My Roaches

[All About Arthropods]

Awesome collection thread!

 

[Hisserdude]

Awesome collection thread!

Thanks, you got a nice thread yourself!

 

[All About Arthropods]

Thanks, you got a nice thread yourself!

Thanks!

 

[Stugy]

I absolutely love your photos! I have been wanting to start on the roach hobby for a while now but I've been having a huge amount of trouble convincing my parents to let me get some. I only want 3 : Little Kenyans (for my small inverts), Dubias (for my larger ones), and Polyphaga aegyptiaca. I would really appreciate info on Polyphaga aegyptiaca as that would be helpful.

 

[Hisserdude]

I absolutely love your photos! I have been wanting to start on the roach hobby for a while now but I've been having a huge amount of trouble convincing my parents to let me get some. I only want 3 : Little Kenyans (for my small inverts), Dubias (for my larger ones), and Polyphaga aegyptiaca. I would really appreciate info on Polyphaga aegyptiaca as that would be helpful.

Thanks!

Try telling them that out of the over 4,000 described species of roaches in the world, less than a dozen of them are considered pests, (so less than 1%). The rest couldn't survive long in the average human home, and would starve to death or dry out rapidly, and breeding is pretty much out of the question, so they really have nothing to fear.

Polyphaga aegyptiaca are pretty easy to keep, they like a couple of inches of substrate, coconut fiber works great, and need a layer of dead leaves on top to feed on, as that makes up much of their diet, (as do most Corydiids/Polyphagids). Most of the enclosure should be pretty dry, but one area should be kept moist at all times. In addition to dead leaves, they really like dog food, so you should offer that once a week or so. Lastly, be prepared for a long wait, as the nymphs of this species can take up to two years to reach adulthood, and their oothecae take another 5-7 months to hatch I believe.

 

[socalqueen]

Therea olegrandjeani:
Female

Male

Therea regularis:
Male

Subadult male

I love the Therea olegrandjeani, how big do they get?

 

[Hisserdude]

I love the Therea olegrandjeani, how big do they get?

Me too, they are beautiful! Not huge, the females can get up to 30mm long, and the males about 20mm.

 

[socalqueen]

Me too, they are beautiful! Not huge, the females can get up to 30mm long, and the males about 20mm.

I saw these at a reptile show and was really drawn to them, but ended up getting hissers to start with. These are next for me.

 

[Hisserdude]

Blaberus sp. "Venezuela":
Nymphs

Corydidarum pygmaea:
Nymphs

Therea olegrandjeani:
Nymphs

Therea petiveriana:
Nymphs

Therea regularis:
Nymphs

Polyphaga saussurei:
Adult females

 

[socalqueen]

How often would you reccomend I change the sub for my hissers. There's only 3, had the current sub since 1/7. Also I've noticed that one of my girls all the sudden started burrowing, she stays burrowed most of the time now, the other 2 roam the viv and hide under the bark.

 

[Hisserdude]

How often would you reccomend I change the sub for my hissers. There's only 3, had the current sub since 1/7. Also I've noticed that one of my girls all the sudden started burrowing, she stays burrowed most of the time now, the other 2 roam the viv and hide under the bark.

You really shouldn't have to change the substrate at all unless it becomes thoroughly infested with mites, I never changed my hissers' substrate.

 

[socalqueen]

You really shouldn't have to change the substrate at all unless it becomes thoroughly infested with mites, I never changed my hissers' substrate.

Awesome. I am going to be getting a bigger viv, the substrate I have now came with the roaches, not really sure what it is. What substrate do you reccomend? I just realized I probably sound like a paranoid first time parent lol.

 

[Hisserdude]

Awesome. I am going to be getting a bigger viv, the substrate I have now came with the roaches, not really sure what it is. What substrate do you reccomend? I just realized I probably sound like a paranoid first time parent lol.

Coconut fiber is my go-to substrate for cockroaches, it's great for retaining moisture and looks fairly natural. Lol, you can never ask too many questions regarding husbandry, it's good to gather as much information as you can!

 

[socalqueen]

Coconut fiber is my go-to substrate for cockroaches, it's great for retaining moisture and looks fairly natural. Lol, you can never ask too many questions regarding husbandry, it's good to gather as much information as you can!

Awesome! That being said I have another question, how often do hissers molt? I'm assuming they will all molt at different times, is there anything I need to do differently when they start molting? What do I need to watch out for?

 

[Hisserdude]

Awesome! That being said I have another question, how often do hissers molt? I'm assuming they will all molt at different times, is there anything I need to do differently when they start molting? What do I need to watch out for?

When they are small nymphs they molt quite often, once a week or so, but then their growth gradually slows down as they get older until they are only molting once every few weeks. Just make sure the enclosure isn't too dry as that can result in bad molts, though hissers are very tolerant of dry conditions, so that shouldn't be a problem. Really there's nothing to do or to prepare for when a roach molts, just keep caring for them like you have been and they'll do the rest themselves.

 

[socalqueen]

When they are small nymphs they molt quite often, once a week or so, but then their growth gradually slows down as they get older until they are only molting once every few weeks. Just make sure the enclosure isn't too dry as that can result in bad molts, though hissers are very tolerant of dry conditions, so that shouldn't be a problem. Really there's nothing to do or to prepare for when a roach molts, just keep caring for them like you have been and they'll do the rest themselves.

I've had these girls since 1/7 and they haven't molted yet. I'm curious to see it happen. I spray the sides down with water like every other day, and I keep a little shallow bowl of water in the corner. I'm concerned for one of the females as she stays burrowed at all times now, she's in the same spot and hasn't moved for 2 days.

 

[Hisserdude]

I've had these girls since 1/7 and they haven't molted yet. I'm curious to see it happen. I spray the sides down with water like every other day, and I keep a little shallow bowl of water in the corner. I'm concerned for one of the females as she stays burrowed at all times now, she's in the same spot and hasn't moved for 2 days.

They must be large nymphs then. It may seem like that one female hasn't moved for 2 days, but she could be sneaking off late in the night to feed when you aren't looking and then returning to the same spot.

Alternatively if you have seen no movement from her in two days, not the slightest rotation or antennae movement, then I'd try poking her and see if she's responsive or if she has passed away.

 

[socalqueen]

They must be large nymphs then. It may seem like that one female hasn't moved for 2 days, but she could be sneaking off late in the night to feed when you aren't looking and then returning to the same spot.

Alternatively if you have seen no movement from her in two days, not the slightest rotation or antennae movement, then I'd try poking her and see if she's responsive or if she has passed away.

I've poked her several times, she moves and reburrows, she hissed at me last night when I touched her, she's a grouch. I have two roaches that are about 1.5" long, the other is bigger at about 2" long.

 

[Hisserdude]

I've poked her several times, she moves and reburrows, she hissed at me last night when I touched her, she's a grouch. I have two roaches that are about 1.5" long, the other is bigger at about 2" long.

Good, she's definitely alive then! She probably just really likes that hiding spot.

Yeah, at that size molts won't be occurring that often, so you shouldn't worry that they haven't molted in your care yet. They should be molting soon though.

 

[socalqueen]

Good, she's definitely alive then! She probably just really likes that hiding spot.

Yeah, at that size molts won't be occurring that often, so you shouldn't worry that they haven't molted in your care yet. They should be molting soon though.

Thank you for the reassurance and all of your help!