The Truth About Breeding Dubia Roaches

Have you been thinking about starting your own dubia roach colony? In this article, I am going to break down the breeding of dubia roaches or Blapticadubia. I’ll give you the good, the bad and the ugly of breeding one of the best staple feeders for your scaly friends.

Dubia roaches are arguably one of the best staple feeders on the market. Why is that? The biggest reason that dubias are an amazing feeder for your pet’s diet is simply how nutrient rich they are. Dubia roaches are high in protein, calcium and other minerals and are also low in fat. They are easy to handle and keep as they don’t smell, make noise or bite. Because of that and their softer exoskeleton, they are very safe for your pet and won’t be as likely to cause impaction as other feeders. Feeding your pet dubia roaches is a no-brainer but deciding whether to buy or breed them is another story.

Why would I want to breed my own roaches?

Many people decide to breed their own roaches after accumulating multiple pets and realizing the cost of feeding these pets. Dubia roaches are also notoriously hard to come by without ordering online. A lot of pet stores carry a variety of feeders but there aren’t a ton that offer dubia roaches as an option. Starting your own colony would save you money in the long run and also be much more convenient than ordering online or running to your local pet store.

How do I care for a dubia roach colony?

Dubia roaches are relatively easy to care for but they do require a lot of time and patience. To start a colony, you would first need to set up a home for your colony. A large, plastic storage tub made of an opaque plastic is the perfect home for dubia roaches. The environment is easy to maintain and regulate. Once you add roaches to your tub, it is important to pay very close attention to the humidity and temperature in your tub. Roaches are quite sensitive to these things and having temperatures or humidity that is too low or too high can prevent breeding or even kill your roaches. You will also want to make sure that you are feeding your roaches a very nutrient dense diet. This will speed up breeding and be better for your pets.

Breeding roaches can become quite a time consuming project. Between cutting veggies, cleaning and sorting colonies, some people spend hours every week tending to their roaches. If you don’t have a lot of extra time on your hands, breeding might not be for you.

How long will it be until I can start feeding my pets from my colony?

If the roaches you start out with are already at breeding age, you will likely start to see babies within a few weeks of starting. It is important to understand that these roaches must not be fed off. You need these to grow up and become the next generation of adults to keep the cycle going and keep your colony alive. It is likely to take 8 to 9 months for your colony to be stable enough to feed your pets exclusively. In the meantime, you will need to keep purchasing roaches to feed your pets with. Didn’t I tell you that you would need patience? 

What else should I consider?

One of the main reasons that many people cannot breed dubia roaches is the fact that they are a very common allergen for many people. A lot of people begin to develop an allergy to dubia roaches and their frass over time while some people are allergic to roaches before ever handling one. Allergies can look different for everyone and the severity greatly depends on the individual. Some people are able to get past this with gloves as well as respirators and safety goggles but we have seen people with allergies so severe that they had to stop handling dubia roaches.