Any quicker method?

Yobel

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
16
So I've finally hatched my B.lateralis eggs. I put them in a deli container and my question is how do you separate the newly hatched nymphs from the pile of eggs easily? What I did is tilting the deli container slightly and gently nudging them out to another container using a paintbrush. This process is very time consuming every time I transfer this nymphs to another container. Any suggestions to harvest this little buggers easily? Thank you very much.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
If you absolutely have to be precise, then why not remove ooths and then dump nymphs into another container before returning full ooths to original container (also a good chance here to dump the empty ooths so you know what you've got left to hatch).
If you don't have to get every single one, I would just set a tp tube or a piece of egg crate in container and let the nymphs gather themselves up for ya.
Sorry if I misunderstood the concern here.


(B lat breeder here)
 

nepenthe

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 25, 2016
Messages
24
I never found a faster way than your current method. Eventually I had so many lateralis I stopped bothering with separating the ooths altogether.
 

Yobel

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
16
If you absolutely have to be precise, then why not remove ooths and then dump nymphs into another container before returning full ooths to original container (also a good chance here to dump the empty ooths so you know what you've got left to hatch).
If you don't have to get every single one, I would just set a tp tube or a piece of egg crate in container and let the nymphs gather themselves up for ya.
Sorry if I misunderstood the concern here.


(B lat breeder here)
Hey! Thank you for your helpful tips ;):)It's hard for me to get all the ooths cause it's too many and I'm afraid if I accidentally crushed the nymphs. I have a question how do you keep your ooths in order for them to hatch? Can you tell me your setup? Is is like an incubator? if you show me some pics that would be awesome!:happy:Thank you very much!
 

Yobel

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
16
I never found a faster way than your current method. Eventually I had so many lateralis I stopped bothering with separating the ooths altogether.
So how do you deal with your nymphs? Just letting them stay with the unhatched ooths? Thank you for your comment!
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
b lats.JPG
Hey! Thank you for your helpful tips ;):)It's hard for me to get all the ooths cause it's too many and I'm afraid if I accidentally crushed the nymphs. I have a question how do you keep your ooths in order for them to hatch? Can you tell me your setup? Is is like an incubator? if you show me some pics that would be awesome!:happy:Thank you very much!
I don't remove ooths at all -- I let pinheads/nymphs live with the adults and have never had a problem. Recently I did need to separate some small juvies to ship. I pulled a toilet paper tube from enclosure which I just shook out into another container. I removed the adults and returned them to the bin, and then let the remaining right sized ones simply walk into shipping container as I tipped catch container's corner over shipping tub.
I just keep mine in a huge Rubbermaid bin which sits on top of my upright freezer (the freezer has its heat coils on the outside so the bin stays nicely warm).

(This was at feeding time -- hence them all being out - note the pile of roaches in bottom left corner -- they are on top of the food I had just put in. Sadly this was also a pix right before maintenance, egg crate changing, and um, culling time. :( )
 
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Yobel

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
16
View attachment 222896
I don't remove ooths at all -- I let pinheads/nymphs live with the adults and have never had a problem. Recently I did need to separate some small juvies to ship. I pulled a toilet paper tube from enclosure which I just shook out into another container. I removed the adults and returned them to the bin, and then let the remaining right sized ones simply walk into shipping container as I tipped catch container's corner over shipping tub.
I just keep mine in a huge Rubbermaid bin which sits on top of my upright freezer (the freezer has its heat coils on the outside so the bin stays nicely warm).

(This was at feeding time -- hence them all being out - note the pile of roaches in bottom left corner -- they are on top of the food I had just put in. Sadly this was also a pix right before maintenance, egg crate changing, and um, culling time. :( )
Wow awesome pic are you not worried about small nymphs get eaten by the adult ones? You have tons of roaches right there. Very cool photo thanks for sharing!:)Basically you just leave everything to them.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
I have never known B lats to cannibalize. Now, an older dying roach might be fair game to the colony....
Crickets will cannibalize in a heartbeat.

Yeah, I leave everything to the roaches -- I only offer a warm (moist) habitat and lots of fresh veggies (sometimes throw in some whole wheat bread or catfood too) and let them do what they do best. :)
 

Yobel

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 29, 2016
Messages
16
Yes crickets are notorious for cannibalism. How do you make them moist? Do you mist the colony? You have a constant supply of lats which is nice. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
I have never known B lats to cannibalize. Now, an older dying roach might be fair game to the colony....
Crickets will cannibalize in a heartbeat.

