anyone raise Blaberus discoidalis?

gmrpnk21

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
319
Well I am heavily considering starting a colony of Blaberus discoidalis, but there are a few things I am worried about. For instance, how often do I have to clean up their waste, how big of a container should I have, does anyone normally provide substrate, etc. I HATE these pet store crickets and it's a crapshoot how long they actually live. Since I live in Florida, Blaberus discoidalis are the only ones I could get shipped and start a colony of. Would 200 mixed sizes be a good start?
 

BrettG

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
Messages
1,315
Well I am heavily considering starting a colony of Blaberus discoidalis, but there are a few things I am worried about. For instance, how often do I have to clean up their waste, how big of a container should I have, does anyone normally provide substrate, etc. I HATE these pet store crickets and it's a crapshoot how long they actually live. Since I live in Florida, Blaberus discoidalis are the only ones I could get shipped and start a colony of. Would 200 mixed sizes be a good start?
I started with 100,and by the time I had fed half off,I had at LEAST 80 nymphs running around. I use a ten gallon,some eggcrate,a dish for watergel,and some dry roach chow.Not even a heatpad.Ours bred like crazy.I would imagine that depending on the size of your collection,200 would be a good start. But you cannot go wrong with more.
 

gmrpnk21

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
319
I started with 100,and by the time I had fed half off,I had at LEAST 80 nymphs running around. I use a ten gallon,some eggcrate,a dish for watergel,and some dry roach chow.Not even a heatpad.Ours bred like crazy.I would imagine that depending on the size of your collection,200 would be a good start. But you cannot go wrong with more.
How often do you have to clean out the poop? Could you share a picture or two Please? I kind of thought I would need a one of those huge rubbermaid totes to keep them all in if I got 200. That's really enough space for them all? Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to get into something that's harder to take care of than my T's.

Oh yeah, I only have 9 tarantulas right now, most are pretty small...
 

BrettG

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 19, 2009
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1,315
I just used what I had lying around.The lid is foam sheeting,with 2 small holes in it.I would get a pic,but our camera sucks,and I am currently out of adult roaches.I cleaned the frass and whatnot out every month,and sifted it out to remove nymphs.
 

Vfox

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 1, 2007
Messages
530
I keep mine in a 20 gallon tank with four other non-climbing species. I have about 250-300 roaches, including nymphs in the tank. It's plenty of room, I had over 1,000 Blaberus hybrids in this same tank a few years back and they still had lots of room. I don't clean out the frass, I let the nymphs eat it and let it degrade into the coco fiber substrate. When I do clean a tank it's far and few between, once a year or so. I just make sure there is no mold or rotting food, frass (poop) is never an issue. As for only 9 tarantulas...I'd start with 50-100 and let them breed up, once they start having babies you will literally never run out. Good luck with them!
 

gmrpnk21

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
319
Thanks! The one guy I found that has them for a good price (aaronpauling.com) said he won't ship them to Florida because they are recommending a permit for them. I don't want to spend $ 16 for 10 roaches like on some sites. Even the feeder store is out! Is there anyone in Florida with a good colony of them that is willing to sell some?
 
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