B. Giganteus - Husbandry Tips?

RoachGirlRen

Arachnoangel
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Jul 8, 2007
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I recently purchased two B. Giganteus nymphs at a reptile expo and enjoy them so much that I am considering purchasing more and starting a colony. However, the information I was able to find on them was fairly slim, and I was hoping to get some advice to optimize sucess in raising and breeding. So far, my two babies are in a tall/deep bin with mopani wood for climbing, a log half hide, about 3" coco fiber bedding, and some decaying oak leaves to munch on should they be so inclined. The temp is around 78-80 with ~ 75% humidity at present. They are eating a different type of organic baby food (fruit, veggie, oat, and chicken/turkey based) ever other day, and also get soaked monkey buscuits, fresh fruits and veggies, and a little bit of chicken. Apetite seems to vary; some days they voraciously chow down on what I throw in, other times they completely reject it. They seem active and well hydrated, but this is my first time owning the species and I want to do right by them. So, any tips for breeding and keeping from experienced owners is much appreciated!
 

Bear Foot Inc

Arachnobaron
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Nov 8, 2006
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Careful though... Adult males kill each other! I got about 10 females and 4 males and 2 were killed within a few days!
 

RoachGirlRen

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One of my nymphs molted today into a big, beautiful adult, so they must be doing OK. ^^

Is there any reliable way to sex this species? I would love a male with a "harem" but do not really have any know-how on sexing the species.
 

bugmankeith

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I feed my roaches a variety of food, changing the food every night to ensure it's fresh. I also mist their cage at night after feeding them, after doing so they all wake up and go right to the food.

They will eat:

apples,bananas,romaine lettuce,carrots,peaches,watermelon,grapes,dog or cat kibble (moistened), cooked hamburger meat is a must so they dont lack protein, and they enjoy white bread as a treat.

Mine love bananas,white bread, and cooked hamburger meat.

Climbing spaces are a must, adults dont burrow like nymphs so make sure there is plenty of tall climbing areas. Also, they are needed for molting nymphs.

I have an all female colony so I dont worry about males fighting, but the females actually developed a pecking order on who eats first and if another roach tries to eat first it gets charged by the dominant female and possibly nipped. But none of my roaches have serious injuries and some adults i've had for over a year!

Also be warned! If you hear your roach make a hissing sound, a bad smell will soon follow!

Go by this image for sexing, it will be easy for your roaches since they are so big.
 

RoachGirlRen

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Awesome, thanks so much for the tips and pics to help with sexing! My adult seems to be a female - there's a relief! I still can't get over how beautiful this species is; I've been watching her all day.
 

rosenkrieger

Arachnosquire
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Sep 23, 2007
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Hey Ren. I'm gonna dig up your old thread. I was just curious on if you knew how long they went between molts? I'm pretty sure mine are just a molt or two away from adulthood. Do they molt into adulthood underground then come up to the surface, or they they come up to molt into adulthood if that makes any sense?
 

KyuZo

Arachnoprince
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Jan 3, 2007
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cool, i just got a trio, two female large nymphs and one male nymph. they are very active and they got that prehistoric look to them. very cool roaches. I think that i am going to try to get some more soon.
 

RoachGirlRen

Arachnoangel
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Rosen, not entirely sure how long between molts. I know that mine molted to adulthood within a month of getting them, but they were very close already. I think one occured within the first week and the other took maybe 2 or three weeks. I found both sheds above ground, so I assume they surface at night to do their business. I haven't seen my new nymphs in forever, but I fill the food bowl up and the food vanishes by morning, so I can only assume... heh.
 
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