Dubia Roach Care Instructions
What are Dubia Roaches?
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Dubia Roaches (Blaptica dubia) are a harmless species of cockroach (arthropods) native to the tropical regions of Central and South America. They are primarily found in South America ranging from Venezuela to Argentina. Dubia roaches were scientifically classified in 1838 by French entomologist, Jean Guillaume Audinet-Serville. Dubia roaches dwell on forest floors in warm and humid environments and they grow to be between 1.5 and 3 inches in length. Dubia roaches are highly regarded in the reptile industry as the number one most nutritious feeder insect on the market, and because of this, a large portion of our facility is dedicated to the production of millions of dubia roaches for the pet industry every year. Some other proper names for dubia roaches are Orange-Spotted Roaches, Guyana Spotted Roaches, or Argentine Wood Roaches. The word dubia is commonly mispronounced as Dubai (like the city) or doobie roaches, and we chuckle every time we hear it. It's dubia, D-U-B-I-A, dew-bee-uh. |
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Where are Dubia Roaches From?
Why are Dubia Roaches so special?
Due to their superior nutrition levels and ease of care, they have become one of the most popular, if not the most popular feeder insect on the market. They are an excellent staple feeder for pet reptiles and amphibians of all kinds including bearded dragons, chameleons, geckos, tegus, monitor lizards, frogs, etc. They are high in protein and low in fat, providing the ideal ratios raising healthy reptiles.
Dubia Roaches can't fly, can't climb smooth surfaces, can't bite, and they are surprisingly clean compared to many other feeder insects. They don't leave off foul odors when they die like crickets and superworms, and they're very easy to care for once you understand their basic needs.
Dubia Roach Nutrition Facts (Live):
Protein: 22% - 23%
Fat: 6% - 7%
Fiber: 3%
Moisture: 66% - 72%
Dubia roaches are plump, nutrient-dense feeders. They have high meat-to-shell ratio which means they have more meat and less shell (chitin) which makes reptiles that consume them less prone to impaction.
When buying dubia roaches from other breeders or pet shops, be on the lookout for malnourished specimines. Dubia roaches should be plump and active, not flat and sluggish. Many of the dubia roaches we have purchased from our competitors or observed at large pet chains are on the brink of death due to dehydration and starvation and we pride ourselves on the fact that we produce the healthiest and most nutritious dubia roaches on the market. Our roaches are harvested daily, and gut-loaded prior to shipping.
What kind of reptiles and amphibians eat dubia roaches?
Dubia roaches are the perfect staple feeder for practically any insect-eating animals such as bearded dragons, leopard geckos, crested geckos, chameleons, tegus, other monitor lizards, frogs, toads, turtles, etc. They're also great for backyard chickens, sugar gliders, and other insect-eating mammals and birds. We sell them in various sizes ranging from 1/4" nymphs all the way up to 3" adults. This allows us to offer the appropriate size for just about any pet. Dubia roaches like to hide, which is one major drawback for species that like to hunt. For species that enjoy actively chasing their prey, crickets or red runners are a better option, but overall dubia roaches are really the best for most reptiles.
What size dubia roaches should I buy for my pet?
Dubia roaches are sold in all sizes from 1/4 inch all the way up to about 3 inches. The standard for feeding reptiles and amphibians is to not feed them anything larger than the space between their eyes. This is a good rule of thumb because it means the insect is not too large for them to choak on. There are some exceptions to this rule however, and it varies based on the species you are feeding, but feeding insects approximately the length of the space between their eyes usually works just fine. We tend to feed our reptiles insects that are on the larger end of the spectrum as it's typically the most economical way to feed them. For example, an adult bearded dragon can consume dozens of small dubia roaches in one feeding, whereas you could also just feed them 5-7 large sized dubia roaches instead, reducing your feeding bill significantly.
Are Dubia Roaches Invasive?
Dubia roaches are not invasive in captivity, or in the wild in most parts of the United States. The outdoor conditions and indoor environments in most U.S. homes do not allow dubia roaches the proper biological conditions to survive and breed. They cannot tolerate extended periods of cold or dry environments, and they will not survive outdoors through the winter in most states.
They will not thrive in your home unless you set them up in the proper environment, and you do not need to worry about them escaping and infesting your home as they will typically be on the loose for a few weeks until they dehydrate and die.
There are a few states where dubia roaches are prohibited, Florida being one of them. They can potentially survive and breed in the tropical and subtropical areas of Florida, and due to this, they are banned from entering the state without special permits. Due to Florida laws, we do not ship dubia roaches to Florida. All Florida orders are cancelled and refunded.
Do Dubia Roaches carry diseases?
No, roaches do not carry any diseases that can be transmitted to humans. They tend to be very healthy, and in the 8 years we've been breeding dubia roaches we have never observed any sickness or illness in any of our dubia roach colonies. Any deaths are caused by poor husbandry or old age. The only issues we have observed are potential allergy issues in humans related to the dustiness of the colonies or the growth of molds and mites if the colonies are not kept clean.
Can Dubia Roaches Fly?
