eddy Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 hi i seem to be pulling out these dwarf female and males and its starting to concern me these guys are about half the size of there fully sized counterpart adults do the adults grow once they sexually mature? or once they molt into a adult there done growing ? i pulled females out that were probly 1.25 inchs and atleast half the size of a regular large female Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Once they are adults they stop growing. The small size could be do to inbreeding or severe crowding. How large of an enclosure are they in, what temp, and what foods do you feed them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 I think its the actual place there coming from and not the enclosure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Nope, environment and temperature affect growth. Too high temps make them grow very quick but they are smaller as a result than roaches growing slower. Inbreeding also can affect size and make defects more present. Overcrowding also leads to smaller individuals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 The dubia in question juat came in no longer than a month ago at 7/8 inch and i have everything pristine at my house for them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKatie329 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Wow Keith, I didn't know that using higher temps to mature them faster would make them smaller! I guess that makes perfect sense, although I breed my dubias for me so I'm not too worried about it, but for my other species I will definitely not try to speed growth, I want them as big and awesome as possible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 If you think, in the wild dubia live in rotted wood and once in a while will find fruit or protein. They hide all day and aren't stressed, temperature is not constant, it's warm but not boiling hot like containers we have heated all the time. They also aren't crowded and mature slower. They search for food at night and males fly, in containers they never have a chance to forage and climb and are piling on eachother with a mass of fecal matter. Having a large enclosure with lots of room, hiding places, varied diet, clean, and in a warm room not below 65 F but not above 95F is ideal. Offering rotting wood that is baked to kill parasites and then misted with water will allow them to eat wood like in the wild and will match wild diet better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 What do you think about the effects of dwarfing can it be reversed i.e buy dubia from supplier around 1 inch than feed them well and give them space and thell be good size females or the damage is done by the time i get them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 If you improve conditions now their offspring should be normal sized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 So the dwarfs do produce regularly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Yes they reproduce the same that is not affected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddy Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 you would think some people might take advantage of the fact that they could pack the dubia in further if they still reproduce at the same rate i can say ive noticed the dwarfs are not as healthy when it comes to breeding atleast it seems that way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 you would think some people might take advantage of the fact that they could pack the dubia in further if they still reproduce at the same rate i can say ive noticed the dwarfs are not as healthy when it comes to breeding atleast it seems that way You might think packing them is good but if they get sick and weak and you have a mass colony die off it wasn't very helpful than. As far as dwarf dubia, I had one kept in poor conditions, and then put it in my cage with excellent conditions, it produced more and healthier offspring than normal dubia in a stressed colony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wodesorel Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I definitely have a "normal" colony where I pulled all my original dubia to and a second colony that is consistently producing extremely small full grown adults. Like yours, they're at least half the size of my normals. Temp, diet, substrate, and numbers are nearly identical for both colonies. It'll take a few generations to be sure, but I do have to wonder if it's something genetic. I don't have any small dubia at all with my originals, only in this new batch and I'm getting a lot of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 Well, if they keep making dwarf dubia mabye you'll be the first with a mini dubia colony. Smaller dubia equals feeder roaches for smaller reptiles and frogs, who knows you might be sitting on a gold mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.