# naturalistic enclosures for pet roaches?



## fangsalot (May 18, 2010)

how come more people dont setup naturalistic enclosures?i understand the whole plastic bin and eggcrates is easier but dont you think naturalistic looks 100 times better.IMO i would enjoy looking at hissers and other "pet" roaches as if they were in there natural habitat(or close to it) alot better than if they were crawling in and out of eggcrates from above..wouldnt you?


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## fangsalot (May 18, 2010)

..........and if you do have a naturalistic roach enclosure,i wanna see!


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## super-pede (May 18, 2010)

I have considered doing some naturalistic enclosures for my hissers and and I do have naturalistic enclosures for my giant cave roaches.


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## Beardo (May 18, 2010)

For the pet roaches I've had in the pastm I set them up in much better enclosures than I do for feeders (substrate, hides, etc). I agree with what you're saying. I actually enjoy observing and interacting with the roaches I have kept.


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## fangsalot (May 19, 2010)

any pics fellas?


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## super-pede (May 19, 2010)

I would love to post some but my nikon is somewhere in the Pacific.

*S-P*


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## fangsalot (May 19, 2010)

super-pede said:


> I would love to post some but my nikon is somewhere in the Pacific.
> 
> *S-P*


aww that sux..


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## GiantVinegaroon (May 19, 2010)

Mine's not natural....just a bunch of cardboard and a food and water dish.  I enjoy seeing them from above devour food like a pack of the slowest wolves on earth though


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## Scythemantis (May 23, 2010)

I have always kept roaches with soil substrate, wood and leaves and they do just as good as everyone else's, I understand the minimalism for feeders but people who keep roaches themselves as pets should really consider going that extra little step for a nice natural environment.

My skunks have a wall of driftwood and I keep my American roaches in a tank with a small half-buried deer skull, they love its nooks and crannies.


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## fangsalot (May 23, 2010)

awesome! any pics


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## Scoolman (May 23, 2010)

I have 150+ hissesr set up in a natural habitat. They are curently in a 10G, I need to up size to a 20g long. I use coco fibre, and moss, and some decaying wood. I put pressed paper egg crates in the enclosure to fascilitate catching them for feding. I think I have a couple shots of it on my phone, I will get them on here for you.


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## Kirsten (May 29, 2010)

fangsalot said:


> ..........and if you do have a naturalistic roach enclosure,i wanna see!


This is as 'natural' as I could get: _outside_


and... _inside_.  You can just make out Sophie in the far right


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## Scoolman (May 29, 2010)

ksmith999 said:


> This is as 'natural' as I could get: _outside_
> View attachment 84267
> 
> and... _inside_.  You can just make out Sophie in the far right
> View attachment 84268


 that is priceless.


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## J Morningstar (May 29, 2010)

For you Sir... A natural Roach habitat....For real, I mean it.


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## J Morningstar (May 29, 2010)

Everyone please note: I don't have light's on them at all normally, that was just so I could take the pics. They get room light the rest of the day and "moonish" light at night which you can see in the background of one. I try to keep them above 78 to 85ish or hotter on days weather permits. They have breed well and eat a lot. My Centipedes, Bullfrog, Scorpion, devour them, and I am sure ampiglyds will love them too, some day.


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## Scoolman (May 29, 2010)

Very nice set up, I like it. What made you decide to go tall? 
I am going to be rehousing my batch into a 20 gallon long tank in about a week, they are in a 10G right now. I will post photos when it is done.


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## pouchedrat (May 29, 2010)

i always kept mine with dirt, leaves, driftwood, etc.  I also only would keep one or two of each species of roach so it's not like they ever bred (outside of ONE lobster roach who wound up populating a 10 gallon tank all by herself, and they pretty much self-sustained.  Seriously, i didn't feed them, EVER).  

Kept hissers, discoids, lobsters, giant cave, and true death's heads that way.


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## J Morningstar (May 29, 2010)

Scoolman said:


> Very nice set up, I like it. What made you decide to go tall?
> I am going to be rehousing my batch into a 20 gallon long tank in about a week, they are in a 10G right now. I will post photos when it is done.


I liked the idea of reproducing a truly natural habitat and I found they prefer wood to mud( I was going to sculp a termite mound, they didn't like it as much as the small peice of driftwood..) so I made a termite eaten piece of rotten wood. Thet do climb a lot and they seem to inhabit the used homes of other insects, so there it was..


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## fangsalot (Jun 1, 2010)

AWESOME!!im still working on mine.i have a 10g tank now but decided to get a 20h so im not gonna bust my butt setting up the 10g.hopefully you guys post more pics....bad***!keep em coming


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## ossain (Jun 1, 2010)

*question on enclosures*

Okay Guys and Gals,
When I first got my hissers I thought I would set them up in some clear enclosures I got from the Wally world and ran into a problem of poop an inch think these guys really go... so I ended up placing them upon a raised floor using some small gauge wire grid I had on hand. And this alleviated and made it easier to clean up after them. but what I cannot figure out if how you can have a natural setups say with substrate like I had coco fiber without having all sorts of fungus problems and other nasty things coming out of the broth. I want to make as natural setup I can for them but the waste problem is a problem for these guys any ideas?
Doc


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## clam1991 (Jun 1, 2010)

I think your waste problem can be helpped with some isopods, i had a big tank with a naturalistic look to it but sadly all they did was hide in the dirt but was pretty funny when u sprinkle food on it and watch the dirt start pulling it under like tremors the movie


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## Scoolman (Jun 1, 2010)

clam1991 said:


> I think your waste problem can be helpped with some isopods, i had a big tank with a naturalistic look to it but sadly all they did was hide in the dirt but was pretty funny when u sprinkle food on it and watch the dirt start pulling it under like tremors the movie


I have isopods and earth worms in mine.


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## clam1991 (Jun 1, 2010)

Scoolman said:


> I have isopods and earth worms in mine.


earthworms would be awesome to help keep the soil fresh, not to mention if you ever want to go fishing


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## Scoolman (Jun 1, 2010)

clam1991 said:


> earthworms would be awesome to help keep the soil fresh, not to mention if you ever want to go fishing


they break down decaying matter and turn it back into soil. I don't use bait worms those have been chemically treated. I go out and dig for them near the river or lake.


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## clam1991 (Jun 1, 2010)

I use worms i find in the yard for fishing
why pay 50 cents per worm when their right under my feet? lol


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## fangsalot (Jun 1, 2010)

hmm..i cant find any isopods anywhere in my yard,but i do find alot of worms.ill have to try that.


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## Venari (Jun 2, 2010)

I have seen some natural looking enclosure pictures. I'll see if I can get permission to post them here, or get the owner of the pictures to sign up here.


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## new ento (Jun 2, 2010)

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y113/Liserian/050.jpg

Here's my set up! In this pic there arent any roaches in it but I have about 50-75 adults in it now. 

The tank is 29 gallons and the decor that it has in it includes:

A wicked awesome cork tube (about 3 feet) 

A plastic but very natural looking food bowel that I will be putting fresh fruits and veggies in.

A 6 foot English ivy vine.

and eco earth coco fiber!


Thanks for the heads up  Venari!


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## elportoed (Jun 2, 2010)

I agree with ksmith999, natural setting for roaches are on the city streets, trash bins, sewer lines, sometimes inside apartment buildings, under the kitchen cabinets or bathroom sinks, etc.  

But seriously, I have yet to see pictures of roaches in the wild.


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## fangsalot (Jun 2, 2010)

elportoed said:


> I agree with ksmith999, natural setting for roaches are on the city streets, trash bins, sewer lines, sometimes inside apartment buildings, under the kitchen cabinets or bathroom sinks, etc.
> 
> But seriously, I have yet to see pictures of roaches in the wild.








there ya go


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 2, 2010)

JMorningstar- is that a Dracaena plant in the enclosure?  Does your colony ignore it?


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## fangsalot (Jun 2, 2010)

hmm im assuming that plant is fake..but i do have a potho in with my hissers and they havent messed with it yet.


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## Scoolman (Jun 2, 2010)

fangsalot said:


> hmm im assuming that plant is fake..but i do have a potho in with my hissers and they havent messed with it yet.


I have a lot of potho in my home. I thought about putting it into my hisser set-up (I just re-house them in the 20 long) but worried it may be toxic. My hissers eat everything I put in there. I have even planted clover several times. When the seeds they don't eat sprout, they eat the sprouts before they have time to mature.
Is the potho toxic?


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## J Morningstar (Jun 2, 2010)

My Dracina is indeed real...it is a tough plant and as long as there are veggies they don't eat it, also the babies love to hide in it it probaly had 30 in it's leaves in that photo, they did eat the ti plant though. I am going to put in moss and I think some hearty ferns or something more succlent in nature like jungle cactus or something. I don't know if pothos are toxic, dumbcane is, but we are talking Roaches here they may be immune, and so are some others...I have hundresds of houseplants but I can't use them in the roach tank for they are treated with a sestemic poison....but I do think I could use the little plantlets off the Devil's Backbone...and they grow like weeds!


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## fangsalot (Jun 2, 2010)

J Morningstar said:


> My Dracina is indeed real...it is a tough plant and as long as there are veggies they don't eat it, also the babies love to hide in it it probaly had 30 in it's leaves in that photo, they did eat the ti plant though. I am going to put in moss and I think some hearty ferns or something more succlent in nature like jungle cactus or something. I don't know if pothos are toxic, dumbcane is, but we are talking Roaches here they may be immune, and so are some others...I have hundresds of houseplants but I can't use them in the roach tank for they are treated with a sestemic poison....but I do think I could use the little plantlets off the Devil's Backbone...and they grow like weeds!


wow,,it IS real,awesome! i do feed alot of veggies so maybe thats why they dont touch the potho.ive seen others who put in potho in there hisser tank so oi tried it.the potho is from a friend who just through some in a pot of potting soil in her patio and left it alone for a 6 months and grew like crazy.i washed off all the soil off the roots  and planted it directly in the coco soil.lets see if they continue to ignore it in the future.


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## Scoolman (Jun 3, 2010)

pothos is toxic. It contains oxalates which are know to bind calcium and prevent its absorption, I can't find anything on its other effects, just that it is listed as toxic. My hisser colony is also a feeder colony so, I do not think I will be using pothos. i will have to find something else.
Any how, here is an aerial shot of my new set-up in the 20G long. On the rightis a pile of decaying wood, in the middle is a stack of paperboard crates (the roach motel), on the left is the food & water.
View attachment 84343


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## J Morningstar (Jun 3, 2010)

I use a clump of potting soil (yes regular potting soil, no fertilizers or just a little plant food added*CHECK FOR PESTICIDES FIRST!!!!ACTUALLY READ THE LABELS...ALLL OF THEM*) wrapped in two paper towles, so the roots can eventually grow through and the paper will break down, and I have tried many times to grow in just the coco bark and it holds no nutrients or matter to start the plants rooting, also I line the bottom of every insect tank with a half inch (for drier tanks) to an inch (for wetter more humid tanks) of clean rocks, if the roots get down to the "waterline" they will be super happy, if you are just digging a pocket line the bottom with a handful of pebbles to provide drainage, broken pottery also suffices as does beach glass or any "decorating glass pebble anything". 
I'll stop now...I get way too into my tanks.


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## J Morningstar (Jun 3, 2010)

Scoolman said:


> pothos is toxic. It contains oxalates which are know to bind calcium and prevent its absorption, I can't find anything on its other effects, just that it is listed as toxic. My hisser colony is also a feeder colony so, I do not think I will be using pothos. i will have to find something else.
> Any how, here is an aerial shot of my new set-up in the 20G long. On the rightis a pile of decaying wood, in the middle is a stack of paperboard crates (the roach motel), on the left is the food & water.
> View attachment 84343


Thanks for the pothos info, I use mine as feeders sometimes as well and that would not be a good thing even if they were immune the others fed may not be.


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## Scoolman (Jun 3, 2010)

*Pothos is Toxic!*

I found it! There was a study done by the Univeristy of Arkansas that found "...that calcium oxalate crystals have a dramatic negative effect on insect growth and performance."
The link to the study is here. 
When  lower order organism eats a toxic substance it will build and collect in the fat cells. Then, when the next order organism eats the lower order organism the toxin is released in a concentrated dose thus, increasing it potency. This will continue until the top order organism is ultimately killed by the lethal build up.
In short if your set-up is housing feeders do not use pothos in it.


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## fangsalot (Jun 3, 2010)

im not feeding out my hissers...im cool right?


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## Scoolman (Jun 3, 2010)

fangsalot said:


> im not feeding out my hissers...im cool right?


I suppose, but if they eat the pothos it will effect their growth, according to the study. They are looking to isolate this phenomena and use it as a natural pesticide.


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## J Morningstar (Jun 3, 2010)

again nice info...so pothos...probably not...what about other similar looking philodendron?


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## fangsalot (Jun 3, 2010)

where there goes the potho.i guess ill just stick it in a jar full of water


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## zonbonzovi (Jun 3, 2010)

J Morningstar said:


> again nice info...so pothos...probably not...what about other similar looking philodendron?


Gosh, I'll have to look for it, but I'm pretty sure that all Philodendrons contain oxylate levels that are toxic to anything that might try to consume it.  I know for certain that it is generally frowned upon to use it in rodent setups or to have it accessible to small children.  Carnivores(excluding dumb cats that chew on houseplants) should be OK as long as the prey is not in the tank long enough to consume the plant matter...BUT please take with a grain of salt until you're 100%


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## J Morningstar (Jun 4, 2010)

Funny though that rainforest are full of plants like that and I think there are cockroaches in allmost all the similar habitats, I am certianly not going to push my luck but...Hhmmnnnn. Just a thought. I think mosses and ferns will be safe as well as other dracina species. We'll try that.


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## J Morningstar (Jun 15, 2011)

update, the roaches did finally consume the Dracina, but I do believe with a bigger starter plant with a little more size will make the ultimate baby roach hide away. And getting Jason on a more attentive feeding schedule will also solve this.


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## J Morningstar (Jul 18, 2011)

So no new plantings yet but here is an updated shot...or two:


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## Scoolman (Jul 18, 2011)

That look great. I have had absolutely no luck at all with live plants in my hiiser set-up; they eat every thing I put in there. I even tried to sow some clove sed once, they ate the seeds.
They have a constant supply of roach chow, and get veggies every other day.


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## ilovebugs (Jul 20, 2011)

After reading this thread I'm kinda tempted to get some kind of doll house from a thrift store and convert it into a roach enclosure. I think that would be pretty cool for viewers.


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## Scoolman (Jul 20, 2011)

ilovebugs said:


> After reading this thread I'm kinda tempted to get some kind of doll house from a thrift store and convert it into a roach enclosure. I think that would be pretty cool for viewers.


That is an awesome idea! You can coat it with an epoxy paint to protect the wood from moisture and odor absorption, and use a thin plexiglass to cover all windows and doors. 
I want to do one now.


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## GiantVinegaroon (Aug 6, 2011)

This thread makes me want to start a naturalistic dubia enclosure.  Has anybody tried this?


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## J Morningstar (May 1, 2012)

So, some more shots of the same enclosure months later...I grew another dracina for a year next to the tank then finally moved it in, I think it went into shock. I'd seen it happen in my regular houseplants before but...oh well we'll see what happens. The colony is alive and thriving, isopod popukation healthy, and flies are at a minimum! Everyones antenne are long and fuzzy so health looks really good and babies are numerous!
























 and some every 4 month maintainance


















and no it doesn't smell bad, very rainforest floorish, I just hate the random fruit fly up my nostrils..


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## MrCrackerpants (May 2, 2012)

J Morningstar: Are those deer bones in the enclosure?


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## J Morningstar (May 3, 2012)

I'd love some but they are Smoked Turkey legs, pork knuckles, ribs, lots of chicken wings, and whole small chicken skeletons....they are usually wire brush clean in a day or two. I have found the cartilige gets eaten quick, and I also put them in mostly cleaned..cooked, rinsed.


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## shebeen (May 4, 2012)

Do you do anything to limit the population?  I started with 5 hissers about 8 months ago.  Now, I must have over 60.  I remove any males I spot and put them into a separate tank, but it seems to be losing battle.  I'm afraid I may have to resort to euthanasia which would be a utter shame.


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## J Morningstar (May 4, 2012)

I never limitied the populace. They seem to limit themselves when the population gets too high. They just abort their oooths.


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## shebeen (May 4, 2012)

That's good to know, thanks.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my colony reaches a steady state.


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## shebeen (May 7, 2012)

Inspired by J Morningstars' enclosure, I put together one of my own.  I used a 6 gallon Eclipse tank and mopani log that were left over from my fish keeping days.  I glued window screen to the bottom of the plastic rim that the hood sits on to prevent escapes.  The substrate is coco fiber, so no live plants for this iteration.  Roaches being roaches, they keep to the darker areas under and behind the log.  The back of the enclosure is actually more interesting than the front.  The enclosure is home to 15 adult females.


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## J Morningstar (May 8, 2012)

Thank'S and good for you! It looks like they are doing their roach thing. I know it doesn't appear I have a dish but it's a large ceramic leaf dish in the center of the enclosure. The dish does help with removal of old food... I don't almost ever have any anymore so I remove it infrequently. I wish you all the best with yours. I will admit it got a little overcrowded with roaches till they balanced things out.


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## shebeen (May 9, 2012)

A leaf shaped dish is a really good idea.  I'll have to keep my eye out for one.  I also have a small wick type watering jar that I leave in the tank but removed for the photos.   It's even more of an eyesore than the food dish but I haven't come up with an alternative yet.


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