Persuasion suggestions

[ZooRex]

I've had just about enough of hearing you guys talk about your amazing roach colonies, while I'm sitting here with stinky expensive crickets.:wall: I think I'm gonna have another go at asking my mom about switching to roaches. But I really want to have a good argument this time, if anybody has some quality persuasion techniques, I'd really like to hear them. Thanks ~ Rex

 

[Rochelle]

1. No smell vs. cricket stench
2. No zoonological diseases (YOU can't catch anything)
3. No noise vs. cricket racket
4. No further expense; no driving, no waiting in line
5. No climbing glass = no escapes (B.dubia & others)
6. Feeder roaches will not take over your home....
7. Breed too many and they pay YOU...(sell, sell, sell)
8. Can be kept snugly in a tote jammed in your closet = mom never has to look at them....

Being a mom, myself; I hope this very logical argument will help.
Good luck!

 

[ZooRex]

Being a mom, myself; I hope this very logical argument will help.
Good luck!

Thanks for all the info, It will definatly come in handy.

I still have a few questions though. For one, don't you have to worry about any uneaten roaches breeding in another animals enclousre? And the major reason my mom is against roaches is the posibility of infestation. If a few roaches got out, would I have to worry about sudden plague in my house? Thanks ~ Rex

 

[Stylopidae]

Thanks for all the info, It will definatly come in handy.

I still have a few questions though. For one, don't you have to worry about any uneaten roaches breeding in another animals enclousre? And the major reason my mom is against roaches is the posibility of infestation. If a few roaches got out, would I have to worry about sudden plague in my house? Thanks ~ Rex

All of the roaches used for feeders can't breed at room temperature and/or can't live for long indoors.

A few months ago, I had an accident that left literally hundreds (if not thousands) of lobster roaches (N. cinerea) loose in my house.

Well, a couple hundred (if not thousands) of roach corpses later...no infestation.

'Cockroach' is just a general term. There are over 4,000 species of cockroach...less than 40 of which are considered pests.

 

[Ted]

i have never had smelly crickets.
never had any probs with crickets ever.
never caught any diseases either.

have had lots of issues with stinky roaches and escapee roaches, not only that , but nothing i had would eat the roaches...:?

 

[Matt K]

I feed my T's and other bug eaters exclusively roaches. No muss, no fuss, no smell, no plagues, no escapees, easiest self supporting food source I ever dealt with.

 

[dtknow]

My mom had the same concerns with hissers.

Unfortunately, they did escape. Of course, they never bred like crazy as she always feared. Finding half grown nymphs that somehow managed to slip out in slippers and in the laundry room at night became a popular story for relatives/guests.

Nonclimbers nullify the issue. Make SURE however that whatever you keep them in does not get knocked over.

 

[Rochelle]

As for uneaten roaches breeding in another animal's enclosure - yes they can. We don't feed adult females to anyone. When we get too many breeding females, and are forced to feed them off - we simply watch to make sure that the girlie roach is snagged by her predator. (Usually one of the T.blondi's )
As for infestation issues - I think my peers have demonstrated that you can have a "tip-over" disaster and suffer no ill affects. Why don't you sit your mom down and share this thread with her? Perhaps she'll feel more reassured if she sees the world at large in such logical support of this feeder option? I'll bet she'd be happy to quit paying for/ driving for stinky crickets...
~ Rochelle

 

[problemchildx]

I really want my own roach colony as well, but there is a point I'd like to make too.

Besides pinheads escaping, I have never heard any crickets making any noise. At all. (Sure in the wild, that irritating broken record chirping doesn't help with sleep.) I have never smelled anything foul with crickets. As for diseases and/or parasites, I am sure that crickets are full of them, which is why I want some roaches. I do get my crickets from mostly petco though, and they are probably all pure.

Of course I never keep more than like 15 at a time, I hear they start to smell horrid after 50+.. My T's do fine with crickets, but I am currently suspecting they would do great with nutritious roaches!

 

[Rochelle]

Only adult crickets "chirp"....the smell comes from the corpses. When buying the large sizes - they all "mature out" at the same danged time and then DIE at the same danged time.. So - when kept in large numbers...stinky-pooh all the time!
And the store-bought crickets are famous for bringing in "volunteers" with your unsuspecting purchase...I'd buy them (if you must) from a trusted dealer here on the boards, or similar.

 

[problemchildx]

Hmm when I buy the "large" they survive long enough to be my T's dinner.

Pinheads on the other hand, I spotted at least 3 dead from no apparent reason... Good point on the volunteers hehe..

Just to shift the topic a bit, I bought a thing of fluker's high calcium cricket feed from petco like a month ago, because it's what my friend uses. Upon returning home I opened it up, and was immediately disgusted. The feed was infested with tiny, oval shaped brown insects. Then I look on the label: "Do not feed moldy or insect infested feed as it may cause illness or death."

Soo... Why the hell sell it like that then? Curious, I went back to the petco to pick up a few things and I checked every one of the 6 jars, out of curiosity... They were all infested. The next day I go down there and show the manager my bottle of crap, and told her about the sorry state of their shoddy cricket feed. Later that week I got a refund (like 3 bucks so what, it the principal of the thing) and was glad to see they had new, fresh jars in stock. Personally, after this experience and hearing things from you guys about Fluker Farms, I am definitely staying away from this company.

This probably doesn't belong in this thread but figured I should let someone know

 

[Rochelle]

...the main problem with putting out "fresh" bottles is : they were all STORED next to each other in the back...lol
Go with a trusted, dedicated dealer. The retail stores are interested only in profit. Not quality. The sometimes concerned and dedicated employees are not to blame. They don't make the decisions regarding quality. The managers do - and the managers keep their jobs by thinking about the bottom line.
Quality is costly.
Volume is profitable...

