Colony Starters - Dubia Roaches for Sale - Free Shipping
Table of Contents
Starting a Dubia Roach Colony with Adult Dubia Roaches
Colony starters are in the adult stages of the dubia roach life cycle. These mature dubia roaches are ready to breed, and populate the earth with tasty nymphs. And this is a great idea because bearded dragons love dubia roaches.
How to identify mature male and female dubia roaches?
Nymph roaches do not have any wings, which makes it impossible to identify their gender during the nymph stage of the dubia roach life cycle. This is why nymph dubia roaches are bought as feeders. And adults are used to start dubia roach colonies.
But both adult male and female dubia roaches have wings. However, they are different sizes. All dubia roaches with wings as long as their abdomen are the males. And all dubia roaches with stumpy wings are females. These stumpy wings are vestigal wings. In the image below, the female dubias are in the center of the image. And the males, with the wings as long as their abdomen, are on the far left and far right:
How old are these adult dubia roaches?
At this stage in the Dubia roach life cycle, they are usually 5-6 months old when they become adults. At this point, they'll have developed their wings, and will become sexually mature. They will be about 1.5" in length, and the ideal age to start a dubia roach colony.
How many nymphs will an adult female dubias produce?
Nymphs are immature and developing dubia roaches. These are what you'll feed your bearded dragon or leopard gecko. An adult female in a colony with males will reproduce about once every 1-2 months. And each time they will produce between 20 - 40 nymphs. On average, a female will live for about 15 months. This means a single female can produce as many as 200 nymphs in her life time!
One thing to keep in mind is that males don't live as long as females. Males typically live only 9-10 months. So be mindful of when you start your dubia roach colony. And keep an eye out for dead males. You'll need to clean out the dead dubias, because they can introduce bacteria into your bin. But more importantly, you'll need to consider increasing your population of males if it looks like your female : male ratio gets below 5 Females : 1 male.
Why do you sell adult dubias in weird quantities?
When it comes to breeding adult dubia roaches and starting a dubia roach colony, females are the golden goose. So, the more females you order, the more expensive the order. The same is not the same for the males. Male dubia roaches are a dime a dozen, and are practically useless (except to impregnate the females). So, the amount of males you select with your order doesn't affect the price.
There isn't a consensus on how many females you need per male to get your dubia roach colony started. We recommend 3 females per 1 male. This means that 1 male will be able to impregnate those 3 females. Some breeders think you only need 1 male for 4 females. While others might suggest 1 male for 2 females. But we like 3 females for 1 male. This ensures that all your females will definitely get impregnated. And it doesn't over crowd your bin with useless males.
How do you breed dubia roaches?
Like crickets, it's very easy to get dubia roaches to breed. The success of your dubia roach colony largely depends on temps and humidity. We have specific instructions on how to breed dubia roaches, but listed below is a quick summary to kick off your colony.
Dubia Roach Colony Set up
No matter which phase you're seeing with the dubia roach life cycle, dubia roaches don't like light. So, to help set the mood, you'll want to go for a dark rubber maid plastic container. Some dubia breeders will use a glass aquarium to get their colony started, which is fine. But, to help stimulate that roach libido, we like to use solid color bins.
Your dubia roach colony does not need a lid. Dubia roaches cannot fly, nor can they climb up smooth plastic walls. So your dubia roaches cannot escape. However, there are some benefits to having a lid. If you're home is invaded by sniffing dogs, curious cats, or wreckless children, then you might want to consider a lid. Also, a lid will help retain the moisture inside the dubia bin, which will help keep the humidity high.
If you decide to use a lid, be sure to cut out a large hole in the lid, and cover that hole with a screen. This will allow air flow to enter inside the bin.
Substrate
One advantage that dubia roaches have over crickets is that they don't smell like crickets. So it is our opinion that breeders don't need substrate for their dubia colony. However, many breeders do like using a substrate. Coconut fiber or peat moss is a good substrate. Just be sure to get these substrates saturated, to help maintain the humidity levels for the dubia roaches. Newspaper, paper towels, and even bioactive substrates will work. Just make sure you don't use cedar.
Hiding Places
Because dubia roaches are creepy and crawly, they love hiding places. The most common hiding-place relics are the egg creates. They are easy to find (grocery stores), and they provide the nooks and crannies that they love.
But paper towel rolls will also provide the same cardboard hide outs they desire.
Temperature and Humidity
Dubia roaches are a tropical species, which means they like their colonies hot and humid. The ideal breeding temperature for the adult stage in the dubia roach life cycle is atleast 85 degrees F. But, they'll procreate faster in temps in the mid 90's. To reach these temps consistently, you may need to invest in a heat lamp or heating pad.
Something else dubias need are humidity levels of about 60%. Your house normally has a humidity level of about 40%. So 60% is a 50% increase. To achieve this, you'll have to spray water into the habitat once per day. If you're trying to attain temps of mid 90's, you may need to mist the bin twice per day.
What to Feed my Dubia Roach Colony?
