Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Everyone

I just got 2 groups (100 & 200) of large nymph and adult B. dubia to start my breeding colony (I'm sure that's good enough to start, hehe). I was just wondering if any of you use any sex ratios in keeping these guys. I have them set up in a 18 gallon container and wanted to know how many adults (plus nymphs ofcourse) can I keep to maintain a good food supply for approx 4 ackies. Thanks in advance for the response.
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Jonel @ Selective Propagations
www.spsnakes.com

You could probably just cull extra males to feed to your ackies. That way, if it starts to look like you're running low on males, your colony won't stop growing because your females are still reproducing. Eventually when your colony gets large (over 1000) this'll become necessary because the males just take up food and space and create more competition for resources with the females. Plus, the males get antsy when there are too many of them around.
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www.BugChick.com

chickabowwow

Hi Olivia

Thanks for the response and it makes sense. The guy who sent me the roaches told me that he kept them in a ratio of 1 male for every 3 females(he has 25.75 in a 18 gallon tub). So I think that I will do something close and cull the extra beaten up males and nymphs for feeding. I'll just replace the breeder that die off every once in a while. I already have some extra tubs so I can seperate the adults from the nymphs when I do the cleaning every month and pull the feeders in one bin. Oh btw, I just got the animals a couple of days ago and I already saw some newly born little nymphs. It's so cool. Cute little buggers too. Thanks again.
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Jonel @ Selective Propagations
www.spsnakes.com