# Who has kept Blaberus giganteus



## dtknow (Sep 25, 2005)

Anyone here keep this species? What temperature did you keep them at for survival, and for breeding? Any photos of setups would also be nice.


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## Aquanut (Sep 25, 2005)

If you follow guidlines for Blaberus discoides you will be fine.  You can find good care sheets at both   www.blaberus.com  and www.bugchick.com 
Are you raising these for pets or feeder insects?  I ask because although very cool insects they are slow to grow and multiply compared to other roaches used as feeders.


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## dtknow (Sep 25, 2005)

I was thinking of them being dual purpose(will be using small nymphs as feeders but not a huge amount or as a sole food source). I think hissers would probably suite my needs better but I like the fact that these get big and cannot climb glass. Shame that they are slower to grow though.


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## Aquanut (Sep 26, 2005)

Excellent choices for large fast breeding non clibers would be Blaberus discoialis and Blaptica dubia.  These 2 seem to be the most popular among people who feed roaches.
Some prefer one and some the other.  I have heard that B. dubia breeds faster and is less fussy, but some will argue.  I have been happy with my discoids but just added some dubias as a second colony (the favorite feeder of James at Blaberus.com, so i thought i would compare) still nymphs so the jury is out as to which i like best. Read the discriptions and care sheets at the sites i mentioned for more info.


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## psionix (Sep 26, 2005)

Aquanut said:
			
		

> Excellent choices for large fast breeding non clibers would be Blaberus discoialis and Blaptica dubia.  These 2 seem to be the most popular among people who feed roaches.


x2 on the B. discoi*d*alis for a fast breeder/feeder.

if you are hard set on going with the B. giganteus keep them @ 85F and they should breed as fast as possible.

Also if you go with G. portentosa (hissers - similar requirements to B. giganteus) they breed faster IMO, reach maturity faster (~6mos or so  instead of ~12 mos) and have a much longer lifespan (24-60 mos instead of ~24 mos).  they don't make the most nutricious feeders though but they make better pets (some vaseline around the top of the container will keep them in place), IMO again.


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## Digby Rigby (Sep 27, 2005)

*You Have Been Living A Lie*

Hello,

You want a large fast breedng roach suitable for monitors and other large beasts.  You dont want Blaberus giganteus or discoidales or dubia.  You want a roach that gets larger then giganteus.  You want a roach that doesnt have the difficulty of maintanece that giganteus has in comparison to other members of the genus.  Male giganteus fight constantly thats why adult males in a colony always look beat up.  Most people either keep one male with females or keep so many males with them that no one male gets too beat up.  There are several roaches in the genus blaberus alone that are larger than the giganteus and also faster breeding than discoids.  One such roach is blaberus fusca the dwarf cave roach.  It is larger than the giant cave roach.  The giant cave roach just has larger wings and a smaller body.  Also the giganteus require some rotting wood and fruit to breed to maximum potential.

In closing Fusca are a larger roach with a better meat to shell ratio, faster breeding and the males dont fight like giganteus.  Here is a couple of links to illustrate the point
the roach to the left is a female fusca to the right of it is and adult giganteus: http://exoticfeeders.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10032/normal_ygp562F1.jpg

same roaches upside down: http://exoticfeeders.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10032/normal_ygp56312.jpg

this will show you the size: http://exoticfeeders.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10032/normal_Picture068.jpg

There are also several other species of roaches as well as other species of insects that would work.

If you care about the importance of feeder quality and nutrition then you need to register at the feeder forums at http://exoticfeeders.com  Where the feeders are cooler than your pets ;P 

Okay now that I posted will that damn thing at the top of the page that says I havent posted in weeks go away  

Digby Rigby specializing in insect sized rodents and rodent sized insects

DigbyRigby@exoticfeeders.com

http://exoticfeeders.com


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## GoTerps (Sep 27, 2005)

> You want a large fast breedng roach suitable for monitors and other large beasts. You dont want Blaberus giganteus or discoidales or dubia.


Why does he want something suitable for monitors and other large beasts?  I don't see him saying that. ??

He says... "will be using small nymphs as feeders but not a huge amount or as a sole food source".


