Blaptica dubia Roaches

Blaptica dubia roaches have recently become a common feeder insect for various animals. This is due to the ease of culture, cleanliness, fast reproductive rate, high protein to chitin content, nutritional value, and size range. Dubia roach cultures do not have an odor when maintained properly. They cannot climb smooth surfaces or fly, making escapee roaches unlikely. These roaches also don't make noise—a pleasant bonus when compared to the traditional feeder insect, the cricket.

Josh's Frogs sells dubia roaches in several different sizes and quantities - check them out today!

Natural History:

Blaptica dubia roaches are also known at the Orange Spotted Roach or Guiana Spotted Roach. They are native to Central and Northern South America. Dubia roaches are larger roaches, measuring from 1.5-2 inches. These roaches are sexually dimorphic, with males possessing complete wings, while females possess wing buds.

Habitat:

Here at Josh's Frogs, we keep our Blaptica dubia roaches in large opaque Sterilite brand plastic tubs. Darker tubs allow dubia roaches to remain active 24/7, resulting in faster growth and reproduction. Because dubia roaches cannot climb smooth plastic, a top is not needed which allows for proper ventilation. Glass aquariums work, just note that dubia nymphs will climb silicone, so a tight-fitting screen top is a must when culturing dubia in glass containers.

Temperature & Humidity:

For many hobbyists, heat is provided by a 150 W ceramic heat emitter positioned above the culture. Keeping dubia roaches warm is important, as the warmer Blaptica dubia roaches are kept, the faster Blaptica dubia roaches will reproduce. At Josh's Frogs, we utilize the waste heat from our building's electrical transformers to heat our dubia room to a balmy 85F.

High humidity is also important, which can be provided by using a substrate of 2 inches of coco bedding and routinely adding water to it. You do not want the culture to be soaking wet, but you don't want it to be dry, either. We find that these roaches breed faster, smell less, and are just as easy to maintain by providing a substrate in the culture. Substrate is not absolutely necessary, but many find it's easier to maintain proper humidity levels that way. We do not utilize substrate with our dubias, as it makes collection more difficult. Instead, we rely on a full room humidifier.

Inside the Housing:

Cardboard egg crate provides places for dubia roaches to hide and give birth. Dubia roaches will spend most of their time hiding in the egg crate. The egg crate can be positioned vertically or horizontally in roach cultures. At Josh's Frogs, we place egg crate vertically so most waste falls to the bottom of the bin. Excess debris can be cleared from the egg crate by gently shaking. Blaptica dubia roaches tend to cling to the egg crate when it's picked up, and can be removed by shaking. Larger specimens tend to fall off sooner than smaller nymphs, and can be sorted by size in this manner.

Dubia roach cultures may need to be cleaned every 6-8 months. At Josh's Frogs, we recommend seeding the substrate of dubia roach cultures with springtails, a small soil isopod that breaks down organics. This significantly reduces the chance that mold will grow in the culture, which can kill dubia roaches. Most of the substrate should be changed every 6-8 months; when doing so, make sure to add some frass (roach waste) back into the cleaned culture. Frass in an important dietary component in Blaptica dubia roach nymphs, and is needed for a healthy culture. Fortunately, dubia roach frass does not smell.

Feeding:

At Josh's Frogs, we feed our dubia roaches a special diet that we formulate and make ourselves, Josh's Frogs Roach Rations. Our diet provides proper levels of protein and other nutrients essential to the health and growth of a dubia roach culture. Roach Rations also functions as a gut load for dubia roaches. This diet renders them much more nutritious than Blaptica dubia roaches fed lower quality diets.

Blaptica dubia roaches also need a source of moisture. At Josh's Frogs, we use our Insect Watering Gel (use Calci-mMm Insect Watering Gel if you'll be feeding the roaches to an animal) to provide water. Polymer crystals are by far the easiest and most convenient way to provide moisture to your dubia roaches. They are inexpensive, easily stored, and made ready for use. Plus, they do not go bad, unlike fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables can also be provided. The use of springtails helps to ensure vegetable matter does not mold over and threaten a culture. We routinely feed out bananas and oranges—just be careful not to overfeed!

Reproduction:

Blaptica dubia roaches will become sexually mature at around 4-6 months. Females will give birth to 20-40 live nymphs once a month for the rest of their 1-2 year lifespan. One male dubia roach can service multiple females. For this reason, adult male dubia roaches can be fed out of a culture without significantly impacting the reproductive capacity of a culture. If you're looking to start a dubia culture and breed at home, I'd start with as many adults as you can, at a ratio of 1 male to 3 females. Make sure to include other dubia of various ages. This way, you're not suddenly left with no breeding population when the initial adults pass.

Permits and Legalities:

Many people don't realize that all roach species, except the hissing roaches, are classified as crop pests by the USDA. Because of this, interstate transport is illegal unless the proper permits are in place. Josh's Frogs has the proper USDA permits to legally ship dubia roaches across state lines. We've done the legwork and can ship dubia roaches to all US states, except for Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, and Hawaii. As long as you don't live in one of those states, you can legally order and receive dubia roaches from Josh's Frogs. A copy of the relevant permits is available via email upon ordering.

We partnered with the USDA to create a handout informing any insect/animal/plant purchasers to not release organisms into the wild, and how to dispose of them properly. This informative flier is included free of charge with every dubia roach purchase.

Pets, plants, and insects can be dangerous when released outside, and should NEVER BE RELEASED INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. Doing so can be illegal and can be very harmful to your native wildlife. Make sure to always rehome your animals if you find yourself unable to care for them, and dispose of your plants and insects appropriately.

To protect your environment, follow these practices:

Never release feeder insects outdoors.
To dispose of unwanted feeder insects, freeze the organisms (and all materials exposed to the organisms, such as bedding) for 3 days, then dispose of them in the trash.

Follow the simple steps outlined above and protect the environment. Remember, keeping exotic animals is a privilege that must be protected. Be a responsible pet owner–it’s the ethical (and legal) thing to do!

If you have any questions about the handling, keeping, or disposal of these organisms, please contact Josh’s Frogs or APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine at (866)524-5421 or[email protected]. Another great source of information is PIJAC’s Habitattitude page.