Baby hissers keeps on dying...??

[Frank]

Hi everyone. I recently got ~15 hissers last week, all of them being 1/4" to 1". Since I got them, I keep on loosing babies. I lost about 7 or 8 now! Only the smaller ones died, the bigger ones are still kicking in heh.. What could be the problem?

I keep them on 1" of peat moss, with a small water dish and a 4" pvc pipe which they only uses by hiding under the pipe, in the substrate. They are in a small glad plastic tank with enough holes and I do keep a moderate humidity in. They are kept in my room, which is always in the 23 to 26C in the day and ~22-23C at night. I fed them letuce which they did seem to like and a carrot which they didn't seem to like that much, or maybe they were just not hungry. The vegetables were carefully washed before they got them.

Oh BTW: 3 of them (which includes one of the two that are 1-1.5") did molt since I got them..


Since they're very hardy roaches, I really don't know what I am doing wrong.. do they need a LOT of ventilation? I only have small holes drilled on the lid for them, which helps keeping humidity by offering low (very low actually) ventilation. Thanks everyone, I really need advices!

 

[Immortal_sin]

I'm no roach expert, but I'd suspect ventilation, since everything else seems fine.
I kept mine (when I had them) in a kritter keeper, lots of ventilation holes...
You might also feed them dry dog food, or something with more protein, lettuce doesn't really provide enough nutrients (even though they seem to love it)!

 

[Frank]

Thanks

I'll add PVC scring on the lid to provide a better ventilation, I'll also add vaseline around the scring to prevent them from accessing it to eat it and escape

I've never liked the idea of giving dog/cat food in a humid environment because it was welcoming mites.. anyways, with an open area for ventilation I'll try it and I'll put the dog food on a plate so it won't be in direct contact with humidity.


Thanks again, Frank

 

[Immortal_sin]

Frank, I always keep the food on a plate, or in a lid (like a waterdish). I also don't use wet food, just dry. It seems to do the trick...

 

[Frank]

Hmmm ok

Thanks for the quick replies! Frank

 

[Mendi]

Frank, here is a link to a very good informative site on Hissers

http://www.hissingcockroach.com/t1.htm

There are a couple of articles on Hisser moms and making sure she has healthy babies and on keeping them healthy once thay are born. Matter of fact, I use most of the information there on any tropical roach with very good results. BTW, they really love the fancy carrot salad too

 

[jaijjs]

Hi everyone. I recently got ~15 hissers last week, all of them being 1/4" to 1". Since I got them, I keep on loosing babies. I lost about 7 or 8 now! Only the smaller ones died, the bigger ones are still kicking in heh.. What could be the problem?

I keep them on 1" of peat moss, with a small water dish and a 4" pvc pipe which they only uses by hiding under the pipe, in the substrate. They are in a small glad plastic tank with enough holes and I do keep a moderate humidity in. They are kept in my room, which is always in the 23 to 26C in the day and ~22-23C at night. I fed them letuce which they did seem to like and a carrot which they didn't seem to like that much, or maybe they were just not hungry. The vegetables were carefully washed before they got them.

Oh BTW: 3 of them (which includes one of the two that are 1-1.5") did molt since I got them..


Since they're very hardy roaches, I really don't know what I am doing wrong.. do they need a LOT of ventilation? I only have small holes drilled on the lid for them, which helps keeping humidity by offering low (very low actually) ventilation. Thanks everyone, I really need advices!

Was the PVC pipe clean or had it been used for something else? The temp seems fine. I always keep mine between 90 to 96 degrees and maybe a 10 degree drop for nights. Do you put floss or paper towels in the water dish? One thing that I've learned over the years with Hissers is that you don't need peat or any other substrate. I have had excellent results feeding the young hissers a cheap brand of tropical fish flakes. It's funny when you hold a small fish flake in front of a hisser and it grabs it away from you. I keep mine in 30 gallon totes with a 12"x12" section cut out and glue plastic screen over the opening.

 

[Frank]

Thanks Mendi, I'll take a deep look at this site today

Was the PVC pipe clean or had it been used for something else? The temp seems fine. I always keep mine between 90 to 96 degrees and maybe a 10 degree drop for nights. Do you put floss or paper towels in the water dish? One thing that I've learned over the years with Hissers is that you don't need peat or any other substrate. I have had excellent results feeding the young hissers a cheap brand of tropical fish flakes. It's funny when you hold a small fish flake in front of a hisser and it grabs it away from you. I keep mine in 30 gallon totes with a 12"x12" section cut out and glue plastic screen over the opening.

The PVC pipe was clean, it hasn't been used before and I did clean it with towels and water and such. When I put it in there were no more petrol vapors coming out of it (at least, no vapor that I could smell). Paper towels in the water dish? Why? I never filled the water dish completly because I didn't want any of them to drown in. The water dish is a bottle cap so it has "plastic lines" that hissers could use to get out of the water dish (as "stairs") if they're too small to reach the edge of it. I didn't feed them dog food or fish flakes yet, I do have both in stock so I'll put a mix of the two together today.