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## Digby Rigby (Sep 27, 2005)

*didnt he want large roach species*

He said he wanted large roach species didnt he?  If his intent is to have large species and just feed off nymphs to his small animals that is not a good idea as would be adults of smaller species as adult animals have more nutrients than nymphs and babies.  You would be better served by getting a species that you can feed off at all stages of development including adults.  Using a species that gets too big as adults is a good way to end up with too many roaches sooner than you think.

In closing if the intent is a dual purpose roach both pet and feeder use a roach that as adults can still be fed to your animals  as well as smaller nymphs so you dont get over run.  Also if using roaches such as hissers they are not in demand as feeders like they once wee and are rapidly losing usage as feeders compared to other roaches.  if you want pets then get one of the rare varieties of hisser like Tiger.  That way you can sell off the excess without problem for good money.  In fact of the over 2000 hisser species I have sold the only Gromphadorhina portentosa among them were the giant form.  Not one regular hisser.

Digby Rigby

http://exoticfeeders.com


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## dtknow (Sep 28, 2005)

Yep, as you said the plan was to use only the nymphs as feeders. I'm not too sure how many small roach feeders their are but I know that I am not going to be dealing with lobster roaches or any small species that can climb glass. 

On the commercial part I think that if you wanted to you could try to limit the size of the colony by feeding off most of the nymphs correct(assuming you keep it at the size where this is practical which I think I will). I see tons of sights still selling plain on G. portentosa. The uncommon hisser so far seem too costly to be used as feeders. 

Also, I was under the assumption that nymphs etc. would be more nutritious as they would have less shell to deal with. Chances are a good percentage of what I will be using will be first or second instar or otherwise small freshly molted juveniles.

B. fusca looks like a good possibility. I've also thrown around Blaptica dubia and a few others for thought. This is simply being toyed with so nothing is set in stone.


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## GoTerps (Sep 29, 2005)

> Yep, as you said the plan was to use only the nymphs as feeders. I'm not too sure how many small roach feeders their are but I know that I am not going to be dealing with lobster roaches or any small species that can climb glass.


Well if your looking for a great smaller species that doesn't climb glass maybe you should consider _Blatta lateralis_.    They are very similar in size to lobsters, but don't climb smooth surfaces and may even breed faster (if you can believe that!).  I have a growing colony in the works that will eventually be the staple food source for all my tarantulas.  I prefer smaller roaches, even for my large spiders, just my preference.


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## dtknow (Sep 29, 2005)

After some reading I don't think Blatta lateralis would be the best solution. They don't climb, but word says they are fast...and also they look a bit too much like a classic roach(part of where a big species may work in my favor also) so I'm not sure how well this would fly as far as folks are concerned. I doubt it with these guys.


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## GoTerps (Sep 29, 2005)

> They don't climb, but word says they are fast...and also they look a bit too much like a classic roach(part of where a big species may work in my favor also) so I'm not sure how well this would fly as far as folks are concerned. I doubt it with these guys.


Ah yes, you hadn't mentioned the "not looking like a classic roach" part before    And yes, _Blatta lateralis_ are extremely fast.


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## dtknow (Sep 30, 2005)

Thinking a bit more how feasible is it to do a combination of two species?(for example, hissers and Blaptica dubia). Figured if it works it would allow me more than once species and also allow me to dump one should I find it not fitting my expectations. Only problem would be sorting them out should I need only one species for some reason.


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## Aquanut (Oct 2, 2005)

Why mess with a climbing roach?  I still think Dubia or Discoids are the way to go.  If you feed the nymphs off when they are small or before the colony gets very large you shouldn't have a problem being overrun.


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## Atrax robustus (Oct 3, 2005)

Did anyone mention A.tesselata's? I find they breed a lot better than B.giganteaus and my Salmon Pink loves 'em   
AR


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## Elytra and Antenna (Oct 4, 2005)

Digby Rigby said:
			
		

> There are several roaches in the genus blaberus alone that are larger than the giganteus


*No, there aren't. * B.fusca is much smaller by mass or wings. Check your 'facts'.


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## ROACHMAN (Oct 4, 2005)

*Oh Yea Baby !!!!*

That's right Orin You Tell him!!! Boy You Got love this Guy !!! tells Like It Is !!!    :worship:  :worship:  :worship:  :worship:


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