Yeah, I leave everything to the roaches -- I only offer a warm (moist) habitat and lots of fresh veggies (sometimes throw in some whole wheat bread or catfood too) and let them do what they do best. :)
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
Humidity is my biggest problem with my lateralis. No matter what I do, I get mold in the tub. It's well-ventilated, and cleaned frequently, but I still get mold. How the heck do I keep them humid and warm without mold growing?

My weirdo roaches won't eat bread or any vegetable that isn't a carrot. They use to eat instant potato flakes but now they don't. They won't eat raw potato, either. o_O:sour: They seem to like dry dog food, at least. They're harder to feed than toddlers.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
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Sep 14, 2014
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2,009
I never have to mist -- mine stays humid. And I do have to replace eggcrates and tp tubes regularly due to mould -- I am sure there is mould showing in my pix. And the more roaches I have -- the more condensation produced and the more often eggcrates need replacing. I just consider it one of the costs of keeping them. They certainly thrive in a warm humid enclosure.

Never heard of finicky roaches! Mine will eat their own eggcrates and tp tubes. Mine particularly adore fruit -- but I never put much in (no more than would be consumed in a few hours) due to the fly threat. Veggies and other foods I remove after 24 hours or so (and having some food leftover after 24 hours reassures me I put enough in for everyone).
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
Joined
Apr 18, 2015
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2,453
I never have to mist -- mine stays humid.
Just so @Yobel understands, the reason Ellen's colony stays moist even though she doesn't mist them is probably because of the moisture caused by the fruits she feeds hers and the resulting waste, (I assume), which can soak the egg cartons and even create condensation in less ventilated enclosures. I remember feeding zucchini to my roaches, it drenched the already moist substrate and soaked the egg cartons. However it really depends on how much roaches you have in the colony, how ventilated the enclosure is, how much fruit you feed and what type of fruit you feed, so if your colony is in a very well ventilated enclosure or you don't have that many roaches at first, then definitely keep misting them.

Also, cannibalism is not a big problem with this species provided they are well fed, so I really see no point in separating the ootheca, you are just creating more work for yourself lol!
 

Bugmom

Arachnolord
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
646
I'm considering going without substrate at all, and switching from cardboard rolls and egg crates to plastic ice cube trays. When things get dirty, I could just transfer the roaches into a different bin, clean the trays and bin, and then put all the roaches back in the clean enclosure. Humidity could be kept up by taking a plastic tub, filling it with moss, and keeping that damp (with a hole in the side of it so the roaches can climb in if they want). What do y'all think of that? I could also spray the sides or lid of the enclosure to keep humidity up if needed without concern that mold would grow on the substrate or elsewhere and if it did, no big deal, just wash it off.

I have 500 lateralis coming next week since I also have 68 new T's inbound, and I'd really like to up the breeding of my lats so I don't have to order again. My last order was in... April, I think, so it has been awhile, but I want to be totally self sufficient for invert and reptile feeders (except for mice, I'll happily pay for frozen mice). Also my daughter just bought 10 Madagascar hissers and I want to be sure they are as happy and healthy as possible.
 

Ellenantula

Arachnoking
Joined
Sep 14, 2014
Messages
2,009
I don't use substrate -- never have. When I do this big clean, I just shake the roaches from the old eggcrates and tubes into an empty container. I put fresh eggcrates in temp container and let the roaches gather themselves back up into the new eggcrates to be returned to cleaned old enclosure. This is a side-by-side transfer. I try to save some of the ones who didn't climb into new eggcrates by tipping corner of temp enclosure over cleaned regular container. Most see the eggcrates and walk/drop right in easily. But I am careful -- I do not want all that old frass to go into their enclosure I just cleaned, so I don't tip too deeply. Anything left over in temp container (frass, ooths, and roaches that won't easily return/walk into cleaned enclosure) just get bagged and frozen (culling basically 1-5% of roaches). Sometimes I take the time to fish out some ooths to return to cleaned container, sometimes I don't.
And when I am cleaning specifically to cull -- I don't tip at all -- only those who climb into new eggcrates will be saved.
Sheeesh, that sound so cold. But real life, yannoe? Don't hate. :(
 
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