Feeder roach guide

🪳 Dubia Roach Breeding Care Guide

Blaptica dubia — also known as the Argentine roach — is one of the most popular feeder insects for reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. They're easy to breed, low-maintenance, and odor-free when kept properly. This guide will walk you through everything you need to start and maintain a thriving colony.

✅ Starter Colony Recommendations

For a healthy breeding population, we recommend starting with:

• 100–200 Dubia roaches

  • Ratio: 1 male for every 3–5 females, but 1:1 is fine since males seem to have shorter lifespans

  • Ideally: 25 males / 75 females for a 100-roach starter colony

• You’ll start seeing babies (nymphs) in about 6–8 weeks under ideal conditions.

  
  

🏠 Enclosure Setup

• Bin: Use a smooth-sided plastic tote with a ventilated lid. 14–20 gallons is good to start.

• Ventilation: Use a screened lid or cut mesh windows to prevent mold.

• Egg Crates: Stack vertically to maximize surface area and hiding spots.

• Food Dish: Shallow bowl for dry foods.

• Water Source: Use fresh fruits only, or agar based gels. Water crystals are polyacrylamide and there are multiple studies showing that it degrades readily into their neurotoxic monomers. <https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-018-0016-8>

🌡️ Temperature & Humidity

• Temp: 85–95°F (optimal for breeding)

• Humidity: 40–60% (higher humidity can help nymphs molt)

• Use a heat mat or ceramic heat emitter if needed—place on side or under one end of bin.

🥗 Feeding

• Dry Diet: Commercial roach chow, fish flakes, oats, whole grain cereal

• Fresh Additions: Carrots, apples, leafy greens, any other fresh fruits. Citrus is claimed to enhance breeding. Our roaches specifically love mangoes

• Remove uneaten produce before it molds.

🔄 Breeding Cycle

• Gestation: 60–70 days

• Females give birth to live young (20–40 nymphs at a time)

• With optimal conditions, your colony will become self-sustaining in 2–3 months

🧹 Cleaning

• Don’t clean too often—roach frass (droppings) contains beneficial microbes.

• Spot clean every 2–3 weeks. Full clean only if there's mold, mites, or heavy debris.

🐜 Notes on Other Feeder Roach Species

1. Eublaberus posticus (Orange Head Roaches)

• Larger, faster growers than Dubia

• More aggressive feeders

• Prefer higher humidity (~60–70%)

• May burrow more often

• Slightly more odor, especially with large colonies

• Good for adult monitors and large reptiles

2. Blatta lateralis (Turkestan Roaches / Red Runners)

• Very fast movers – not ideal for tong-feeding

• Do not climb smooth surfaces, but may climb mesh or textured plastic

• Breed very fast, even at room temp (~75°F+)

• Shorter life cycle; great for small or juvenile insectivores

• Do not burrow much

• Males have wings and can glide short distances

💡 Tips

• Use egg crate stacks to separate adults and nymphs for easier harvesting

• Avoid overpopulating: cull or sell extras once colony is booming

• Keep separate tubs for feeders and breeders to preserve your colony's numbers