BTW: For news, I did cut a 13cm x 8cm hole in the lid (21cm x 15cm, sorry I don't have a ruler in inches next to me at the moment) and hot glued PVC scring on it, then I added a inch of vaseline around it on the lid and after a night, everything seems to be fine


Thanks all, Frank

 

[jaijjs]

Frank,
I reread your 1st post and see that you are using a small container. The paper towels or aquarium floss do two things. As you mentiond to keep them fron drowning, and to add more serface area to increase the humidity. With 20 to 30 gallon totes that I use. I put a quart chick watering container with paper towels. In time when your population explodes you'll want to use one of the totes. When you start out with a small group. you'll hardly notice them eating much food. Lastly, with regards to substrate. I don't use any. It just makes it harder to sift the young one out. I clean out the tote every two weeks with some wet paper towels and or a wisk broom and dustpan.

 

[Frank]

Frank,
I reread your 1st post and see that you are using a small container. The paper towels or aquarium floss do two things. As you mentiond to keep them fron drowning, and to add more serface area to increase the humidity. With 20 to 30 gallon totes that I use. I put a quart chick watering container with paper towels. In time when your population explodes you'll want to use one of the totes. When you start out with a small group. you'll hardly notice them eating much food. Lastly, with regards to substrate. I don't use any. It just makes it harder to sift the young one out. I clean out the tote every two weeks with some wet paper towels and or a wisk broom and dustpan.

I currently have 9 or 10 hissers, most of them being under an inch. This is why I'm using a small container for now.. What is a "chick watering container"? What are "totes"?

Do you use calcium powder (or dried milk) with your hissers? It says to add some to the hisser's food but isn't already calcium in dried dog food? I also rarely saw people adding calcium for their hissers.


Thanks, Frank

 

[Code Monkey]

Insects do not need additional calcium to what any vertebrate suitable food would contain. Calcium plays virtually no structural role in insects, it's main physiological roles are as a neurotransmitter in limited number of synapse types and as a cofactor with enzymes. Dog food, etc. are designed with animals that have bones, plenty of calcium.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Hi Frank,
Maybe it is more dry than you think. Newborn nymphs dry up very easily but in a few molts they are able to survive excessive dryness. Since you are just losing the tiny ones it is a good chance that's your problem.

 

[Frank]

Hi Frank,
Maybe it is more dry than you think. Newborn nymphs dry up very easily but in a few molts they are able to survive excessive dryness. Since you are just losing the tiny ones it is a good chance that's your problem.

Ok, looks like it'll rain in 5 minutes in the hissers' container

EDIT: Actually, it is drying a lot faster since the lid is opened at 60%. I'll spray continously to wet down peat moss, instead of just wetting the top layer.


Thanks everyone, Frank

 

[Michael Jacobi]

What is a "chick watering container"? What are "totes"?

Here is an image of a chick waterer. They can be good for crickets and roaches if you can keep them clean, put them in the enclosure away from food and bedding and check them a couple times of day, but I have found that they make more mess than they are worth.

A "tote" is a Rubbermaid storage container or similar tub. I make sure I buy opaque "rubbery" ones (instead of the clear more brittle containers) and choose tubs that are taller than a square egg carton stood vertically (Note: get your egg cartons at eggcartons.com).

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

I keep one corner of the tank wet (opposite side from the food), but there's always a catch. The cage should have a full screen or close to full screen lid or the larger ones which don't mind dryness will have a hard time breathing. If you decide to use a critter cage line the lid with screen because newborn hissers can walk right out the vents.
Good luck!
Soon you'll be ready for the tiger hissers, v-horn hissers or dwarf hissers '-)

 

[jaijjs]

I think the suggestion on misting them makes a lot of sense. I would just get the peat damp enough so that when you squeeze it no water will run off. To find the chick waterers. I would check the yellow pages for a"farm and garden" store. Another thing good about the F & G stores is you'll be able to purchase cheap hisser food. They sell the unmedicated chick mash [NOT CRACKED CORN]. I've always used a bit of powdered milk when I grind up equal parts of dry cat and dog food. I also grind in chick mash and tropical fish flakes.

 

[Frank]

I'll try different methods to keep humidity high while having a good ventilation and I'll give them dog food. I'll try this for a week hoping that everything will be fine and that I won't find any hissers dead again.

Thanks everyone for the help! Frank

 

[Frank]

Hi again everyone!

I didn't lose one more hisser yet and I have another question. I gave them dried dog food that has been put to powder but this morning I saw that they moved some bigger parts in the substrate, which is wet peat moss.

I really, really don't want any mite infestation with my hissers and I know that wet dried dog food will "create" mites so I wanted to know what do you do with dog food so it doesn't touch water at all?

I think I'll just have to remove the substrate and work out a way to still give high humidity in the container (I already have some ideas) without giving hissers a chance to reach this water.


Thanks again, Frank

 

[jaijjs]

Frank,
If you use substrate or not, I would recomend that you put the food on a small plastic lid or a dish of some sort. I would put a flat dish of water into the tote or container with aquarium floss or paper towels to keep the little ones from drowning. It will be much easier to care for them when they get bigger and you set up a tote. I heat them from the bottom with a old heating pad. It helps to increase the humidity too. I've read both pros and cons with regard to substrate. I've chose not to bother with it as it can become a real pain.

 

[Frank]

The dog food was in a small dish and they managed to get parts out of it.. they're little beasts

Yeah, I forgot that I could use a heat pad to heat and create humidity, as for now I thought about puting a small light bulb over a big container with water and a scring on top of it so that hissers won't go in and drown. I'll replace the light bulb by a heat pad on side, it should do the job.


Thanks again, Frank