Raising roaches for my skink? confused?

[LarissaLurid]

I'm looking at raising some roaches for my skink and other lizards. I already have a ten gallon tank and egg cartons, etc. I was wondering though, I've heard Dubia and Hissing Roach interchanged like they were the same, but have noticed that they both look different and the hissing roaches are about an inch bigger. So these are two different kinds right? I was also wondering if I could raise both of these kinds in the same enclosure without any problems? I was looking to raise both.

[NOP]

Id just get a small dubia colony going...they are super easy to care for and very hardy and live very long. And you never have to see them you can just buy a big tub from Wal-Mart for like $10 and cut some holes in the top. Also you can buy a pre Started colony on EBay for like $60ish. Seriously just go to ebay and search "Dubia Roach Colony" you get a tub and a bunch of roaches and food and water crystals super easy to care for. Just buy a little $20 heating pad and put it under the tub so they have the right temp to breed. I have no experience with Hisser Roaches as i just never needed to get them i always had a plentiful supply of Dubias.

[LarissaLurid]

Would one of the under tank heaters be okay under the plastic tubs though?? It wouldn't melt or burn it or anything? I already have a little heater, a 10g tank, and a screen top, but I do think a big plastic tote/ storage bin type thing would be better since it's a larger area. I am more interested in knowing if they can be housed with hissing roaches though. I also like these guys for how they look and know some people who would want them as pets lol. This is why I just wanted to house some with the others if it was okay. Especially since I heard they breed a little slower I don't think they'd overtake the amount of other ones or anything. I know just dubias would work okay, but I do want some hissing ones to add in. If they can't be I might just put them in a little plastic tub of their own. If I could get away with using one heater I'd like that though.

[NOP]

Ive never used any kind of undertank heater other than a heat mat i just always kept it on the lowest setting which gets it nice and warm in that area for them. As far as keeping Hissers and Dubia together its fine. just keep an eye on them if you plan on having them breed (not together, cuz the wont...i think) but i believe that the Hissers may try to eat some of the newborns and vice versa so just watch out for that. As long as you have a large enough bin so that there is plenty of room it should be fine...even though odds are they will all pic one area and hide there. A 10g tank is pretty small to have a colony of Roaches anyway though...and in my experience the Roaches do better in a dark tub the very much dislike the light.

[LarissaLurid]

yea it really does seem small to me the only reason i slightly considered was bc of the heating problem. not sure how ill keep it warm for them? i mean the house is always warm, but not around 90 lol.

[LarissaLurid]

Anyone know how many I should have in an establisted colony large enough for a tegu, skink, and leopard gecko?

[Coomassie]

Tegus can eat a lot. The leopard gecko will only eat a few and the BTS will probably eat as many as you will let them have (it depends on what the rest of the diet looks like). I would start off with at least 100 roaches or so. As long as you keep them warm and feed them, they will multiply pretty fast. They will take up all the room you are willing to give them. I keep mine in rubbermaid tubs. I currently have 2 but you should do fine with one.

[scaredofbees]

I prefer dubias over hissers as dubias seem to have a softer exoskeleton and cannot climb glass or plastic.

I don't have any experience with tegus, but I know my blue tongues will eat as many roaches as I give them. My geckos would eat three or four at a time.

I keep a few hundred dubias in a rubbermaid container. I used a soldering iron to poke holes around the top perimeter and on the lid. Sometimes if it becomes too humid inside, I'll leave the lid off for a day or two. I keep the bin between my water heater and furnace so I don't have to worry about a heat pad. They breed like crazy. I use the males as feeders, making sure to leave some to breed with the females, of course.

They make a great garbage disposal for apple cores, orange peels, melon rind, etc. I also give them dry dog food.

[LarissaLurid]

I prefer dubias over hissers as dubias seem to have a softer exoskeleton and cannot climb glass or plastic.

I don't have any experience with tegus, but I know my blue tongues will eat as many roaches as I give them. My geckos would eat three or four at a time.

I keep a few hundred dubias in a rubbermaid container. I used a soldering iron to poke holes around the top perimeter and on the lid. Sometimes if it becomes too humid inside, I'll leave the lid off for a day or two. I keep the bin between my water heater and furnace so I don't have to worry about a heat pad. They breed like crazy. I use the males as feeders, making sure to leave some to breed with the females, of course.

They make a great garbage disposal for apple cores, orange peels, melon rind, etc. I also give them dry dog food.

Hissers I bought for more novelty reasons (like how I know some people who may want some as pets, and i just like how they look)

I'm looking for the Dubias for the feeders :]