# What Do Baby Roaches Look Like?



## WYSIWYG (Oct 26, 2003)

Hiya,

I was checking in on one of my roach containers
and I noticed a bunch of miniature maggot-looking
critters in there.  Are those baby roaches?  They
seem about the right size.

If not, what else could they be and is it safe to feed
those roaches to my Ts?


Wysi


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## Buspirone (Oct 26, 2003)

Baby roaches look like really small nymphs.


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## WYSIWYG (Oct 26, 2003)

Thanks, I've seen baby roaches that look
just like the miniature version of the bigger ones,
but what do they look like when they're newborn?

The last time I went to check, I didn't see any of those
mini maggot-looking things.  I don't know if the roaches
ate them or what.  The only other thing I can think of that
they might be are baby boll weevil grubs.  The roaches are in there with some dried oat meal.


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## Buspirone (Oct 26, 2003)

> _Originally posted by WYSIWYG _
> *Thanks, I've seen baby roaches that look
> just like the miniature version of the bigger ones,
> but what do they look like when they're newborn?
> ...



When they are born they look like really small nymphs. What you are seeing is most likely some type of grain pest....some beetle larvae most likely.


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## james (Oct 27, 2003)

*little bugs*

You should clean out your container and try a new substrate. Dirt, fine moss, or pine shaving are less likely to carry mites. It sounds like you may be using a grain based substrate. If you want to use grain freeze it first to kill any mites and keep it dry.
James


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## WYSIWYG (Oct 27, 2003)

*Re: little bugs*



> _Originally posted by james _
> *You should clean out your container and try a new substrate. Dirt, fine moss, or pine shaving are less likely to carry mites. It sounds like you may be using a grain based substrate. If you want to use grain freeze it first to kill any mites and keep it dry.
> James *


Thanks for the advice.  These roaches are bugs I order
from some guy and since I had no desire to actually
BREED them, I was just keeping them in the same container
he had them in until they were fed off to the Ts.

As far as pine shavings, that would be a very bad idea
since the bugs are being fed to the Ts and aromatic woods
like pine and cedar can be fatal to their health, but I do
see your point.

I've decided that I'm tired of spending so much money buying
roaches so though my husband isn't exactly thrilled with it,
I'm going to go ahead and set them up in a small kritter keeper
and feed them catfood instead of oatmeal.

After all, I gotta DO something with the food the cats decide to dump out on the floor all the time!  

Thanks again 

Wysi


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## james (Oct 27, 2003)

*what type?*

What type of roaches are they? I breed mainly non-climbers and they are very easy to keep with no escape concerns. I keep mine in rubbermaid tubs with plenty of egg crates. If you keep them warm 90F+ they will breed and grow faster. Because they can be feed anything they are very easy to gutload and have very little smell. After I started breeding roaches I was so glad to never deal with smelly crickets again. 
James


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## Wade (Oct 28, 2003)

The larvae you're seeing may be meal moth larve. They infest most of my roach bins. Harmless, but annoying, especially when I open a bin and this big cloud of moths come flying out!

Wade


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## BigSam (Jun 30, 2004)

Doesn't anyone feed regular crickets anymore??? :?   

Sam,


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## RoachmanDan (Jul 1, 2004)

> Doesn't anyone feed regular crickets anymore???


Not so much any more, roaches are becoming more popular as a staple food source every year.


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## jezzy607 (Jul 1, 2004)

Newborn roaches are white and look like grubs for about an hour or so, then their exoskeleton hardens and stretches, and they darken and end up looking like baby roaches.


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## james (Jul 1, 2004)

*Why roaches over crickets.*

This is very simple. First crickets are about 80% water which really doesn't translate to much actual food for your pet. So then people feed mealworms which have more meat (protein), but the meat to shell ration is very high making them a so-so feeder. So then people feed butter worms or pinkies which is almost all fat. (i cannot tell you how bad this is, major bad long term effects on the liver.) So then we come to roaches. First off people love them because they don't stink like crickets, plus since they are not jumping everywhere they can be contained much easier. But the real reason is the food value. Roaches are meat machines. If fed the proper diet they have the highest meat to shell ratio of any feeder. My animals recover so much faster after breeding on roaches because they are so good. Plus you only usually need to feed one to two roaches a day compaired to several if not more crickets. Call me crazy but I can stand just about anything if it will provide this much value to my animals. One last thing. I starting breeding roaches a couple years ago when I was keeping frilled dragons. They where eating bucket of crickets and not really gaining weight. Once I switched to roaches they gained weight and I produced more captive bred frilled dragons than anybody else in the U.S. Now I feed them to my geckos and they eggs are in the incubator.
james


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## Israel2004 (Jul 1, 2004)

*Orange heads*

James,

The Orange heads are doing great have 5 adults now and there are two that look like they should molt in the next couple of days.   The only thing is they don't seem to be eating alot though, haven't even gone through half that bag of food you send with them. They been eating the molts theres nothing but little pieces of shell left over.

Israel

edit... I'm keeping them in my attic right now. It's been getting into the high 80's. This summer has sucked here, hasn't gotten hot at all.


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## james (Jul 1, 2004)

*food*

Just keep feeding them. When you start getting babies they will get in there and eat at it. Plus if you are giving them oranges, apples, carrots, they will eat less dry food. Try to disturb them as little as possible and they should be mating and producing tiny little babies very soon.
James


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