Why do bins have to be so big?

MantisMan

MantisMan

Fourth Instar
I see so many pictures of roach bin setups and they r all huge bins that probably r like 10 gallons or so and I'm wondering, do they have to be that big? I don't see any way I can heat such a big bin (I am gonna use a 1 gallon Rubbermaid for my lobsters cause it the only thing that will fit under my infrared bulb and my mom doesn't want a ton of lamps and buckets and stuff in my room

Not to mention I read somewhere that overcrowding roaches helps them breed because they figure they r in a good place if there r a ton of their species in the area

Can someone clear up this confusion? How else can I heat a roach container without using a heat lamp? Any suggestions?

Thanx :)

 
I just put my 8 dubias in a black meat market container about 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and tall enough for 1 layer of egg crate

It's still bigger than the floor space the old cage had and it's not in the direct path of the lamp

Gonna test the temp to be sure it's safe :)

 
Well I only started out with 6 adults and 1 died and I kept them at room temp until yesterday, but it should get bigger soon lol

 
Depends on the size of the colony & the species of roach. I have my hissers + Dubias in large bins. I have them all on a rack with heat tape ran through it. I've yet to have issues heating my bins.

 
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I have my dubia colony (200-250 specimens) in a 5 gallon fish tank. They do just fine. Granted I only use them as feeders occasionally, the lobsters and Lats are my primary feeders. those two colonies of 1000+ are in 28 quart sterlite bins and breed very well. The 28 quart size is my go to container, I rarely need anything larger. Most of my species are small and they are in tiny sterlite bins...about two gallon size, I forget the exact size listed. I get them at Walmart for like $4-$5 or so. I also use those medium sized critter keepers that are about the same size, I had a bunch left over from my reptiles/amphibians as a kid.

As for overheating, do be careful with that, especially if your container has a tight seal. I lost my entire firefly mimic colony to this mistake and I'd hate to see it happen to anyone else. Basically the high heat raises the humidity inside the container so high that it pretty much just drowns/suffocates them. The sterlite containers don't have a tight enough seal to do this because they lack a gasket, but that can also result in escapes, which can be troublesome with tiny climbers like P. nivea or the like.

 
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