Benefits and the Housing of Dubia roaches
Dubia roaches benefits
Insect eating animals rarely discriminate against what you feed them. They’ll likely eat whatever bugs you put in front of them. It is the pet owner’s responsibility to determine the best insect to use as feeders. There is a plethora of feeders for your insect loving pets out there, the most popular being the house crickets, then the mealworm, superworm, and the newer addition – cockroaches. One of the most popular cockroach species on the market today is the Dubia cockroach (Blaptica dubia). It is a tropical South American cockroach that is commonly found in the tropical forest understory. Their common diet in the wild includes a wide variety of plant matters and fruits. Dubia roach today is sold all over the United States, only Florida and Hawaii with tropical weathers similar to these roaches’ native habitat do not allow their importation in fear of them becoming invasive species.
There are many reasons for Dubia roach’s emerging popularity as a feeder insect. They are often advertised as nutritionally dense. Other reasons include:
- They cannot climb a smooth surface due to their lack of specialized tarsi (claw-like feet), which makes them escape free
- When comparing them to crickets, male Dubia roaches do not chirp like the male crickets do (ever had an escaped male cricket chirping away in the middle of the night?).
- They do not have the developed jumping femurs of the crickets, making them easy to handle for pet owners.
- They also have a much longer lifespan than crickets (1.5 years vs 3 months), meaning your feeders will not start to die off when your pets are not eating them fast enough.
- Upon death, they do not emit a pungent aroma like the crickets do, keeping your pet area odor-free.
- Being generalist herbivore insects, they will not harm your reptiles by biting as crickets do.
A feeder insect’s body shape and the amount of chitin will determine its hardness, where harder feeders are more difficult to chew and digest when compared to softer feeders. Dubia roaches are harder when compared to other roach species like the Red Runner roach, but they are softer when compared to mealworm and superworm.
Housing Dubia roaches
Enclosure1: Smooth-sided glass or plastic container with a lid (e.g., critter keeper, cricket keeper, Sterilite tote, and fish tank). Plus egg cartons for structure.
Substrate2: If the ambient humidity is >50% then don’t need any substrate, if <50%, then use moist coco fiber.
Temperature3: Keep at 60 F° – 90 F°.
Food4: A variety of fresh thoroughly washed vegetables and fruits. Their favorites are banana, carrot, romaine lettuce, sweet potato, and wheat germ or bran.
Water4: If you feed them fresh fruit and vegetables, then you do not need to provide additional water.
1. Enclosure
Dubia roaches can be housed inside a cricket keeper or a tall plastic tote with stacks of egg cartons. They do not need a lot of space since they spend most of their daytime hiding and forage for food at night. Even though they are bad climbers, egg cartons should only reach half the height of the tote to prevent escape. You should also have a lid to cover the Dubia roach enclosure to prevent accidental tipping it over and to prevent things like spiders from getting inside.
2. Substrate
Dubia roaches are from tropical South America, therefore they are used to living in a humid environment. A higher humidity helps them to molt and grow bigger and will also allow them to live longer (18 months if properly cared for). If your ambient humidity is greater than 50% then you do not need to give them any substrate. It is ok for their frass or feces to build up to about half an inch before cleaning. But if your ambient humidity is less than 50%, then you could place a one-inch-thick layer of moist coco fiber on the bottom of the enclosure or place a piece of wet sponge inside the enclosure.
3. Temperature
Being from a tropical environment, Dubia roaches prefer warmer climates. This does not mean they will perish in colder climates, but they generally perform poorly and may die prematurely. The best temperature for them to thrive is between 70 F° to 90 F°. Of course, inside a home, it may be difficult to maintain a higher temperature. For temporary keeping, anywhere between 60 F° to 75 F° would be sufficient to keep them alive until they are fed to your pets, but they will not grow much in this temperature range.
4. Food and water
Like many other tropical cockroach species, Dubia roaches prefer fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. Feed them only enough so that they can finish the meal in one to two days. This way, the food will not get moldy and will not attract fruit flies. Adjust the feeding frequency depending on their appetite. All fresh produce (including organic) should be thoroughly washed to remove any residual pesticide. If you feed them fresh produce, you do not need to give them extra water. You may feed them a few nibbles of dog or cat food as a protein supplement, however, out of all dry foods, rat food pellet is the best choice. (Do not overfeed with the dog or cat food or they may produce too much uric acid, which in turn is unhealthy for your pets). Give vegetables with high moisture content (e.g., romaine lettuce) along with dry food.
Examples of readily accepted food:
Vegetables: romaine lettuce, collard green, carrot, potato (peeled)
Fruits: apple, ripe banana, pear, orange
Grains: wheat germs, oatmeal, wheat bran