Hissing Roaches not thriving?

[LynnC]

Hello! First post and I had to jump into a worrisome rant. Really could use some advice on what I'm doing wrong.

I've had a small colony of hissers for about a year, got them from a feeder site and assumed they were subadults since they did increase in size. However, they seem to die, well, easily. Not all at once, just here and there. I've switched out some food and been more careful since I worried pesticide residue might be sticking on the veggies, they have warm temps and high humidity. Plenty of room (maybe too much room for such a small colony?) I also don't notice them eating a lot, sometimes there's a noticeable dent in their plate but other times I'm pulling out the same exact amount of food.

We did have our first babies this week though, I can only find two so I'm assuming the rest are hiding well or escaped.

I don't know if they're just older than I thought, bad bunch(es), or since it's a colony of less than 10 I just notice the deaths more? I'm worried I'm killing them with negligence so any help is appreciated!

 

[Dadsgreenhouse]

What are you feeding them?
How do you water them?

 

[PidderPeets]

Hello! First post and I had to jump into a worrisome rant. Really could use some advice on what I'm doing wrong.

I've had a small colony of hissers for about a year, got them from a feeder site and assumed they were subadults since they did increase in size. However, they seem to die, well, easily. Not all at once, just here and there. I've switched out some food and been more careful since I worried pesticide residue might be sticking on the veggies, they have warm temps and high humidity. Plenty of room (maybe too much room for such a small colony?) I also don't notice them eating a lot, sometimes there's a noticeable dent in their plate but other times I'm pulling out the same exact amount of food.

We did have our first babies this week though, I can only find two so I'm assuming the rest are hiding well or escaped.

I don't know if they're just older than I thought, bad bunch(es), or since it's a colony of less than 10 I just notice the deaths more? I'm worried I'm killing them with negligence so any help is appreciated!

How are you keeping them? How much ventilation do you have? How are you obtaining your temperature and humidity? And for that matter, what are you keeping the temps and humidity at? Do you have happen to have pictures of the enclosure? What are you feeding them? Do you provide them with a water source? Have they molted in your care? Any odd behavior you've noticed from any before they died? How many did you start with and how many do you have now? Sorry to bombard you with questions, but I can't really help without knowing anything.

I've got about 12 adult hissers right now, 8 of which were raised from birth and 2 of which have been adults in my care for over a year. I just recently rehoused them all together (I originally had the 8 babies in their own enclosure) into a large Kritter Keeper without substrate but lots of hiding spots, a constant supply of gel beads for water, and I refill their food bowl every couple of days with fish flakes. Prior to this rehouse, they were kept in storage bins with holes drilled on the sides and top for ventilation, a thin layer of cocofiber, and the same food/water routine as already stated. The temps I've kept them at has ranged from 68 to mid 80s F. I've never measured humidity, but when I kept them on substrate, I would occasionally pour water into the substrate. I've only lost one since I started keeping them, and that was an old female I got from a breeding colony. I'm not saying you're doing something wrong (you very easily could just have been sold some older adults nearing the end of their time), but multiple losses in such a short time makes me wonder about the setup

 

[Lithobius]

They might have too much humidity.
Mine don't have a whole lot aside from ambient and I haven't had a single death. The person I got them from had lower humidity then you'd expect as well and her colony was thriving.