mean that the trays will all lean to the one side and poses a potential risk of some guys getting squished? (Unlikely lol) main point is that you will need more trays and there is less space between the trays if placed according to the method demonstrated in this video. I’m sure it’s totally fine this way, but this tip may be more useful to people who are limited in their supply of egg carton trays.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Hi Mary, I use them this way becouse the roaches prefer a tight space in which to rest and it also allows the babies somewhere to hide away from the adults .

[@lennescustomcreations]

What was the bran stuff he put in there at the bottom?

[@TrueBeelzebub]

I really like spiders but I’ve never kept any. I didn’t know even know that tarantula keepers fed dubia roaches. I’ve only ever kept Dubias for my lizards. I’ll get myself a tarantula one of these days though, my favorite species is brachypelma hamorii (mexican red knee). I don’t know about their temperament so I’ll probably start off with their more beginner friendly cousin, brachypelma albopilosum. Anyways awesome content as always 👍👍👍

[@nthieuuuuu]

What do you line the cockroach cage with underneath, something that absorbs moisture from the waste they produce?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Just regular cleaning

[@jaseoutdoorsin3075]

Some great info in that Dave, been trying for a while and u have cleared up where I’m going wrong 👌

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Glad to help to help my friend 👍

[@HR-dx9lk]

Thanks for the guide! I've set up my Dubia like this. It's been running for almost six months. I want to change out the bran to give them something fresh. I tried to do this last week, but there were soooo many in the bran and I couldn't sift them out. Do you have any tips or tricks? Otherwise I'll be plucking them out for hours. Thanks again!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

You can leave some egg crate in with old bran for a day or 2 and they will crawl up on it then just check through the bran 👍

[@MrGrinxh]

Love ur videos even years later

[@DATWagonator]

The idea of having any roach in my home let alone something that large really is a a no go for me lol.

[@caseywheeler1903]

Thank you for the video. I am going to start a colony now.

[@kmtankk]

What brand of wheat barn do you use, and where can I get it.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Any brand from my local horse yard

[@moniquecaldwell6301]

Great content, I plan to do this for my bearded dragon

[@CraygCZ]

Hi Dave, do the little black bugs that eat the eggs also appear in Dubia? Or are they only found in red runners? I watch your videos again and again and I'm still learning and improving. Greetings from the Czech republic...

[@daveslittlebeasties]

You can find hem in all roach colonies 👍

[@Lookadragon]

Thanks for the info. Now to start the colony!

[@nicolaipetersen6031]

Hi again Dave :D So, i just read something about Dubia roaches, and problems with too much protein in their food. Something about that too much protein, will cause a "uric acid" build up. Do you know if its something to worry about? Both in regards to the roaches, but also the spiders that i feed them to. I feed mine fishpellets/flakes. Have you ever tried the fish pellets instead of chicken pellets? Best regards, Nicolai :)

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Thats why I dont feed fish pellets they dont need that much protein chicken pellets are better I think 👍

[@nicolaipetersen6031]

@@daveslittlebeasties Thanks Dave, i will try and find some! I really appriciate your videos, thanks again :)

[@Sinnamon6]

​@@nicolaipetersen6031what I do is I give them any plant based kitchen scraps (other than citrus and anything with a strong taste or aroma) and mix in some cat food. But that's bc I never have than 100 roaches that I keep as pets and I also have cats so it's just easier than getting something else. IDK if it's reasonable with more roaches tho.

[@ajghosts]

​@andrewlacy5196 are you saying not to give them citrus? Because they absolutely love oranges and grapefruit

[@Sinnamon6]

@@ajghosts that's just from what I hear, so I may be wrong bc I've never tried it.

[@tylerkrug7719]

Really cool sound when they were all rustling around

[@zackhemphill4032]

What do you do if the colony gets bigger than you want? I want to start one but I only have six reptiles and I don’t think they could keep up with the pace

[@daveslittlebeasties]

You can just cool them down and they will stop breeding 👍👍👍

[@maminkakamobaudyska5445]

Hi, this is an amazing video! We have two agamas (beaded dragons) here in Czech Republic. I'm going to start my colony soon. Thank you for showing me how to do it! 😊

[@chelsiefetherman3324]

Agamas are related to bearded dragons but they are NOT bearded dragons.

