Anyone working with Blatta lateralis?

[JohnEDove]

I am considering starting a colony of B. lateralis as feeder insects for Leopard Geckos but am concerned about the exoskeleton amt and their speed of evasion.

 

[sick4x4]

speed isnt as fast as you think, all my pokie slings love to chase them..i think your geckos would love them as well....

wayne

 

[Jer]

I own a colony, but I do not work with them.

 

[petshopguy]

Their exoskeletons are fairly thin, compared to most roaches. High goo to crunch ratio. Mmm-mmm good.:}

 

[JohnEDove]

Thanks all, I had read they were fast and the only ref I have for chiten are my thick exo Gromphadorhina portentosa.

 

[billopelma]

My lep's will occasionally refuse to eat lateralis while still taking crickets. It's very random, one won't eat them one time, another at a different time, no obvious pattern. Same goes with some of my spiders too.
The gecko's and T's can also be the same way with super/meal worms and other types of roaches, but will much more consistently do crickets. All of my feeder bugs get pretty much the same food at the same time, so that isn't a likely cause...

Bill

 

[arachnocat]

My T's don't seem to like lats very much but my frogs love them. For some reason my pacmans and whites won't eat dubias unless I hand feed them. They will catch lats themselves though. Maybe because they're faster and more brightly colored than the dubia nymphs.

 

[Xaranx]

When people say lats are fast they mean fast for humans. Not for inverts dedicated to hunting down prey of this type.

 

[arachnocat]

They're about as fast as a cricket, just smarter. Heh