How to Store Dubia Roaches

Dubia roaches are an excellent nutritional powerhouse for your reptile and are relatively easy to care for. But you’ll need to keep your dubias happy, healthy, and alive until feeding time.

Note: Some reptile keepers choose to raise their own colonies of dubias to save money, but this isn’t a smart option for everyone. Certain people may develop a respiratory allergy when exposed to large concentrations of roaches for long periods. Others find the process to be a hassle.

If you’re new to dubias, we suggest ordering your feeders for a few months at first before considering starting your own colony. But if you are interested in trying, here are some tips.

4 Things You Need Before Your Dubias Arrive

While you’re waiting for your shipment of dubias to arrive, you should make sure you have everything you need to house and feed them.

1. 1. Storage—The first thing you will need to have is an enclosure. Kritter keepers (small, ventilated plastic enclosures found at pet stores) are an excellent choice for small to medium-sized orders of dubias. You can also use a 5 or 10 gallon aquarium, 16 quart storage bin or similar sized glass or plastic containter.

If you are placing a larger order, we recommend using a dark, plastic Sterilite storage container such as an 18 gallon tote. Smooth plastic or glass are ideal materials for storing dubias because they are non-corrosive and smooth enough that these insects can’t crawl up the sides and escape (unlike some other types of roaches which can crawl right up glass! Using a lid is a smart way to avoid mishaps with pets and children. Remember, if you choose to use a lid, ventilation is vital. Affixing a mesh screen works perfectly.  

1. 2. Egg Cartons—Roaches need a place to hide, crawl, and scuttle, and egg cartons are an EGG-cellent low-cost solution! With a small order, one carton should suffice. With a larger order, be sure to give them a few egg cartons, so everyone has a place to live.
   3. Food—As we previously mentioned, dubias are an ideal feeder insect because they are highly nutritious. But they need to get a nutritious diet themselves in order to pass on those nutritional benefits to your reptile!
   4. Water— If you’ve ever kept dubias, you know how easily they can drown. We suggest providing water-rich foods as a source of hydration. Most of the foods listed in the next section are excellent sources of moisture for roaches. Another safe option is water gel or crystals (available at any pet store).

13. What is the best thing to feed dubia roaches?

14. What dubia roach care guide would be complete without telling you what dubia roaches eat? Fortunately, it’s easy to find food that is good for dubias.  Most people find that the easiest thing to do is to feed them clean, high-quality produce and whole grains.

4. We feed our dubias a highly nutritious, proprietary grain-based feed supplemented with fresh produce. You will want to continue feeding your dubias nutrient-packed food before you feed them to your animals. This process, called gut loading, will help ensure that your reptile gets the most benefit possible from each meal. When gut loading, you will feed your dubias any nutrients you want your dragon to top up on. 

Here’s a selection of roach-safe foods that will benefit your dragon or other exotic pet as well:

• • Yams
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Sweet peppers
  • Pumpkin (canned or fresh)
  • Pears
  • Mangoes
  • Leafy greens (lettuce, kale, spinach)
  • Grains
  • Cucumbers
  • Corn
  • Carrots
  • Broccoli
  • Berries
  • Beets
  • Bananas
  • Apples
  • Commercially available “Roach Chow”

Foods to avoid:

• • Keep citrus to a minimum as many reptiles are sensitive to it.
  • Dog or cat food. The high protein content in dog and cat food is converted to uric acid in dubias and can negatively affect your reptile’s health.
  • Rotten or moldy food. Don’t feed dubias anything you wouldn’t eat yourself safety-wise. Moldy food can extinguish an entire enclosure of dubia cockroaches.

How often should you feed dubia roaches:

Now you know what to feed your dubias, you may be wondering how often to feed them. That’s the next item on the menu in our dubia roach care guide!

Usually, Dubia roaches should be fed once daily. If you’re out of town or forget a day, that’s usually okay! To feed dubias, place large slices of fruit or vegetables in a shallow bowl in their enclosure and remove any uneaten food after 24-48 hours. The exact same process goes for “roach chow.”

Dubia Roach Care Guide:

What To Do When Your Dubias Arrive  

So, you’ve followed our dubia roach care guide instructions above and set up your dubia enclosure with egg cartons, a safe water source, and some food to munch on—what’s next? Since we ship our dubias in a convenient plastic cup, it’s super simple to gently tip the cup over and release them into their new enclosure.

Important Note: Roaches often molt in transit, leaving their shed exoskeletons behind. These look very much like dead roaches, so check carefully before assuming that your roaches have died in shipping. If you find any sheds in your cup, simply remove, and discard them at this time. 

How to Store Dubia Roaches at Home

Dubias thrive in a dark environment that sits at roughly 60% humidity. Dubias cannot climb glass or smooth, sheer plastic, so a plastic tote or glass aquarium will typically keep them contained. However we do recommend fitting it with a well ventilated lid. 

Dubia Roach Temperature Requirements: 

• If you would like to keep them the same size as long as possible, we recommend a 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit temperature.
• To encourage your dubias to grow, a warmer temperature of 70-90 degrees Fahrenheit should do the trick!

Dubia Enclosure Cleaning

As with any living creature, keeping your roaches’ enclosure clean is vital to their health—and ultimately to the health of the animals that eat them. And if you’re raising reptiles, you’re probably already an expert when it comes to enclosure sanitization .

Here’s how to clean your dubia enclosure to keep your little buggies healthy:

• Identify a place in your home or garage that is well ventilated. Roach colonies don’t typically smell bad, but as we mentioned earlier, prolonged exposure to roaches can cause some people to develop an allergy.
• The best time to clean your roach enclosure is right after your reptile has devoured the last one. As you await your next order, get the enclosure clean and ready to welcome the next batch. If you’re raising a colony of dubias, place the roaches in a separate container. Take your time and be sure to find them all.
• While wearing disposable rubber gloves, remove and discard all “frass.” Frass is defined as the droppings and exoskeletons that your dubias will molt as they grow. It’s fine to throw it on your compost pile or in the garden!
• Scrub the inside of the enclosure with a mild soap and water and rinse it out thoroughly.
• Turn the enclosure upside down to dry. Once completely dry, you can return the egg crates (replace with new if needed) and roaches to their abode.

Note: It is essential to wash your hands any time you encounter roaches or their enclosure. We recommend donning a pair of nitrile examination gloves. These will keep your hands clean, and since they can’t get a grip on this material it allows you to pick up individual roaches and move them with ease. You can also use a large tweezers or forceps if you are careful to pick them up very gently. 

Ready For Your Dubia Roaches?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this dubia roach care guide. Now that you know how to care for dubias like a pro, you can place your order here: