Best pet roaches?

[Shogun]

I enjoy my dubia as much as I enjoy my T's.

So I am looking at getting another colony going. Something that isnt super hard to care for, or that needs conditions that would harbor mites or anything. Something that could be kept dry with no substrate would be IDEAL. However, if its a really cool roach, i can make exceptions.

Thanks for any info

 

[arachnocat]

Peppered roaches are my current favorite. They take a long time to reach adulthood and need some burrowing substrate, but they are awesome. Easy to care for too.

Hissers are a good choice and don't need substrate. The tigers and black morphs are cool.

There's always dubias too. Don't need substrate, just some egg cartons. I don't even give mine water, just some fresh fruits and veggies once a week with their dry food and my colony is thriving.

 

[Rochelle]

Gramphadorhina portentosa (hissers) fit your description perfectly! They do not require substrate; but can climb glass very well. I suggest that you contact James Tuttle at blaberus.com for liquid teflon when raising these types of roaches. It's much more convenient than vaseoline or oil.
We raise hissers for quantity and record sizes..... water should always be available for breeders; if that's what you are after. One of the hisser colonies can be viewed in my picture thread, if you're curious.

 

[radicaldementia]

I have a colony of hissers. I started with 11 adults about 8 months ago, and it turned out 9 of them were female and they all had babies so now I've got like 300 of them. I keep them in a sweater box with egg crates and no substrate. I feed them cat food, carrots, and water crystals....exactly the same as I keep my dubias. I actually use the nymphs as feeders sometimes and my inverts take them with no complaints.

They are really neat, they're big and they hiss a lot, I handle them frequently to show off to friends. But be warned they are very feisty and will really put up a fight when you try to pick them up. Once you get them in your hand though they calm down pretty quick. The males are aggressive and constantly fight over territory. Also they easily climb smooth surfaces (and believe me they will) so vaseline or bug-stop is a must.

 

[Shogun]

Thanks for all the opinions. Portentosa does sound the way to go!

Do you guys get alot of escapes? I live with my mom, and shes fine with the roaches as long as she never sees one

 

[Matt K]

All your answers and new ideas can be found here:

www.roachforum.com

As for barriers, I hate liquid teflon- its a huge pain in the butt. Vaseline works great and you only reapply it every 6 to 12 months.

 

[radicaldementia]

Thanks for all the opinions. Portentosa does sound the way to go!

Do you guys get alot of escapes? I live with my mom, and shes fine with the roaches as long as she never sees one

Their sweater box has a locking lid which definitely keeps the adults and sub-adults from escaping. However when the first batches of babies arrived, I had not yet bothered with applying any vaseline, and the little babies were easily able to slip through the small holes near the handles. I didn't notice until the weather started getting warmer, then all hell broke loose. For about a week I had babies all over my room, I'd say close to 60 escaped (that I know of) and I was finding them everywhere. I quickly wised up and coated the top 3 inches with vaseline, and now there are no escapes at all.

So if you get hissers, don't forget the vaseline!!!

 

[Shogun]

So if you get hissers, don't forget the vaseline!!!

I will keep that in mind! Thanks for all the help.

 

[Villosa]

If you want something cool definately go with B. craniifer. A little more expensive but well worth the price. Very black, very beautiful...and easy too!
Non-climber, not aggressive, not skittish. <---good stuff!

 

[Shogun]

If you want something cool definately go with B. craniifer. A little more expensive but well worth the price. Very black, very beautiful...and easy too!
Non-climber, not aggressive, not skittish. <---good stuff!

If you tell me they can be kept dry, youve convinced me

 

[Villosa]

Yes, BUT they need plenty of veggies then and also a watering dish.

 

[Shogun]

That is fine, I give my dubias water crystals and fresh fruit and veggies daily.
I dont know why I enjoy spoiling roaches so much

 

[Shogun]

Since craniifer are so expensive..how many should I buy to ensure I can have an ongoing colony?

 

[Matt K]

B. craniifer are not expensive at all- not sure who got that wierd idea. They are the same price as hissers (or there abouts).

For any roach I would consider 10 or more a good place to start number wise.

 

[dtknow]

A. tesselata thirded.

May I also reccomend Blaberus giganteus? Not as good for handling as they are more skittish but impressive!

 

[The Emperor]

Where can I buy some B. craniifer?

I would really like to know.

 

[Villosa]

B. craniifer can be purchased from Peter at bugsincyberspace.com, James at blaberus.com, and Dave Grimm (I think). Either way, all 3 of those people are my main sources for awesome roaches. I'll have some in a few months too.

 

[Warren Bautista]

Y

you can also get craniifer at nyworms.com or mulberryfarms.com

 

[Senses-Tingling]

If you want a roach that naturally draws your eyes to them, I would recommend -
A. tesselata
T. petiveriana
T. grandjeani
B. giganteus
B. craniifer

Those are the ones that I can't wait to take the lid off their cage to see them, when it comes time for feeding or maintenance.
The first four are relatively slower growers and breeders. But their appearance more than makes up for that. But - you may want to start out with a more commonly-kept species first. Craniifers are a perfect stepping stone from commonly-kept species to rarer species.