Help! My roaches are coming but I don't have my heat up high enough

S

shealy

First Instar
I am desperate at that moment as my roaches (Dubia) will be coming soon but I am still having problems getting my heat up to at least 85 degrees. I putting about 5000 nymphs into a Sterilite 45 gallon wheeled latch tote. I have tried an Ultratherm 11x17 heat pad and also some heat rope. I have the tote resting on a wire shelving unit. The Ultratherm was taped to the underside of the tub. When that didn't make a dent, I bought some heat rope and attached it to the wire shelving running a snake pattern underneath the tote. It barely brought the internal temp up. Both units were connected to a thermostat (just in case of overheating--lol--but I kept raising the thermostat's range all the way to 105 degrees and still no luck).

Can anyone provide some other solutions? Pictures of your setup would be nice so I can visually see how you are heating your tubs. If you have a similar setup as to how I have mine described (i.e. wire shelving and a 45 gallon tote) then I would be most interested in how you are heating it.

I feel I may have to go with an more expensive alterantive or a more uncomfortable alternative. The first being a nylon cover over my shelf unit and then a radiant heat panel (or two) to bring the "cabinet" air temp up to the desired range. The second would be have a space heater in my roach room (spare bedroom) to raise the air temp up. Both options are not as desirable as I don't want the massive expense or the uncomfortable temperature for me to endure during maintenance or whatever.

I would appreciate someone's wisdom for my noobness.

Thank you.

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keep the lid closed it helps with heat also if you get really worried you can use a heat lamp, though i find it's not needed as long as the heat pad covers most of the bottom. where do you live in mot places the only time you really have to worry is during the winter depending on where you are.

 
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cindy said:
Hi.. here is a thread about pretty much the same thing, and I commented there also.

http://www.roachforum.com/index.php?showtopic=3066

hope it helps! :) I also have a very large tub on wheels for my Dubias, and they are toasty warm with the heater under them, or I also have taped the heaters to the sides of the tubs.
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Thank you both for responding.

How hot do these mats get? As I posted, I have an Ultratherm heat mat but it doesn't get as hot as I need it. From what I've read, Dubia's need it 85 to 90 degrees to get their development and reproduction rates at a good point. My room temp is a fairly constant 70 degrees. My heat pad and heat rope that I have tried are not raising the internal temp higher than about 74 degrees. The lid to the tub stays on but has three 4" screened holes in the top for ventilation. I have a thermostat so I'm not worried about the mat getting too hot for the tub but I do need it to get warm enought to penetrate the plastic on the bottom to make a noticeable difference.

I live in Kansas, but these will be kept in my basement which stays fairly constant between 65 and 70 degrees all year long. I am considering going the space heater route as I will have multiple colonies eventually but I don't know how that will effect my electric bill. The room is approx. 15' x 12' in size.

 
what do you have your thermostat set at also is the probe directly on where the UTH is? if so it could be you need to raise the temp on the thermostat. all my thermo stats are left on pretty high temps because i'm more using them so i don't over heat not get exact temps.

 
I had once seen someone take a wire-rack shelving unit and enclose it with 3/4 inch foamboard from a hardware store like Home Depot. This board has foil on one side that goes on the 'inside', and is available in 4 foot by 8 foot pieces which are very easy to cut with a razor blade. It is also VERY inexpensive ($10 a sheet?) and was attacked to the shelving with cable ties punched through the foam. It made for an insulated "cabinet" of sorts that you can fasion to whatever size or needs you might have and worked pretty well to keep the heat in. Personally I have a room I can keep in the 80-90'F range year 'round and don't use heating elements of any sort on individual bins.

 
Matt K said:
I had once seen someone take a wire-rack shelving unit and enclose it with 3/4 inch foamboard from a hardware store like Home Depot. This board has foil on one side that goes on the 'inside', and is available in 4 foot by 8 foot pieces which are very easy to cut with a razor blade. It is also VERY inexpensive ($10 a sheet?) and was attacked to the shelving with cable ties punched through the foam. It made for an insulated "cabinet" of sorts that you can fasion to whatever size or needs you might have and worked pretty well to keep the heat in. Personally I have a room I can keep in the 80-90'F range year 'round and don't use heating elements of any sort on individual bins.
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I believe I know the stuff you are talking about, and I agree, it is a great inexpensive alternative. I have since looked into an energy efficient radiant heat panel for rooms. I found one company that if I use two of their panels connected to my walls in the room and controlled by a central thermostat, then I will probably be able to have a heated roach room like what you are talking about.

In your room that is heated, any problems with the roaches needing a "cool" area to go to? Also, do you provide extra humidity or doesn the internal tub humidity take care of itself with water crystals or some other setup?

 
remember these guys aren't reptiles thay like it hot and hot all the time, for humidity it depends i find i don't need to do anything extra but you might just monitor it and see how it works for you.

 
not even that i just feed mine fruit (alot of orange) but i lve in NJ where it is normally pretty humid for you it might be different.

 
I have a 75watt red heat bulb over my dubia/discoid/craniifer tank and the one side stays at 80F and the other around room temp (60-70). They actually prefer the cooler side as adults; weird right? They still breed just fine and eat anything I give them within a few hours. There is over 1200 in the tank, mainly small nymphs. I've never had an issue with any of them, even when my furnace went out and the temps dropped to 45F for two days. They are hearty critters unlike some of my exotics which are difficult to keep alive at times. You will be pleased at how easy their care is, even at less than ideal conditions.

 
Oh as for humidity. I feed fruits of whatever sorts and mist every few days. I don't use water gel anymore, there is no need as long as the food is moisture rich.

 
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