No, dubia roaches cannot fly. Females do not have fully developed wings, and male dubia roaches have not evolved to use theirs very well. Males can jump and glide from a high point to a low point by expanding their wings and fluttering to the ground, but they cannot just take off and fly around.
Can Dubia Roaches climb plastic or glass?
No, dubia roaches cannot climb plastic or glass. They do not have developed ariloum, or "arthropod legs". They cannot climb smooth or slick surfaces like other species of cockroaches such as Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches or Banana Roaches.
Do Dubia Roachs Bite?
No, they do not bite. They do not possess any pinchers and their mouthparts are designed for chewing soft plant matter.
Dubia Roach Life Cycle:
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Dubia roaches will begin mating once reaching adulthood and sexual maturity at around 5-6 months in age. Around 35 days after her first mating, a female dubia roach will give birth to 20-30 live offspring called nymphs. Dubia Roach nymphs hatch around 1/8" long from an oothecae, a type of egg capsule created by the female to protect her eggs. The female will continue to produce offspring every 35-40 days for the entirety of her life, with gestation periods lengthening as she ages. Dubia roaches can grow upwards of 3" by the end of their lives, which ranges from 1.5 to 2 years. Females grow larger and live longer than their male counterparts. Once they reach adulthood, dubia roaches become sexually dimorphic, which means you can easily distinguish males from females. Males have long wings that flow from the back of their head beyond the end of their abdomen. Male dubia roaches cannot technically fly, but they can jump and glide from a high point to a low point, fluttering their wings along the way. Female dubia roaches have very short wing-like appendages called tegmina which are basically underdeveloped wing remnants and their bodies are shiny black in color with hints of red, orange, red, and brown across their carapace. |
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What kind of climate do Dubia Roaches need in captivity?
Here at Exo-Morphs, we raise all of our dubia roaches in plastic storage totes in a climate controlled environment. Dubia roaches like it hot, and we keep the breeding rooms of our facility between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit at all times, 365 days a year. Humidity is another key environmental factor, and we keep the humidity levels between 55% and 60%. We're located in Pennsylvania, so we have hot summers and freezing cold winters. Our facility is set up to maintain the preferred breeding environment for dubia roaches all year-round. We use commercial humidifiers, dehumidifiers, and heating systems to keep all of our colonies at optimal conditions regardless of the season.
What do Dubia Roaches Eat?
Feeding animals the proper diet is the most important aspect to any breeding program, and this applies to everything we breed, including dubia roaches. Dubia roaches are detritivores, opportunistic feeders, omnivorous scavengers. They will eat basically anything that is presented to them (with some exceptions as we have discovered). In the wild dubia roaches feed on vegetation, decaying plant matter, wood, roots, mushrooms, fruit, seeds, dead insects and animal carcasses, etc. Insects have an extraordinary ability to sense exactly which nutrients they need, and they will carefully craft their diet based on their current nutritional needs. This is achieved using sensory receptors on their mouthparts, feet and antennae, and also influenced by their gut biome.
You can pretty much feed them whatever you want, but for breeding purposes at scale, we have found that dubia roaches in captivity thrive on a high-quality diet consisting of primarily fresh fruits and vegetables. We also supplement their diet with organic chicken food, organic rabbit pellets, and fresh greens, but fresh fruits and vegetables make up a bulk of the daily diet we provide. Apples, pears, oranges, bananas, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, yams, red beets, carrots, zucchini, squash, spinach, kale, collard greens and lettuce are some of their favorites. The list of fresh fruits and vegetables goes on and on and dubias will readily consume almost any fruit and vegetable we offer them. We notice that overall they do not prefer peppers, tomatoes, or white potatoes.
Many other resources you will read online say that they will readily consume rotting fruits or vegetables, but after years of raising them in captivity, we have observed that fresh fruits and vegetables are always preferred. Often times they will not even touch overripe fruits and vegetables, and rotten fruit ends up making a mess out of their enclosures which perform the best under clean conditions.
Can Dubia Roaches eat oranges?
We get asked about this all the time, and we want to address this from our perspective. Many other sources online suggest avoiding oranges or other citrus fruits because they can pass the acids onto your reptiles and cause upset stomachs. We have never found any actual scientific information to back this up and believe this is a bogus claim. We feed our dubia roaches oranges on a regular basis, and they love them - they devour everything except the most fibrous skin and outer portion of the shell, sometimes even consuming the entire thing, seeds and all.
We have raised thousands of reptiles to adulthood and beyond using our orange-eating dubia roaches as their primary food source, and could never identify any issues directly correlated to dubia roach orange consumption. Again, we believe this is a bogus claim with no scientific backing, and for some reason it's always being spread all over bearded dragon social media pages and internet articles.
Many sources advise waiting a few days after feeding your dubia roaches oranges to feed them to your reptile, and if that makes you more comfortable than feel free, but we do not see any reason to do this.
How to breed Dubia Roaches?
Dubia roaches are very easy to breed once you provide the right conditions and one single female dubia roach will produce roughly 20-30 live nymphs every 35-40 days. This means if you have a few dozen or a few hundred females, your colony can begin to multiply very quickly.
