a noob and his roaches

[H P L H]

yeah my ever expanding animal friends need to eat.

i dont like crickets, there smelly,messy, and expensive

so im thinking i want to invest in a roach colony

what kind of roaches are ideal for me? im thinking discoids,lobsters,or dubias.

i would consider turks but there FAST and they creep me out

discoids and dubias would be awsome but they can burrow into the substrate(so i hear) and not move alot(so i hear)

i think lobsters would be my best choice, but what are they like, do people here feed them to frogs(specifically Horned Frogs/fat frogs)

im also worried about the lobsters becoming a plague in my house if one or two were to get loose. i live in the new england area

can anyone post some pics of there roach setups?

 

[gvfarns]

what kind of roaches are ideal for me? im thinking discoids,lobsters,or dubias.

i would consider turks but there FAST and they creep me out
discoids and dubias would be awsome but they can burrow into the substrate(so i hear) and not move alot(so i hear)

i think lobsters would be my best choice, but what are they like, do people here feed them to frogs(specifically Horned Frogs/fat frogs)

im also worried about the lobsters becoming a plague in my house if one or two were to get loose. i live in the new england area

I'd still suggest the turks. Dubias reproduce slowly, freeze when they are scared, and burrow, and in my experience T's don't like them much. Lobsters can climb smooth surfaces and they are fast. That's a double whammy.

 

[H P L H]

turks are well blatently kind of gross if you ask me but ill look into them, anyone have anything else to add? :clap:

 

[Zelli]

I keep lobsters and dubia right now. I love lobsters except for the fact that they can climb. They're fast breeders and good sizes, too.

I haven't fed off any dubia yet so I can't answer much on them.

 

[MooSmoo]

We keep lobsters, the only thing I find hard is cleaning them. Its all fine smearing vaseline around the top of the box to stop them from climbing over the edge but I find them hard to clean out without all the crap getting stuck to the vaseline cos im kinda lazy. I guess if you move lobsters from A to B and hoover out their box its all good. But they are quick and hard to grab (i lost my first one today)

They've all got wing but very rarely use them, only really use them to hop from one surface to another.

 

[MooSmoo]

I keep lobsters and dubia right now. I love lobsters except for the fact that they can climb. They're fast breeders and good sizes, too.

I haven't fed off any dubia yet so I can't answer much on them.

What temp do you keep your lobs at?

 

[OldHag]

I seriously LOVE dubias for feeders!! They burrow, but if the T is hungry it will dig for it and its fun to watch!
Mine dont breed slowly at all!! Im always giving mine away as fast as I can! They are out of control! ALL my Ts and insect eating critters love them. I had one T, an X. immanis that wouldnt take them at first, but she eventually got hungry enough and eats them no problem now.
Dubia are slow and easy to catch. I think they are perfect.

 

[H P L H]

thankyou so much for responding to this thread first of all, you dont even know how much this is helping! 8)

right now its still down to dubias,discoids, and lobsters

i like dubias and discoids but burrowing roaches would get sooo annoying+ im not just feeding tarantulas i have my 3 horned frogs to think about.

and plus im going to be getting many spiders and aboreals and i think lobsters might be best for that

if i can get the money together i might just get both but i wouldnt count on it

lobsters might be my best bet, but dubias and discoids just seem easier and safer

 

[H P L H]

i just remembered something, how do you feed a roach colony if your on vaca for a week?

maybe just load on water crystals and dry food?

 

[Zelli]

What temp do you keep your lobs at?

I just keep 'em at room temperature. They stay in my closet in the dark.
If I had to guess, they're probably around 80 degrees.

 

[GOMER113]

I've got a question about defensive tactics of B. dubia. Do they normally poop to drive away predators? I was temporarily rehousing them yesterday while cleaning their tank and I picked up one with my tweezers and it smelled like it farted in my face. Then today, I didn't have anything small enough for a 1/2" sling, so I was going to yank off the leg of an adult roach before throwing it in to my Pampho's tank and there was that smell again! I don't think I was squeezing the roach that hard, but I definitely saw some brown stuff at the end of its abdomen.

 

[siliconthoughts]

i just remembered something, how do you feed a roach colony if your on vaca for a week?

maybe just load on water crystals and dry food?

You don't bother. It isn't necessary at all... feed them before you go and feed them after you get back. They can manage a lot longer than a week without either water or food.

Personally, I'd go with discoids for T's. They are a lot more active than dubia - dubia mostly just play dead. Dubia are much calmer and slower and easier to catch so from a handling perspective they are nicer. Reproduction rates for me are about the same between the two.

I don't keep lobsters, non-climbers are so much more convenient to handle - unless you need very small feeders why bother? Where I am, in Southern California, I think turkistans are an infestation risk, so they are off my list.

Colin

 

[MooSmoo]

I just keep 'em at room temperature. They stay in my closet in the dark.
If I had to guess, they're probably around 80 degrees.

ok... how do you house them? Mine just dont seem to be breeding

 

[H P L H]

do your slings feed easy on the discoid nymphs?

discoids would much much easier(might have to get a bigger colony but other then that fine)

how do aboreals do with non climbing roaches?

 

[RottweilExpress]

Dubias are the win.


Crush the head and put it down on it's back in the T's container and it will flail about like crazy. Your T will love it.

 

[H P L H]

that is kinda mean tho, maybe better then being pierced with 2 fangs however

 

[Zelli]

ok... how do you house them? Mine just dont seem to be breeding

I keep them in an extra cat litter bucket. Like this one.
I have a bunch of toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls. That's about all. I just keep their water crystals and dog food bowls full. I'll throw in an orange every once in a while, too.

How long have you had your colony?

 

[anaconda19]

go with the lobster roaches, ive only kept hissers and deaths head roaches before, and the adults would be too big to feed to most spiders, so i went with lobster roaches. they breed easily, the vaseline you spread on once every three months or less often and its no hastle. i went from sixty to about 200 in a month, loads of the roaches gave birth so i will never run out now, free food forever, they can be left with an extra helping of dried foods and water crystals and then they will be fine for a two week holiday, just like the spiders will. they are quite fast so the spiders always go for them, you can crush the head with tweezers if they are too fast for the Ts to catch

 

[clear]

I like turks a lot more than i like my lobsters, dubia breed really slow but are my favorite. I keep my roaches at 86F.

If you need a guide or care sheets check out my signature. I have some good information posted.

 

[brunoboy]

I like the lobsters.

They breed quickly, are a softer shell than the Turks and I've yet to see an adult on the side of their enclosure. They are easy to keep from climbing and are just the right pace of speed to keep my beardie interested.

They do like it HOT! Temps 90+ will promote them to breed and eat lots.