Female hissing roach pregnant? Or sick..?

[LarryTheRoach]

hello everyone! So I'm sort of new to owning Madagascar hissing roaches still; I've had them for 9 months now I believe? I'm curious to as of what is wrong with my adult female hisser. (She used to be housed with an adult male) She's gained a lot of weight over the last 3-4 months, she looks as if she may be pregnant but it's been so long so I'm a bit concerned. She's willing to feed Every now and again, very slow and doesn't move much on the account of how large she is. A few times I've noticed she'd swell up and look like she'd be ready to burst, but a few hours or a day later she'd be a bit smaller, but still very large for her size. Here's a picture of what I could get in time, she's bigger then what the picture makes her seems.
There has been a strict diet ever since I got her (she was a small jeuvenile), therefore I haven't changed their overall diet. They are fed fresh veggies and fruits such as kale, apples, oranges, and a few other things. Hopefully I'm just overthinking it, but I wanted to see what other opinions might be from more experienced owners. Thank you in advance ~

 

[Beedrill]

When she was housed with the male had she already reached maturity or was she still a juvenile?

Honestly, she is probably pregnant. They allow the eggs to mature inside their bodies (ovoviviparous) for around 60 days. However, this can take longer if their temperature is not being kept in the 80's. They usually have about 3 broods a year under ideal conditions. A lot with cockroaches depends on temperature.

 

[LarryTheRoach]

When she was housed with the male had she already reached maturity or was she still a juvenile?

Honestly, she is probably pregnant. They allow the eggs to mature inside their bodies (ovoviviparous) for around 60 days. However, this can take longer if their temperature is not being kept in the 80's. They usually have about 3 broods a year under ideal conditions. A lot with cockroaches depends on temperature.

They we're both jeuveniles when I first housed them, but both matured together and after they had, I ended up keeping them together for a few weeks (hope that makes sense) I keep them at a constant temp of 85°F with a humidity between 70-80
She is currently being housed with several other females

 

[Remy004]

Based on that picture, I would definitely lean towards your hisser either being pregnant or preparing to molt. As Beedril said, the fact that she was housed with males makes pregnancy extremely likely. I've been maintaining a hisser colony for over a year now, and trust me, they breed like rabbits in the right conditions.

If you have doubts, I suggest observing her closely over the next few days. If she is pregnant, you may be able to catch her "airing out" her ootheca or even giving birth. You just have to catch her at the right time.

Also, I strongly recommend not handling any hisser that you suspect may be pregnant, especially if you want to keep the babies. The stress that handling might cause seems to make them more likely to abort their ootheca, at least in my experience...

 

[LarryTheRoach]

Based on that picture, I would definitely lean towards your hisser either being pregnant or preparing to molt. As Beedril said, the fact that she was housed with males makes pregnancy extremely likely. I've been maintaining a hisser colony for over a year now, and trust me, they breed like rabbits in the right conditions.

If you have doubts, I suggest observing her closely over the next few days. If she is pregnant, you may be able to catch her "airing out" her ootheca or even giving birth. You just have to catch her at the right time.

Also, I strongly recommend not handling any hisser that you suspect may be pregnant, especially if you want to keep the babies. The stress that handling might cause seems to make them more likely to abort their ootheca, at least in my experience...

Alright, I'll definitely keep an eye on her regardless. Thank you so much for the help! And yeah, I only held her for the pictures. If she's got kids I'd hate to loose any of em, I've got her with my other females under a heat lamp now. Gettin cooler, gotta make sure the temps stay right! I'll probably update the post if anything happens. Thanks again!

 

[Remy004]

Alright, I'll definitely keep an eye on her regardless. Thank you so much for the help! And yeah, I only held her for the pictures. If she's got kids I'd hate to loose any of em, I've got her with my other females under a heat lamp now. Gettin cooler, gotta make sure the temps stay right! I'll probably update the post if anything happens. Thanks again!

No problem! Best of luck.