So I bought 4 Madagasgar Hissing Cockroaches (G. Portentosa) 2M, 2F. I was hoping they might make babies and I could hold off on buying Tarantula food for a while. Months went by with no success whatsoever. I was finally pissed to the point, I was planning to buy some other roaches as feeders and just keep these as pets. Well this morning I wake up to about 20-30 little buggies running around their critter keeper (some on the outside too lol). I caught them all, taped up the holes and now I'm getting ready to figure out what to do for long term. I love my little babies and I hope my other female gives birth. I don't even think I'm going to use this batch as food I'm so proud. Yay for baby roaches! Any suggestions what I can keep these roaches in? They were in a shoebox but the small holes made it smell. Now the critter keeper's holes are too big. Will the babies eat the same things as the adults (my adults have been eating cookies for the last like month, they eat whatever I was eating at the time), or should I get them something else?
Babies!!
- Thread starter Andrew273
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I don't know if there is any nutritional value in the cookies that you were feeding them, but it is better to feed them something that is more nutritional.
I feed mine apple, carrot, lettuce, dog food, and rolled oat.
I feed mine apple, carrot, lettuce, dog food, and rolled oat.
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Good thing I have dogs too. There probably wasn't any nutritional value but it kept them alive and got me babies. When they weren't making babies they kinda became the back shelf pets and didn't get much attention. Now I'm going to basically serve these things so I get more babies. It's so hard figuring out a good container to keep them in...
I was thinking about getting hissers, but I got B. dubia instead. I e-mailed my professor about them and this was part of his responce:
"To keep the offspring in the cage you can use Vaseline to line the top of the cage. The roaches do not like to walk through it. You will have to renew it about once a month. In addition, I would suggest a cover made of an aquarium cover. If the cover has even moderate sized openings you might want to cover the entire aquarium opening with a cover of panty hose. The roaches wont eat the pantyhose and the quite small roaches cant get through the openings." - Dr. Belt
"To keep the offspring in the cage you can use Vaseline to line the top of the cage. The roaches do not like to walk through it. You will have to renew it about once a month. In addition, I would suggest a cover made of an aquarium cover. If the cover has even moderate sized openings you might want to cover the entire aquarium opening with a cover of panty hose. The roaches wont eat the pantyhose and the quite small roaches cant get through the openings." - Dr. Belt
Wow the pantyhose is a good idea. I'll ask my friend for one, I don't want to buy it and get the awkward stare lol. For now I put the adults back in the shoebox and the babies are in a deli dish with holes poked in the top. And yes I have been eating cookies for the past month. These guys have eaten everything from cookies to part of a chicken sandwich. Now they are getting romaine so I get some more healthy babies out of them (Oh I think my other girl might be pregnant!).
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wow... pantyholes and cookies. this thread is definitely getting interesting. jk :}
anyway, the nutrition thing helps your roaches live a little longer.
anyway, the nutrition thing helps your roaches live a little longer.
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I was thinking about the same thing when I was reading the first post.PS-
You've been eating cookies for the past month?! lol
and i know that i am not your parents, but you should feed your body with better things.
cookies might be good, but they are not good for you.
sorry, it just a suggestion.
I hope you get more babies coming soon.
*maybe when you put the pantyholes over the tank, it might heat things up*
lol, again, jk
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The pantyhose is really a good idea. I've probably lost 3/4 of my baby Hissers due to them crawling up and through the thin crack between the top and where it slides on. So be a man and buy some pantyhose!, haha.
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Vaseline is best for keeping climbing roaches in a tank -- but you have to have a smooth-surfaced tank for it to work (my non-climber species go right through it on the corner sealant in a glass tank).
If you don't want to feel awkward buying pantyhose, I've kept my hissers from escaping a KK by just keeping a paper towel between tank and lid.
Congrats on babies! Sorry you had to find out the hard way that these are a slow-growing species.
If you don't want to feel awkward buying pantyhose, I've kept my hissers from escaping a KK by just keeping a paper towel between tank and lid.
Congrats on babies! Sorry you had to find out the hard way that these are a slow-growing species.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I didn't just eat cookies by the way! It was just what was in my room and they seemed to like lol. They eat good now, fresh veggies and fruits! I don't mind them being slow growers, I think they are cute like this.
I originally kept them in a 10 gallon tank with a slide-on screen top (came together from PetCo). and about 2 inches of vaseline thinly smeared around the inner top. Ihave only had to re-smear some vaseline about every 8 months.
You can also do the samething with a plastic tub with a tight fitting lid. Cut out part of the center ofthe lid (or several large holes in it) and hot-glue some aluminum window screen over the holes. I have several hundred kept in this way and no escapees.
You can also do the samething with a plastic tub with a tight fitting lid. Cut out part of the center ofthe lid (or several large holes in it) and hot-glue some aluminum window screen over the holes. I have several hundred kept in this way and no escapees.
The 4 adults are back in the plastic shoebox. Hopefully the holes are small enough that if my one girl gives birth they won't escape. I love my hissers, I plan to seperate the males from the females after another brood or two so I won't end up using them as feeders.