[@kristinhl364]

I've been breeding dubia for several years now but I've never used substrate. Unfortunately that may have contributed to the allergy I now have to them. I'm wondering if the bran substrate or maybe even soil would help keep that dust down so I can keep them. I really enjoy watching them and my hissers it makes me mad that I can't be around them. I see you cleaning this out in an enclosed room but I can't even do it outside without reacting to cleaning. Think the bran helps with this?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Yes the bran helps keep them dry and clean but wont stop the dust when I clean them out

[@isaiahcalhoun822]

Hey Kristin, I was curious if you breed only for your own use or if you sell as well? I have a few colonies going and have some excess I have been wanting to profit from. Thanks for your time and I will be sure to watch out for allergies.

[@kristinhl364]

@@isaiahcalhoun822 I do sell. I have found out that using the dirt substrate does help a bit with reducing the airborne frass as I am not sneezing nor have itchy eyes as bad every time I open the lid. Find local groups for reptiles on Facebook and let folks know you have some available.

[@Jackson-pu7gd]

I'm not really into spiders per-se but i really do enjoy your videos and im finding them increasingly fascinating. One question i have is that it seems like you have a huge amount of roaches. I remember in one of your previous videos you mentioned that some of your spiders will only feed a handful of times per year. How do you handle your roach numbers? Won't their numbers get out of control given how few of them you need for feeding spiders?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Good question! I have a large collection and I also supply others with my roaches 👍

[@ghostedbones6478]

Where do you get males? Anytime I've ordered dubias, I've never seen any look like the males. Do breeders intentionally only ship out female?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Just get a box of medium size and grow them on

[@rockymountainspiderfreaks3722]

Great video Dave !!! So jelouse of what you guys are allowed to keep over there

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Yes talking to other keepers around the world makes me appreciate how lucky we are.

[@MightBeSmart]

could you please tell the temps in celcius as well? The american almost never give us the celcius, i dont get why we keep giving them the farenheit.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Its what I use simple ob to google I will have to get a chart printed 😂😂👍

[@misstrevor84]

This was a great informative video! Thank you!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheChickwithguns]

I have read that dubia roaches like high (60 odd percent) humidity. Is it good enough to have a good water source and heat? Misting them sounds like a bad idea if they don’t want to be wet.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Theres enough humidity between the egg. crates I like to keep the substrate dry 👍

[@janecasey8446]

This is the first video I’ve seen where someone actually uses something at the bottom I keep getting fruit flies and I have a feeling this might help

[@toxicdeath0939]

Hi, I just have a few questions for you if you wouldn't mind answering. What brand of Wheat bran flakes do you use? How many gallons or size is your totes and brands? Thank you also this video helped a lot.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

I use 75 litre bins and the bread I get from local horse yard any bran will do its all the same wheat bran

[@DGirl326]

If you couldn’t find wheat bran for the substrate, what could be a good replacement? I can’t seem to locate any stores that sell bulk wheat bran near me. Thanks! Incredible video by the way, loads of info keep it coming.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

order it on line mate you could use wood shavings but they end up smelly some keep them on soil with good results 👍

[@waragainstmyself1159]

Did you add the stuff in the bottom or did it just build up over the months? I have the same setup except I dont have anything for a bedrock.. just the tote. Is that ok?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

I just freshen up with new bran flakes from time totem 👍

[@sirdocmad4473]

ty again , i wish we could get red runners here in Norway , ( might be, but never seen any for sale)

[@paulwoodley489]

Hey! Just wondering what to with when you have too many…obviously you have split the colony, but if I don’t have room to/ or an inclination to split how would I manage the numbers? Ultimately they will start to breed and grow to numbers which are more than I can feed!

[@elamonty]

You should find an ant colony or a few and feed them. It's very interesting to watch.

[@kristinhl364]

Join local reptile groups and sell the excess.

