Dubia Roach Care

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Dubia Roaches (Blaptica dubia) are live-bearing tropical roaches native to Central and South America. They reach a maximum size of up to 2” and are very popular as feeder roaches since they have no odor and don't climb or fly. They tend to be fairly slow moving roaches. Below, we will explore how to start and take care of your dubia roach colony.

Housing
Dubia Roaches can be kept in any ventilated container. This can include an aquarium or a plastic tub with screen cover. Although they do not climb, it's recommended that enclosures be covered to keep inappropriate substances or hazards such as household pets out.

Substrate
Roaches do best without a substrate, which facilitates cleaning and sorting babies from adults. They do need places to hide and surface area to stand on. This is best accomplished by using stacked egg crate flats, cardboard sheets in the shape of commercial egg containers.

Heating
Dubia Roaches can tolerate temperatures as low as 68 degrees F, but require much warmer temperatures to thrive and reproduce. A warm side of 85-90 degrees is recommended. This can be accomplished by using an under tank heater (UTH) on one side of the enclosure or a ceramic heat emitter. Dubia Roaches require a moderate amount of humidity: provide bowls of water crystal gel or mist the sides of the enclosure periodically.

Lighting
Dubia Roaches do not require lighting.

Food
In order for roaches to be nutritious for the reptiles that will eat them, they need to be “gutloaded” with nutritious food. This includes powdered grains and nuts, cereal, fruits and vegetables, ground up dry dog food. Be sure to remove fruits and vegetables before they mold, as this can be fatal to the roaches. Place approximately 1/2” of gutload in shallow dishes at the sides or bottom of the enclosure. Although Dubia Roaches may get adequate hydration from the fruits and vegetables they eat, it's best to provide a few dishes of water crystal gel as an additional source of moisture and humidity.

Breeding
Breeding dubia roaches can be a very fun and rewarding experience and it is very do-able because Dubia Roaches are relatively easy to breed. Since they are live-bearers, no particular breeding medium is required. Mature females will produce 20-30 nymphs (baby roaches) at a time as long as the heat and humidity are adequate. The babies may take several months to reach feeding size. For best results, maintain a ratio of 1 male for every 3 females (males have fully developed wings and females have wing stubs). In order to keep track of the colony population, roaches can be sorted by size.