Hi, I'm from central pa and I currently own about 50 to 75 Blaptica dubia. Originally I obtained my roaches to feed to my tarantulas. I had one large adult female left and a bunch of very full T's so she became a semi pet lol. I bought about 15 more nymphs, didn't seem right to keep her alone and she gave birth to about 15 babies. My colony has been running for about 2.5 years. The more I watched them the more fascinated I became and the more I realized they have interesting behaviors. I'm now considering some different types of roaches to keep as pets. My hesitation comes from the fact that although my population is increasing, I really am not getting the amount of live offspring I should be (with them being feeders I was never concerned by this because I don't have enough T's to eat a highly successful colony) however, if I get some as pets I feel I would not be able to successfully keep them. I was following all the roach threads over on arachnoboards and thought it would be nice to join the community here. Thank you.
Another hello from Pennsylvania
- Thread starter Mmfh
- Start date
Welcome! 
You should definitely get into the roach hobby, as I have said many times, it is extremely addicting! 
Have you been keeping your dubia colony heated? Have you offered fruits on a regular basis?
You should definitely get into the roach hobby, as I have said many times, it is extremely addicting! Have you been keeping your dubia colony heated? Have you offered fruits on a regular basis?I do not have them heated. They run at 70F to 73F -- winter - summer. If that is the only problem then I'm confident I can keep other species. I've also been thinking that egg crates might be better than toilet paper rolls as they don't seem to be able to climb in the rolls as well as I thought they would. Yes they have constant access to oranges. The other problem I have noticed lately is a high number of dead 1" nymphs. They are all light in color making me think they died one or two days after molting. Thank you for the welcome hisses dude
Oh yeah, that's the problem. If you want crazy reproduction rates you have to keep them at about 80-85.
Maybe you should switch to apples, I think the citric acid in oranges is not great for roaches if they are constantly eating it. Perhaps that is why those nymphs are mysteriously dying, I don't know.
Maybe you should switch to apples, I think the citric acid in oranges is not great for roaches if they are constantly eating it. Perhaps that is why those nymphs are mysteriously dying, I don't know.
lovebugfarm
Eleventh Instar
I agree heat is important as well as humidity. Try a small jar of water with tiny tiny holes in the lid so it can evaporate slowly.