How to set up a Dubia Roach colony?
We breed all of our dubia roaches in 18 gallon plastic storage totes. Each tote has 8 or 9 egg filler flats standing up vertically to provide plenty of room for them to crawl around. We do not use any substrate, as their feces (frass) will eventually accumulate to the point where they entire bottom is covered and the nymphs will seek refuge buried below the surface.
We include two deli cups in the front of each colony with the side cut out so the roaches can enter the cup. One deli cup we fill with a mixture of organic chick starter crumble mixed 3:1 with organic rabbit pellets. The other deli cup we like to provide a small amount of water gel crystals for extra moisture. We have heard that dubia roach nymphs need moisture within the first 4 hours of hatching, and we have observed many females delivering their offspring directly on top of the water crystals. We have also experimented with removing the water crystals for extended periods of time to help cut down on fruit fly infestations, but our colonies suffer greatly when they do not have a water source available at all times. The last thing we include is a rimmed deli cup lid at the front of each colony as well. This is where we place their food. We feed primarily fresh produce, so the lid helps collect the juice that comes off of the fruit as it begins to rot in the warm bin. This stops the juice from getting into the frass and making a mess out of the front portion of the colony. We feed our dubia colonies three days a week on Monday, Wednesday, and a bigger feeding on Friday to help them through the weekend. All old food and water crystals are removed at feeding time and replaced with a fresh supply.
The last component of the dubia roach bin setup is the lid. Dubia roaches need some airflow so the colony doesn't go stagnant or get flooded with condensation. Dubia roaches produce a lot of excess moisture, and water can begin to condensate quickly and make a mess out of the colony if you cut off airflow in their hot and humid environment. Many breeders will drill a bunch of holes in the lid, or cut out a big rectangle and cover it with some sort of mesh, but we simply just place the lid on top and leave it cracked open a few inches. This makes feeding time easier when we are feeding hundreds of colonies at a time because we can just crack the lid a little more and reach in without having to move all of our colonies off and back onto the breeding rack.
What is the ideal male to female ratio for breeding Dubia Roaches?
This can vary. We have experimented with everything from 1 male to 3 females, all the way up to 1 male to 5 females. We have found that the optimal ratio for young breeders is 1 male to 3 females. Males tend to die off much faster than females, so this ratio provides enough males to make sure all of the females are breeding at all times and enough that if a few males die there will still be plenty left to breed, yet not too many that the males harass each other too much and stress out the colony. As the roaches age, we will start to use an increased male to female ratio and many of our oldest colonies are set up in ratios of 1 male to 2 females. As the females approach the 2-year mark they are typically at the end of their lifespan and we separate them from the males to finish up their life cycle and have their last clutch or two before dying off.
The amount of breeders you use will vary based on how many reptiles you need and how quickly you want a booming population of dubia roaches. We typically start our colonies with around 75 to 90 males, and 100 to 250 females. After 6 months of feeding and cleaning under the proper temperature and humidity levels, we end up with around 6000 total dubia roaches per colony, and this point they are ready to be sold.
What temperature do Dubia Roaches need?
We keep our dubia roach colonies between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. In the winter months we have to turn up all of our heating elements and add supplemental heat to our main breeding rooms, and in the summertime our dubia roaches mostly heat themselves. Our main breeding rooms are well insulated, and in the summertime they naturally hover between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit without any additional heat supplementation.
Some ways to provide proper heat levels are Flexwatt Heat Tape, germination heat mats, halogen lights, or external heat sources such as radiators that can heat the entire room. We like to use heat tape or heat mats because they keep the colonies warm without having to heat the entire work space. We use heat mats that cover the entire footprint of the colonies, and we place them all on thermostats so they do not overheat and kill our dubias. Feeding hundreds of colonies takes a few of our insect keepers several hours a piece, and working in a hot and humid environment can be very exhausting.
What humidity do Dubia Roaches need?
For optimal breeding purposes, we like to keep our humidity levels as high as possible without causing moisture to build up inside the colony. This is typically between 55% and 65% humidity. Any higher and the colonies will start getting very messy and they will begin to stagnate and collapse. The buildup of ammonia inside of the bins will kill off any remaining dubia roaches, and once the humidity gets too high things can spiral out of control very quickly. Low humidity can also be devastating. If the humidity is too low, females will abort their oothecae (egg sac) because it starts to dry out, and many of the roaches will have molting issues to the point they get stuck inside their shells as they molt and die. You will often observe female dubia roaches with their oothecae pushed out of their abdomen. They do this to regulate the moisture level of their eggs. They will push and pull them in and out of their body when they need to be hotter or colder, or wetter or drier. If the air is too dry they will have difficulty managing this properly and reproduction rates will drop significantly.
In the summertime we use commercial dehumidifiers to lower the humidity level in our breeding rooms, and in the winter we use an industrial humidity system to raise the humidity levels. Summertime is typically very hot and damp here in PA, winter is always very cold and dry, so supplementation is needed year-round.