The food you offer your adults will be different than the food you offer your feeder dubias. Feeder dubias will need to be gut-loaded greens, to pass the nutrients onto your beloved pet. But colony roaches will need to be fed more protein, so they can procreate faster. Grains like oatmeal, and cornmeal are great sources of food for feeders. But crushed cat-food is also a great food source for breeding dubia roaches.
On occasion, you can feed your colony fresh fruit and vegetables. But don't feed them more than they can eat. Rotting food can wipe out a colony, and it can invite unwelcomed insects into your bin.
How We Ship Dubias
Whether you order the adult or nymph stage of the dubia roach life cycle, all dubia roaches orders are shipped on Mondays and Thursdays. Shipments typically ship with the Post Office. We recommend speaking with your local post office before receiving your package, to let them know you're expecting a live product. Asking the post office to hold the package for pick up will give your dubias a better possibility to survive the transit.
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Conditional Live Delivery Guarantee
The Conditions
- Customer must be home to receive delivery. Or package must be held at Post Office.
- Destination temps must be 45 degrees F or above. No exceptions.
- Customer must provide correct shipping address.
- Applies to paying customers only. Winners from the CritterFam contest are excluded from the guarantee.
If the conditions for the Live Delivery Guarantee are met, Customer must do the following:
- Send us pics of the deceased. Pics can be sent to contact@thecritterdepot.com
- We must be notified within 24 hours from the moment customer receives package.
If conditions are met, we will ship a replacement package free of charge.
Shipping In Winter - Full Disclosure
- We will not ship when Destination Temps are below 25 Degrees F
- Live Delivery is Not Guaranteed when Destination Temps are below 45 Degrees F
If you are ordering crickets, superworms, or any other live product during the winter, you need to be realistic: we’re trying to ship a live product through sub 30 degree temperatures affordably.
We take extra measures during the winter to try and increase their chances of survival. However, history has proven that customers are 4x more likely to receive perished crickets when shipped in the winter. This is fact.
Shipping in the winter has always been our biggest challenge. And every other crickets vendor has the same problem. No one wants to send you dead crickets. We want to provide you with excellent service, because we know you care about your pet. But the reality is we can’t control the weather. And there’s only so much packaging we can do before we have to increase our costs.
We still have success shipping in the winter.
If you decide to order for a winter delivery, here's what you can do on your end to ensure you receive happy, healthy live products:
- You MUST be home to accept the delivery. The live product cannot be left outside in the freezing temperatures, or it's certain they won't survive.
- If we ship with the Post Office, we highly highly highly recommend that you communicate with your post office. And that you ask them to hold the package for pick up.
- If there is a problem, we must be notified within 24 hours of receiving the live product.
We only ship Live Products on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays
Before YOU and every other customer collectively sends us disgruntled emails on Monday asking where your order is, please know that we only ship live products on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. And this isn't because we're lazy. It's because we need to be proactive, and make sure the live products don't get stuck in transit over the weekend. If they get stuck over the weekend, there is an increased probability that they will not survive the transit. And perished animals in your mail box don't do either of us any good.
When Will My Order Ship?
Great question. In fact, it's too great of a question. This question makes up 80% of our incoming emails! And all we can think of in the office is what better things we could do with that time. So here's the nitty gritty breakdown for when your order will ship:
- If order was placed on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday then your order will be shipped on the following Monday.
- If order was placed on Sunday, or Monday then your order will be shipped on Tuesday.
- If order was placed on a Tuesday then your order will be shipped on Wednesday.
And please know that these shipping schedules can change depending on Post Office holidays. But if you still have questions about your shipment, please do not hesitate to email us as contact@thecritterdepot.com.
Ok Bug-Boy. But What about The Tracking?
Great question. We will upload tracking information within 36 hours after the order has shipped. So if your order ships on Monday, the latest we would update tracking information for your order is by Wednesday morning.
And What About DOA's?
DOA's (dead on arrival) are a part of the business. It's not profitable for us to send out deceased animals. So please know that we take every possible precaution before shipping.
But we care about our customers, because you're the ones putting us in business. And we guarantee live delivery as long as specific conditions are met. So if your order does not arrive alive, please let us know. As long as conditions are met, we will have another order reshipped free of charge on the next shipment date (this excludes winter reshipments, which will be reshipped at our discretion).
We Ship with The Post Office and with FedEx
We ship with the post office for a few reasons.
- They keep their packages inside their climate controlled buildings. This is a game changer. Instead of leaving the packages out on a dock, they are brought inside the building. Which can drastically increase the survival rate for the crickets and superworms.
- They Deliver on Saturdays. Since they deliver on Saturdays, we're able to ship on Wednesdays. Most packages are delivered within 2-3 business days. So if we ship on Wednesday, that 2-3 day window falls in the same week, which avoids any Sunday transit delays.
- Cost Effective. And one reason why we're able to keep our prices so low is because we use the post office. USPS Priority mail is a great, and reasonable priced service. And any savings we gain, we pass right back to the customer.