~just MY two cents!

 

[Aunt Ant]

I have never smelled anything foul with crickets.

Ya mean you never stuck your nose into the cricket bag and got a whiff? Smells like a fart cloud :}

Anyway, good luck with your persuasion KingRex. I think you got some good advice already, hope it works out for you.

 

[ZooRex]

All of the roaches used for feeders can't breed at room temperature and/or can't live for long indoors.

Well, the pet room is usually ranges from 75-80 if not hotter in the summer, and it has radient heat in the winter. Both my parents can't belive how tropical it can be in there and how much I enjoy the heat. Would this make it easier for escaped roaches to breed/survive?

A few months ago, I had an accident that left literally hundreds (if not thousands) of lobster roaches (N. cinerea) loose in my house.
Well, a couple hundred (if not thousands) of roach corpses later...no infestation

That makes me feel alot better, I'll see what it does for my mom... ~ Rex

 

[problemchildx]

Yeah I really would do that rochelle, except I recently canceled my credit card after buying my slings. I've got checks though! haha..Even though I got that new bottle, I haven't used it, I don't trust the brand at all now. I have been using those gel chunks with all nutrients and water in them. Designed for "gutloading". They smell pretty strange though.

And now that I think about it, yes I have smelled that Ant, but it never sneaks past the actual cricket hotel itself. I do work around some smelly <edit>. I guess I have developed an immunity

 

[Rochelle]

....I'm curious as to what you're feeding your crickets to - that you feel the need to gutload?
I'd prefer to feed my T's with naturally fed food items....not full of man made, marketed God-knows-what....

 

[ZooRex]

Why don't you sit your mom down and share this thread with her? Perhaps she'll feel more reassured if she sees the world at large in such logical support of this feeder option? I'll bet she'd be happy to quit paying for/ driving for stinky crickets...
~ Rochelle

Alright, so I showed my mom the sinky crickets, and said there was something better available. I didn't even have to say more; she started shaking, but after a little while things calmed down. I gave alot of sympathy and understanding as well as facts. The main point was that "I wouldn't suggest a colony if I thought there was any chance of problems (infestaion)" I was also sure to not say the word "cockroach" for I knew this would get her upset. I think its funny that the women who is okay with pythons, geckos, Ts and scorps, shakes at the thought of roaches. I guess it was just a vison instilled early on that roaches are slimy vermin, that are only found in the most discusting abodes; and to volentarally let them live in her house is a lot to swallow. Yet she didn't say no, I told her I wasn't thinking of getting any tommorow I just wanted to put the idea out there, and that this would be the final test of exemplary motherhood if she allowed a "colony." Afterthat she wouldn't say "yes" but felt a lot better and was laughing by then end of the conversation. All in all, I think it was a sucess and I have to thank everybody here for their help. ~ Rex

 

[Moltar]

Another benefit of roaches that i seldom hear mentioned:

Roaches have a much longer lifespan once they've reached adulthood. Crickets live 17 days past their adult molt. Roaches can live more than a year into adulthood. It's the mass die-offs you get if you don't feed off the adults soon enough that really makes the cricket stink worse. With that many dead bugs you get more risk of flies and other nasty buggers infesting your house. Just do a search for phorid flies if you wonder how bad that can be.

So that's another reason roaches are more sanitary and just plain better.

 

[thedude]

Hmm when I buy the "large" they survive long enough to be my T's dinner.

Pinheads on the other hand, I spotted at least 3 dead from no apparent reason... Good point on the volunteers hehe..

Just to shift the topic a bit, I bought a thing of fluker's high calcium cricket feed from petco like a month ago, because it's what my friend uses. Upon returning home I opened it up, and was immediately disgusted. The feed was infested with tiny, oval shaped brown insects. Then I look on the label: "Do not feed moldy or insect infested feed as it may cause illness or death."

Soo... Why the hell sell it like that then? Curious, I went back to the petco to pick up a few things and I checked every one of the 6 jars, out of curiosity... They were all infested. The next day I go down there and show the manager my bottle of crap, and told her about the sorry state of their shoddy cricket feed. Later that week I got a refund (like 3 bucks so what, it the principal of the thing) and was glad to see they had new, fresh jars in stock. Personally, after this experience and hearing things from you guys about Fluker Farms, I am definitely staying away from this company.

This probably doesn't belong in this thread but figured I should let someone know

uhh i would think dermestid beetles... the little bastards get into and eat every thing from dead bugs to wheat

 

[Rochelle]

Alright, so I showed my mom the sinky crickets, and said there was something better available. I didn't even have to say more; she started shaking, but after a little while things calmed down. I gave alot of sympathy and understanding as well as facts. The main point was that "I wouldn't suggest a colony if I thought there was any chance of problems (infestaion)" I was also sure to not say the word "cockroach" for I knew this would get her upset. I think its funny that the women who is okay with pythons, geckos, Ts and scorps, shakes at the thought of roaches. I guess it was just a vison instilled early on that roaches are slimy vermin, that are only found in the most discusting abodes; and to volentarally let them live in her house is a lot to swallow. Yet she didn't say no, I told her I wasn't thinking of getting any tommorow I just wanted to put the idea out there, and that this would be the final test of exemplary motherhood if she allowed a "colony." Afterthat she wouldn't say "yes" but felt a lot better and was laughing by then end of the conversation. All in all, I think it was a sucess and I have to thank everybody here for their help. ~ Rex

Here's a hint *refer to them as BEETLES...lol
It works for our room mate. He was terrified of the thought of roaches in the house, but wanted to get away from the crickets needed to feed the dragon....so we started a B.dubia colony for him. Now he collects "beetles" for the dragon, and doesn't get all nervous. (even though he KNOWS they're roaches..)