Dubia malformation + breeding question

V

vounti

First Instar
Hello everyone,

Recenlty I've been having more and more malformation in my dubia colony. I asked a huge local breeder and he told me that malformation was not proven to be affected by inbreeding. Then he told me that overpopulation might cause molting issues. The other parameters are fine, I've had that colony for about a year and I've never had any problem before. They are indeed a bit overpopulated right now

Can I trust that breeder ? Is inbreeding really not related to inbreeding ?

Also, would they still breed at room temperature ? I still need them to reproduce but slower. My room temperature is about 73-74 F. Will they breed if I turn off the heater ?

 

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vounti said:
Hello everyone,

Recenlty I've been having more and more malformation in my dubia colony. I asked a huge local breeder and he told me that malformation was not proven to be affected by inbreeding. Then he told me that overpopulation might cause molting issues. The other parameters are fine, I've had that colony for about a year and I've never had any problem before. They are indeed a bit overpopulated right now

Can I trust that breeder ? Is inbreeding really not related to inbreeding ?

Also, would they still breed at room temperature ? I still need them to reproduce but slower. My room temperature is about 73-74 F. Will they breed if I turn off the heater ?
Click to expand...
Malformations can be caused by overpopulation, molting stresses, and inbreeding (weaker genes makes the roach weaker, so the exoskeleton can be more easily damadged). You should probably add more vertical surfaces to provide more molting space, and try to lower the population. Adding more genetically distinct dubias could also help.

 
Thank you very much for the answer. That's nice, I'll add some genetic variation in a few month and more egg crates asap. I'm waiting for the breeder to get some Psytalla horrida in june to everything at once. 

My problem is having too much breeding, I'd like to slow it down a bit. I don't take roaches out fast enough to get a steady colony. Would turning off the heater work ? I'm trying to give some to my friends for their reptile but my colony is just too fast right now lol

 
vounti said:
Thank you very much for the answer. That's nice, I'll add some genetic variation in a few month and more egg crates asap. I'm waiting for the breeder to get some Psytalla horrida in june to everything at once. 

My problem is having too much breeding, I'd like to slow it down a bit. I don't take roaches out fast enough to get a steady colony. Would turning off the heater work ? I'm trying to give some to my friends for their reptile but my colony is just too fast right now lol
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Sounds great! Good luck with the p. horrida as well!

Lowering the heater temp might slow them, but idk...

 
Thank you very much! I added egg crates and since then I saw zero malformation in freshly molted roaches. I'll find a way to give away the overpopulation so I can keep a decent temperature. Thank you again, you helped me a lot

 
vounti said:
Thank you very much! I added egg crates and since then I saw zero malformation in freshly molted roaches. I'll find a way to give away the overpopulation so I can keep a decent temperature. Thank you again, you helped me a lot
Click to expand...
Your welcome, glad to hear it!

 
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