The post office is our preferred shipper. But depending on your proximity & time of year, we may upgrade your shipping service to FedEx for these reasons:
- The Post Office is unreliably slow during holidays. The drawback with the post office they don't guarantee delivery dates. They will advertise 2-3 days for their Priority Mail shipments. However, the don't guarantee you package will arrive in 2-3 days. And this becomes painfully obvious during the holidays, specifically between Black Friday and New Years. Which puts us in a tough spot because our preferred shipper with climate controlled facilities is no longer dependable. So we'll ship with FedEx for this reason.
- Faster Shipping/Shorter Transits. Faster shipping and shorter transits have obvious benefits. The live product will get delivered faster, and in a preferred habitat. And FedEx does guarantee their delivery dates, which is beneficial for the customer.
Unfavorable Shipping Conditions
Temperatures are a big consideration when packaging and shipping live products. And at any time, we may decide to postpone deliveries if we feel the live product will not survive the transit. If that is the case, we will make our best effort to contact the customer so that can make other arrangements if desired.
But if the temperatures are too cold, we can package the crickets with heat packs. And if they are too hot, we can package them with cold gel packs. But these alone doesn't guarantee live delivery.
But either way, we need to keep a close eye on the weather when we get into the extremes. So please keep that in mind when expecting deliveries.
Winter Shipping Policy
- We will not ship when Destination Temps are below 25 Degrees F
- Live Delivery is Not Guaranteed when Destination Temps are below 45 Degrees F
If you are ordering crickets, superworms, or any other live product during the winter, you need to be realistic: we’re trying to ship a live product through sub 30 degree temperatures affordably.
We take extra measures during the winter to try and increase their chances of survival. However, history has proven that customers are 4x more likely to receive perished crickets when shipped in the winter. This is fact.
Shipping in the winter has always been our biggest challenge. And every other crickets vendor has the same problem. No one wants to send you dead crickets. We want to provide you with excellent service, because we know you care about your pet. But the reality is we can’t control the weather. And there’s only so much packaging we can do before we have to increase our costs.
We still have success shipping in the winter.
If you decide to order for a winter delivery, here's what you can do on your end to ensure you receive happy, healthy live products:
- You MUST be home to accept the delivery. The live product cannot be left outside in the freezing temperatures, or it's certain they won't survive.
- If we ship with the Post Office, we highly highly highly recommend that you communicate with your post office. And that you ask them to hold the package for pick up.
- If there is a problem, we must be notified within 24 hours of receiving the live product.
Remember...
Dead crickets or superworms don't do you (the customer), or us (the cricket grower) any good. So let's work together to ensure your live product survives the transit.
We can only ship Live Products on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays
We want to get your products delivered quickly just as badly as you do. But the reality is that shipping live products isn't the easiest task. And that means we have to be disciplined and strategic when we ship. Otherwise, there's an increased probability that perished crickets will show up on your doorstep. And that doesn't do any good for the customer or shipper.
We Ship with The Post Office and with FedEx
We ship with the post office for a few reasons.
- They keep their packages inside their climate controlled buildings. This is a game changer. Instead of leaving the packages out on a dock, they are brought inside the building. Which can drastically increase the survival rate for the crickets and superworms.
- They Deliver on Saturdays. Since they deliver on Saturdays, we're able to ship on Wednesdays. Most packages are delivered within 2-3 business days. So if we ship on Wednesday, that 2-3 day window falls in the same week, which avoids any Sunday transit delays.
- Cost Effective. And one reason why we're able to keep our prices so low is because we use the post office. USPS Priority mail is a great, and reasonable priced service. And any savings we gain, we pass right back to the customer.
The post office is our preferred shipper. But depending on your proximity & time of year, we may upgrade your shipping service to FedEx for these reasons:
- The Post Office is unreliably slow during holidays. The drawback with the post office they don't guarantee delivery dates. They will advertise 2-3 days for their Priority Mail shipments. However, the don't guarantee you package will arrive in 2-3 days. And this becomes painfully obvious during the holidays, specifically between Black Friday and New Years. Which puts us in a tough spot because our preferred shipper with climate controlled facilities is no longer dependable. So we'll ship with FedEx for this reason.
- Faster Shipping/Shorter Transits. Faster shipping and shorter transits have obvious benefits. The live product will get delivered faster, and in a preferred habitat. And FedEx does guarantee their delivery dates, which is beneficial for the customer.
Unfavorable Climates
Temperatures are a big consideration when packaging and shipping live products. And at any time, we may decide to postpone deliveries if we feel the live product will not survive the transit.
Often, the live product will only survive extreme temps if they are held in an air conditioned post office for pick up. At any time, we may have the package marked "Hold for Pick Up." In these situations, the package will be held for pick up and the customer will need to make arrangements to pick up the live product.
But if the temperatures are too cold, we can package the crickets with heat packs. And if they are too hot, we can package them with cold gel packs.
But either way, we need to keep a close eye on the weather when we get into the extremes. So please keep that in mind when expecting deliveries.
