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I want to breed some orange spot and orange head roaches. How should I set it up; and how long does it take??? What is the best food source for them.

>>I want to breed some orange spot and orange head roaches. How should I set it up; and how long does it take??? What is the best food source for them.

I own a colony of orange spotted (B. dubia) and discoids. I keep them in large sorta see through plastic containers which are heated via 2 6" strips of heat tape running the length of the bottom. I hate the heat tape on a dimmer switch so I can adjust the temperatures as needed. I try to keep them 85-90F during the day, with the night sometimes getting into the lower 80s. If you can try to keep temperatures up at all times to ensure better production. I am not sure what the maximum range is that they can tollerate, but 85-90F is not bad. I also use aspen bedding not more than half an inch thick so the smaller roaches can hide and it won't be hard on me to find roaches or clean their cage since the substrate will not be toooooo deep. Also, there is enough bedding where I can keep the humidity up. I use egg flats laid vertically stacked for hiding as well. I feed mine a mixture that has: high quality dog food (finely chopped in coffee grinder), oat meal (finely chopped), baby ceral, wheat germ, wheat bran, bee pollen, spirulina tablets (finely chopped), etc. I also plan to add chopped monkey chow, fresh barley grass, fresh dandelion leaves, fresh wheat grass, and a few other items. Variety is the key. For moisture feed a variety of fruits and veges. I don't need to change the food more than once every 1-2 days. Takes less than 5 minutes to check up on them since I only need to clean their cage once every 3-6 months.

As for production, I have some baby dubia nymphs that are slightly over an inch long that are about 3 months old. They may need another 2-3 months to reach adulthood. Dubia adult male have wings and females have what looks like stunted wings..or short wings that are completely useless. Don't worry, they don't fly...but males may flutter their wings but they don't go anywhere.

Maybe others can give insight on their care. It is always good to compare how others keep and feed them.
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~ Juli ~
www.Polliwog-Design.com

I keep my adults in 20-30 gallon rubbermaids with heat tape on the bottom or over a light bulb in one of the reptile cages. They can reach adulthood in 3-4 months if keep warm and feed well. I feed mine high protien dog food, oranges, apples, and carrots. Sometimes some oats and others things I have. Because I have so many I seperate out my babies every month or two into a shoe box rack with heat tapes. I would use a fine substarte like a moss that can be sifted easy to be out babies when cleaning. Plenty of egg crates and your cage is set. I like dark containers and try and keep them mostly in the dark. Roaches are much more active in the dark which means more feedind and faster growth. Orange heads will never jump or fly. The male orange sopts can jump somtimes and a lid is recommended. They are very easy to keep and breed and my reptiles love them.
James