heat mat for dubia roaches

[d. roaches]

I ordered some dubia roaches the other day from west coast roaches and they should arrive over the weekend. I made a trip to the pet store a few hours ago and picked up a grreat choice small heat mat for them. It says to not use it on plastic containers but I have to. Do any of you guys have any experience with these heat mats? I propped my container about 3-4 inches away from the mat itself and the wood surface it is sitting on. I did not stick the mat to either the container or the wood surface. Will it burn the wood surface or melt the plastic. Also, how hot do they get?

 

[Germ]

It is always best to heed the warnings given by the manufacturer, they are there for a reason ... How hot they are designed to get should be listed some place on the original packaging or instructions. Unsure if it will do any good 3-4" away . If not thermostatically controlled, heat mats have been known to malfunction & cause serious issues, some with dire consequences. From just being a little too hot, to starting fires.

 

[d. roaches]

I left it on for 4-6 hours and periodically checked the temp with an infrared themometer with the tub placed directly on it and it seems that the hottest i could get the floor of the tub was 91.5 degrees. Inside of the egg cartons, it read 75 degrees. Its already between 70-80 percent humidity in the tub and it will only increase when I place water crystals in there so I feel that I dont need to worry about the humidity.

 

[Firemaro]

Can you put a piece of glass between the plastic tub and the heat mat?

 

[d. roaches]

Well so far ive noticed they seem to stick around the heat mat so I assume that whever I put the heat mat they will stay relatively close to it? Also, they seem to only want to be in the egg cartons and dont really try to look for food. Could this be due to the fact I got them 2 days ago and they need to settle down or am I missing something for them?

 

[Germ]

Roaches are nocturnal, so will hide from the light, come out when dark. If you can see that they are in the egg flats, then you have let the light in, naturally they will hide from the light & not come out. Generally spend most of their time in the egg cartons anyway, that's why they are put in there . Put their food under an egg carton or other dark area & leave them be, they really don't like being disturbed more than necessary.

Does your roach bin have clear or transparent walls, or are they solid colored? How big is the bin & how many roaches do you have in it? How big are the roaches? Nymphs, Juveniles or adults?

 

[d. roaches]

I have just a simple sterilite bin. It has clear walls, it is 58 quarts/55 liters. I order 50 medium sized roaches from west coast roaches but some of them were DOA, and they are grey in color so theyre nymphs.

 

[Germ]

That may be why they are hiding more in the egg crates. You would have much better success keeping them in a container that has solid not transparent walls. As I mentioned earlier, dubia are nocturnal, need to be kept in the dark and undisturbed other than for feeding. Good luck

 

[d. roaches]

I keep them in my closet with the door closed so its dark in there with or without solid colored walls so I dont see how the light would pose that much of a problem.

 

[TheGuvnor]

Mine is a transparent large rub. But it's kept under a spare bed. And my heatstrip is onthe inside. But it is on a stat set to 31c. Have no problems here. They are breeding like er........... roaches

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[d. roaches]

I may end up getting another heat mat and sticking it to the side. Then hopefully they will breed really well when they molt into adults. Thank you guys for all the help.