keeping dubias hydrated
- Thread starter Salmonsaladsandwich
- Start date
Tongue Flicker
Sixth Instar
Agreed. Have you considered that your males are already too matured as adults and die as a natural cause? Besides, better the adults than the young ones. Like they say, the children are our future lol
Salmonsaladsandwich
Eleventh Instar
Yeah. The ad for them did claim that they were "young and healthy," but I can't see anyone differentiating between young and old roaches. And last night I opened up the bin and saw lots of tiny babies running around.
Salmonsaladsandwich
Eleventh Instar
I think I might have figured it out- I was feeding them cat food. I just read about how adult roaches that are no longer growing convert excess protein into uric acid that builds up to lethal levels if they don't use enough of it. That would explain why it was mostly males that died, since they aren't using protein to make babies. And the one female that did die had a small abdomen that suggested she wasn't gravid at the time..
Tongue Flicker
Sixth Instar
I have a new mix that I'm trying out. Grated carrots mixed with fish food into a weird paste consistency and a cube of cheese to top it off. My dubias seem to love it.
Tongue Flicker
Sixth Instar
I have a new mix that I'm trying out. Grated carrots mixed with fish food into a weird paste consistency and a cube of cheese to top it off. My dubias seem to love it.
Salmonsaladsandwich
Eleventh Instar
I just discovered that they love romaine lettuce. I looked in about 5 minutes after fed them, and I couldn't see the lettuce. And I'm pretty sure the babies outnumber the adults by now, so I've started feeding. Which was really sad. It's not at all like watching wild caught or store bought insects getting fed, or even mealworms that you raised yourself. It's just seeing their maxillopods twitching and antennae waving around innocently just before dropping them in. Then, just before salamander gulps it down, you see its little compound eyes staring back at you, as though to scream "WHY?" as the little dubia disappears forever. Then, the salamander, with its mocking pseudo- smile, looks up at you with its icy black eyes and lumbers away. It's so sad... And I wish I could type in italics.
wcbpolish
Seventh Instar
What type of salamander? I feed some of my excess males to a big Tiger salamander. The roaches can sort of ride the line between pet and food, can't they? I do so enjoy watching them. I wish they were less shy.
Salmonsaladsandwich
Eleventh Instar
Just my salamanders in general. Leadback, four toed (don't recommend, as they need special substrate and are poor eaters,) two lined and spotted. Red/ leadbacks are particularly voracious... You wouldn't believe the size of some things they swallow.
Salmonsaladsandwich
Eleventh Instar
Just a quick question- are roaches smarter than crickets around open water? If I put baby dubias on the land area of an aquatic salamander setup, would they last a while until they got eaten or would they just end up dead in the water immediately?
Dubia nymphs will most likely hunker down under any large object on the dry portion and make themselves scarce. They also partialy burrow on a regular basis making them very hard to find. I've seen them last weeks in a lizard enclosure. I actually threw some carrot shreds in for food because i was amazed they managed a week. Definitely a survivor. My guess is they would be fine.