[@AlternativeInverts]

Awesome video dave, we love using dubia as feeders. Make for nice full healthy T's :) 🤘🤘

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Yes mate I love em 👍

[@alexisfrey9106]

Hey Dave! Looking at starting a fresh colony for my panther chameleon and we have ordered so far 100 medium mixed and 5 female and 10 males. Do you think we should order more to grow a decent size colony or leave it at that considering it only for 1 reptile who eats every other day. Thank you so much for educational video it really helped us set ours up thus far!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

You should always aim for more females than males , this colony will be fine , I would not feed any from it until they have established themselves fully 👍

[@alexisfrey9106]

@@daveslittlebeasties sorry Dave that was my typo!! I meant 10 females to 5 males lol. I plan on letting the colony establish. Thank you for your help!

[@rich-pt9jt]

Hi Dave awesome video and information again. Im a fairly new keeper and just wandering if a colony will work on a smaller scale. Thinking a 15 ltr box.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Yes, absolutely

[@originalemberstar]

Do they not get smashed when you bang the egg carton around in the bin?

[@daveslittlebeasties]

No they are very hardy

[@simonstrange8222]

Thanks Dave,just what I was looking for.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Glad to help

[@rebornshoebag]

I totly agree with 4-5months if started with a few dubs

[@Markz31189]

Heya love the video, great info all around! Quick question though, what brand layer pellets do you use? I've read a lot about DL-Methionine being bad for roaches (and pretty much all chicken feed I've seen have it) so have been hesitant to use them but it looks like your colonies are thriving!

[@daveslittlebeasties]

I dont use a particular brand just whatever is available and have not had any problems 👍

[@megan-ox2ev]

I salute you Sir cause I have roaches and no way in hell am I letting one of them touch me!! Yuck! haha tongs all the way here!

[@kenjayveerelativo4400]

And I'm here again and again and again sir😅♥️ I'm just late about 3 hours i think if I'm not mistaken loved you're videos sir ♥️

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Better last than never glad you enjoyed it

[@fabianr3857]

I have a bearded dragon that loves these and rather not spend the money every week on them so want to grown them my sef any advice

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Just follow the video they are easy to breed 👍

[@Basil-922]

Hey Great video dude I was just about to start my own Dubai colony this video really helped me out, but can I ask where you got those bins I can’t seem to find any that are just right for them.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

Wilcos

[@ababner317]

I see you have a lid on your Dubai roach colony. Is this just to keep them in the dark or would they all climb out of the container? I ask because I plan on keeping mine in a dark room so if they don't climb out I would prefer not to have a lid. I am really worried about having a mold problem.

[@daveslittlebeasties]

The lid is more for keeping flies out ? they cant climb the smooth sides and if your careful with the fresh food you should not get mould 👍

[@CarlosRamosNotAshamedofJesus]

Great video Dave! i had started a colony about a month ago, but you have show me a great way to do it. Now I have some changes to do. What are the pellets that you are feeding your Dubias? BTW keep up the good work!

[@artrabum]

Have you had issues with grain mites? I’ve tried producing mealworms and there always ends up being an explosion of microscopic white mites that look like sand taking over

[@daveslittlebeasties]

No not as yet 👍

[@addiegraves3]

Grain mites😲 oh no! what kind of grain were the mites in? Was it from your local feed mill or a certain brand of grain? I apologise for all the questions just want to make sure I'm Prepared 😅

[@artrabum]

@@addiegraves3 I’ve got them from using Quaker Oats, as well as the standard wheat bran they come in. Tends to always happen to me. Looks like a sandstorm erupts over night except they’re moving! They say they’re harmless tho. Very annoying but you wouldn’t want them getting into the pantry. Also I’ve learned they can’t really thrive in bright light so if u keep a light bulb over them that seems to halt the mites from doing their thing. If I leave them in dark too long they always seem to erupt

[@lucaspacheco3631]

@@artrabum Did you microwave the Quaker Oats? If not, you should do that to kill any mites in it.

[@artrabum]

@@lucaspacheco3631 didn’t. But good idea 💡