Why I hate roaches

[BobGrill]

I am going to attempt to remain calm while explaining this, as I am rather frustrated at the moment. I don't get all the hype about roaches and how they're so much better than crickets. I have never had a T refuse crickets. I have on several occasions had them refuse roaches. The roaches also burrow, making it very hard to feed them to arboreals. They also have this god-awful annoying habit of not moving at all when I drop them in, so the T never knows they're there half the time. When I put a cricket in the T will snatch it up almost immediately once it's within reach. I dropped a roach in with my GBB and it literally sat there motionless for a full 2 days. Didn't even struggle when it got caught in the webbing. It does't help when you have a predator that relies on vibrations created by motion to sense it's prey, and also prefers for the prey to come to it, while also having a prey item that doesn't like to move. I'm sure there's other things I'll think of to complain about, but that's all for now. Yeah maybe they're more nutritious than crickets and they won't harm a molting T the way crix will, but using them as feeders is so tedious to me. It really takes the fun out of feeding.

 

[nepenthes]

B. dubia suck. I think a non burrowing species is the route to take. But then they more than likely are climbers! You win some you loose some, I think lateralis is a good alternative to dubia roaches. Their are also some alternative lesser used "feeder" species on some specialty websites, I mean they are roaches... lol!

nepenthes

 

[Scoolman]

I use the B dubi males as feeders. They run about like lunatics when dropped in.

 

[ferrester]

yup my warrior beetle have very hard tiime eating dubia because they burrow and stay still for hours

 

[Galapoheros]

Yeah, me too, imo roaches kind of suck as feeders. I just fed out about 100 roaches though because I'm running out of my home-grown crix. It's the feeder breeding that people complain about most of the time when it comes to crickets. Most have an easier time with roaches but I've got the crickets going and like them a lot more. I don't have the "smelly" species though that tend to die off with the cricket virus. On a side note, I think I have moth caterpillars eating the cricket eggs, just can't figure out why I'm not getting pinheads like I used to. The roaches seem to be "OK" to the stuff over here, but they seem to go for crickets more.

 

[ShaunT]

My lateralis breed well. And never stay still inside an enclosure. They don't climb, burrow or stink. I like them.

But we all neet to find what you like best. To each his own.

Sent from my PokieBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

 

[BobGrill]

yeah one good thing I like about roaches is that they last much longer and don't die so easily. But that doesn't help if your Ts won't eat them.

 

[MarkmD]

They can be annoying at times, I just crush/cut the heads off, then they dont burrow, thay try to but not that successfuly.

 

[beetleman]

when i feed my my giant centies,they do get roaches here and there,all i do is refrigerate the roaches for alittle,when i put them in they are very slow,can't burrow etc,they get snatched up quickly.no problem my predatory beetles feed on big mealworms,the beetles burrow,the mealworms burrow.they always find them. i feed them crickets aswell.

 

[Akai]

Are you using mature male dubia? They tend to run around an enclosure like a chicken with it's head cut off. I do agree on nymphs and the babies as annoying because they play dead or burrow. I use B. Lateralus for slings because they are highly active and don't burrow and I just drop large nymphs in front of my Ts that I know will pounce on whatever falls in front of them. lol

 

[BobGrill]

Guys, pay attention my location. Hint hint... I can only use discoid or lobster roaches, the latter which are hard to find anywhere and most places aren't willing to ship them here, despite them being legal.

 

[Entomancer]

You said you hate roaches as feeder organisms for tarantulas.

I think what you really mean is that you hate B. dubia as a feeder organism for spiders.

I had the same problem; I started breeding dubias and my spiders (mygalomorphs and true spiders) had a hard time finding them, especially the terrestrial tarantulas. My reptiles and amphibians love them, and my leopard geckos beg for more even when they've had more than they need, but they're too good at hunkering down and holding still, which mean that things that use touch to find food have a hard time finding them, even if they sense their presence at first.

Also, roaches are very a diverse insect order. Making blanket statements about them is like saying you hate all flies because you hate mosquitoes.

As for your problem regarding Florida's regulatory stance on exotic roaches, have you tried culturing native species? My dad used to live in Florida, and he told me lots of stories about "palmetto bugs" getting into his house. If you could find a native species of the right size, I bet you could solve your problem.

 

[BobGrill]

You said you hate roaches as feeder organisms for tarantulas.

I think what you really mean is that you hate B. dubia as a feeder organism for spiders.

I had the same problem; I started breeding dubias and my spiders (mygalomorphs and true spiders) had a hard time finding them, especially the terrestrial tarantulas. My reptiles and amphibians love them, and my leopard geckos beg for more even when they've had more than they need, but they're too good at hunkering down and holding still, which mean that things that use touch to find food have a hard time finding them, even if they sense their presence at first.

Also, roaches are very a diverse insect order. Making blanket statements about them is like saying you hate all flies because you hate mosquitoes.

As for your problem regarding Florida's regulatory stance on exotic roaches, have you tried culturing native species? My dad used to live in Florida, and he told me lots of stories about "palmetto bugs" getting into his house. If you could find a native species of the right size, I bet you could solve your problem.

I am using discoids. I can't breed native roaches in my house my parents wouldnt allow it.

 

[ShredderEmp]

I am using discoids. I can't breed native roaches in my house my parents wouldnt allow it.

Ahhh yes. The Parents. I feel you bro.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

Yeah, me too, imo roaches kind of suck as feeders. I just fed out about 100 roaches though because I'm running out of my home-grown crix. It's the feeder breeding that people complain about most of the time when it comes to crickets. Most have an easier time with roaches but I've got the crickets going and like them a lot more. I don't have the "smelly" species though that tend to die off with the cricket virus. On a side note, I think I have moth caterpillars eating the cricket eggs, just can't figure out why I'm not getting pinheads like I used to. The roaches seem to be "OK" to the stuff over here, but they seem to go for crickets more.

What crickets do you use? I would love to swap over to them.

 

[patrickbull]

U need lateralis my friend....

 

[BobGrill]

U need lateralis my friend....

All of the people telling me this are from another state. They're not legal to have shipped to Florida.

 

[ZephAmp]

Have you tried one of the many "native" alternatives? Eurycotis floridana, Blatta orientalis, Ischnoptera bilunata? The middle one is the same size as S. lateralis (a little bigger) but has adult males that climb. I have been breeding roaches for all my animals (bearded dragons, tarantulas, assassin bugs, clawed frogs, sandfish, mantids, etc) and have never gone back to crickets. The key is to think outside the box (DUBIAS), and even in Florida that's certainly possible.

 

[BobGrill]

Unfortunately it's a matter of what is available to me. Looks like I just have to stick with crickets.

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

I'm going to give the Dubia a try. I've got a colony of 50 I'm picking up locally. We'll see how it works. You guys aren't very encouraging though!