Blaptica Dubia

[fishwithoutabik]

My thoughts exactly.

Although.... If you have many arboreal tarantulas, the tendency to climb might actually be a good thing. I'm actually thinking of starting up a lobster colony to compare my experience to that of using Blatta lateralis. I already verified experimentally that I like lateralis much better than dubia.

ok, wait, I just checked out your post on the other roach thread here..
are lateralis nonclimbing and fast? Do they stink? how do you catch them?

 

[gvfarns]

ok, wait, I just checked out your post on the other roach thread here..
are lateralis nonclimbing and fast? Do they stink? how do you catch them?

Yes. Lateralis are nonclimbing, fast, and don't smell. The dubia frass irritates my nose and eyes for some reason.

Anyway to catch them you just grab them. They like crickets except somehow they are better at crawling out of your hand. They are about as easy to catch as crickets or a bit harder. They are faster but then they don't jump, so it's a toss up.

In the right temps they reproduce like crazy. But in cool weather they don't at all. And they mature really really fast.

I recommend them.

On the downside, they are not real meaty.

 

[gvfarns]

Oh and they are butt ugly. They look kinda like the nasty pest roaches you see some times. Long antennae and legs and stuff.

 

[fishwithoutabik]

are they the ones that are like redish and shiny? I think I got one in a shipment with a black widow once. it was pretty yucky, but they can't be as bad as the lobsters if they cant climb. I can do what I do with the little dubia... just grab in the midst of them with the tweezers. or scoop them up with a cup. yum.

 

[gvfarns]

are they the ones that are like redish and shiny? I think I got one in a shipment with a black widow once. it was pretty yucky, but they can't be as bad as the lobsters if they cant climb. I can do what I do with the little dubia... just grab in the midst of them with the tweezers. or scoop them up with a cup. yum.

Yup. Red and shiny. The males are tan and have wings. I don't think they are as bad as lobsters (though I haven't had lobsters). You can definitely scoup them with a cup. I never tried tweezers. I kinda think I wouldn't be able to get any but maybe I'm wrong.

Good luck with them if you do decide to go with them.

 

[jeepinwu2]

I found one Lateralis in my lobster colony. Guess it got mixed in somehow. It was soo fast. I think they would be a good alternative to lobsters except if you drop one good luck catching it. I like the lobsters cause they're pretty much maintenance free, no temp requirement and they breed like crazy.
I've actually had to freeze some of mine off / give some away.
Their climbing ability isn't that bad vaseline keeps them contained.
Anyone want some free ones PM me, just pay shipping.

 

[gvfarns]

Hey while people are talking about roaches, is it true that you can hydrate your lobsters with an open water dish? Seems like I was reading somewhere that you don't have to worry about them falling in as much because they can hold on to smooth surfaces.

My lateralis were amazing at finding and drowning in any source of water they could find. Actually I found it rather annoying that the lateralis couldn't climb into food dishes unless they had a rough texture either. Rough textured dishes are hard to clean.

And throwing a lateralis in a T enclosure you have to watch it or it runs directly into the water dish and immediately dies. They are worse than crickets for that in my experience.

 

[fishwithoutabik]

And throwing a lateralis in a T enclosure you have to watch it or it runs directly into the water dish and immediately dies. They are worse than crickets for that in my experience.

LMFAO! thats hilarious. I was told by the guy I got my lobsters from that they cannot have an open water source. Maybe it would be do-able if it was quite shallow, I don't know. The babies are so teensy I can see how they might all drown.

 

[jeepinwu2]

I use a large deli cup lid and a folded up paper towel for my lobster's water dish. I tried a open dish once and did have some drown.

 

[mcliff1]

I think you will be disappointed if you switch to them. Good roaches from a tarantula acceptance point of view are the same ones that are scary because they can crawl up your arm really fast or wriggle out of your fingers. Specifically, Blatta lateralis and lobsters.

I think I'll take a shot at the B. Discoidalis anyways. I just am not ready for the more "Roach-like" roaches yet! I'll try the slighty more skitiish one's first....

 

[gvfarns]

I think I'll take a shot at the B. Discoidalis anyways. I just am not ready for the more "Roach-like" roaches yet! I'll try the slighty more skitiish one's first....

Please report back after you have had them a month or so. I'll be very interested in whether your T's like them, how they smell, how easy they are to deal with, etc.

If you don't start a thread, I'd appreciate it if you PM'd me and let me know what your experience was.

Good luck.

 

[mcliff1]

Please report back after you have had them a month or so. I'll be very interested in whether your T's like them, how they smell, how easy they are to deal with, etc.

If you don't start a thread, I'd appreciate it if you PM'd me and let me know what your experience was.

Good luck.

No problem!