If you have been thinking about breeding Dubia roach for your favorite exotic pets, go for it. It is easy and fun. All you have to do is provide Dubia roaches with a controlled environment and their favorite food at the right time. However, it may be challenging for some to identify whether the Dubia roach is pregnant or not.
You can identify a Dubia roach to be pregnant by the following points,
- Pregnant Dubia roach appears fatter than when she was not.
- Preganat Dubia roach appears less active.
- She has an increased appetite (requires more proteinous food than usual).
- A white sac periodically appears coming out of the back when Dubai roach is near giving birth (usually after 50 days).
If you live in Louisiana, California, or Florida, you might be sad to hear that Dubia roaches are illegal there. On the other hand, Red Runner or Discoid roaches are legal and will solve your problem of finding a feeder roach. However, because Dubia roaches are more in fibers, phosphorus, and calcium, many prefer using Dubia roach in states that allow breeding.
How long is a Dubia Roach pregnant?
Although Dubai roach is a slow breeder and usually takes a long time to give birth to babies, you don’t have to worry at all. All you need is to provide a well-controlled environment with good heating, humidity, water, and plenty of available food.
When Dubia roach reaches adulthood, usually after six months, they are ready to mate. Once the female mates, she stays pregnant for about 65 days before giving birth to about 25 baby nymphs.
Unlike other roaches, which stay fertilized for the rest of their lives, Dubia roach needs to mate another time before repeating the cycle. However, you don’t need to worry; they will start mating independently. You have to keep the environment suitable.
An escaped Dubia roach might land into your food! Read this article to know what to do if you find a cockroach in your food.
How to know if your Dubai Roach is Pregnant?
It is essential to know that Dubai roaches give birth to live babies, unlike other roaches. Moreover, if you fail to provide enough food, most males and females tend to eat their baby roaches. Therefore, you must keep an eye on the pregnant roach when she is near to giving birth.
You can quickly know if your Dubia roach is pregnant by looking for the following signs,
1. Fatter Look
A pregnant Dubia Roach appears fatter than usual when carefully observed. This is because of the increasing size of the egg sac. A female carrying more eggs inside the sac will appear fatter.
However, to know if the Dubia roach looks fatter, you must keep observing them daily, or else it might be challenging to tell just by the looks.
2. Less Active
Because of the increased mass and size, the pregnant Dubia roach will be less active than its peers. You can quickly know if she is lazy by comparing it with a male Dubia roach.
A pregnant Dubia roach will appear lazy, with slowed movements, and will prefer to hide away.
3. Increased Appetite
Like any other living creature, a pregnant Dubia roach will have an increased appetite. She will love to eat a more proteinous diet and stay away from vegetables. Moreover, the water requirements will also increase.
However, You must keep the roach’s diet within control, or else she might fail to fertilize next time in case of over diet.
4. Protruded White Sac
This is probably the most important sign to know whether your Dubia Roach is pregnant or not. However, it has a downside that the sac appears late in the pregnancy, usually after fifty days.
The female Dubia roach protrudes the white sac from the back to control the sac temperature. This is naturally built in to ensure the appropriate development of babies inside the sac.
If a breeding colony of Dubia Roach smells awful, here is how to remove it: How to Get Rid of Roach Smell in Your House?
Making Dubia roaches Breed Faster
Everyone likes to gain a maximum breed out of Dubai roach. Here is how you can scale up the breeding of Dubia roach instantaneously,
- Keep a ratio of 1 male to 5 female Dubia Roaches. This will constantly push male into mating with females without exhausting the female roaches.
- Keep the container temprature between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The humidity should be kept above 65%.
- Give a well balanced diet (the best is a cat’s food along with veggies and oranges).
Interesting Read: Does Coffee Have Roaches?
What size is Dubia Roach for Leopard Gecko?
A full-grown adult Dubai roach measures 1.25 to 1.5 inches in length and 0.75 to 1 inch in width. Most leopard geckos grow between 7 to 10 inches, with a mouth size measuring 1 inch in the greatest dimension.
However, the size of the mouth of the leopard gecko is not directly dependent on selecting the size of the Dubia roach. Instead, it’s the size of the throat that matters.
A rough estimate about what size Dubai roach is best for leopard gecko can be made by looking at the gap between the eyes. The gap between the eyes usually equals the throat of the leopard gecko.
A Leopard gecko with an average size of 7.5 inches should be fed a dubia roach not measuring greater than 1 inch in length. Furthermore, an adult leopard gecko should be fed at least one and a half or two dubia roaches per day to keep her healthy.
Can Dubia roaches fly?
Just other species of cockroaches, Dubia roaches also do not randomly fly like flying insects. Male roach does have wings, but flying is very occasional depending on circumstance. For example, it may flutter if dropped from a height to help it land safely. A dubia roach can not control the direction of its flight. Female Dubia cockroaches don’t have wings and can not fly at all.
Additional Read!
