Can I house Halloween hissers and Wide Horn hissers together?

[Bugs and Herps]

I’ve been thinking about doing a planted tank with some hissing cockroaches in it. I’m interested in keeping a 1.1 pair of Gromphadorhina oblongonata (wide horn hissers) and a 1.1 pair of Elliptorhina javanica (halloween hissers). My concern is if it would be ok to house those two pairs together. I do not want to have any hybridization or interbreeding to occur between the two species. I think it would be safe since they are in different genuses but thought I’d see if anyone has any ideas on here?

 

[BoyFromLA]

Keep them separate for their sake.

 

[RoachCoach]

I’ve been thinking about doing a planted tank with some hissing cockroaches in it. I’m interested in keeping a 1.1 pair of Gromphadorhina oblongonata (wide horn hissers) and a 1.1 pair of Elliptorhina javanica (halloween hissers). My concern is if it would be ok to house those two pairs together. I do not want to have any hybridization or interbreeding to occur between the two species. I think it would be safe since they are in different genuses but thought I’d see if anyone has any ideas on here?

They can hybridize
Edit: If you have legit pure Javs and Obs then don't do it.

 

[goliathusdavid]

They can, and will hybridize. Heck, I would not even house them in the same ROOM, as I have known accidental escapes to bring about hybridization. These are both amazing species, and I wish you all the best of luck with them. Just keep them separate!

 

[RoachCoach]

They can, and will hybridize. Heck, I would not even house them in the same ROOM, as I have known accidental escapes to bring about hybridization. These are both amazing species, and I wish you all the best of luck with them. Just keep them separate!

He isn't joking as it may seem. You can put up a thin Vaseline layer near the top. They will continuously degrading the amount until they can climb past the gap. Ok, so you apply a thicker layer. That should stop them. They can climb room temp Vaseline. They are just one of those things you have the be vigilant on to smear and/or reapply the escape proof stuff. Baby powder with Vaseline will last a bit longer but still needs application over time.

 

[DomGom TheFather]

Use oil. A cotton ball with just a few drops of olive or veggie oil run around the inside of the top once every other week keeps them down on smooth plastics. Hasn't failed me yet.

 

[RoachCoach]

Use oil. A cotton ball with just a few drops of olive or veggie oil run around the inside of the top once every other week keeps them down on smooth plastics. Hasn't failed me yet.

Funny enough, I use veg oil to dissolve the petroleum jelly when I wash them.
Edit: Do not use Olive Oil. My grandmother will jump out of her grave and strangle you for that. Veg oil is cheaper and you won't have to deal with raging Italian ghosts.

 

[Matts inverts]

Technically, yess but they will hybridize and mess up tons of blood lines.

 

[Beetles]

I thought Halloween's could only hybridize with mini hissing roaches/other species s of Eliptorhina.

 

[goliathusdavid]

I thought Halloween's could only hybridize with mini hissing roaches.

Unfortunately not. I've seen documented cases of hybridization with Gromphadorhina portentosa and considering that I have no doubt that they could hybridize with Gromphadorhina oblongonota.

 

[Matts inverts]

They can hybridize but I think they only show one of the traits and look very like one of the normal ones. That is why when they were first imported, they could not tell the species like if it was wide horn or normal. There is no good reason to hybridize this species. Please don’t.

 

[Beetles]

They can hybridize but I think they only show one of the traits and look very like one of the normal ones. That is why when they were first imported, they could not tell the species like if it was wide horn or normal. There is no good reason to hybridize this species. Please don’t.

I know normal and widehornes can hybridize I'm talking about the Halloween's and widehorns.

 

[Beetles]

Unfortunately not. I've seen documented cases of hybridization with Gromphadorhina portentosa and considering that I have no doubt that they could hybridize with Gromphadorhina oblongonota.

Thanks for letting me know I thought it was discussed before they couldn't but it's good to know they can.

 

[Matts inverts]

almost all hisser species can hybridize because the genetics are so closely related that hybridization is not an issue

 

[xXTristinaXx]

Wide Horn Hissers get much bigger then the Halloween Hissers, don't for the sake of the Halloween's

 

[Bugs and Herps]

Thanks for all the input! I will keep them separate, I hadn’t considered the size difference too so good point. I plan to use one of the brands of “climb stopper” or whatever they call it to prevent escapes. Last time I kept hissers one lived under a computer for two weeks! Smart to find the warmth I guess.

 

[lionant]

I keep my males and females wide horn hissers separate so they don't mate. I like about 3 of each. Once they are big, then just a wire mess lid is good. I have had some huge males. I keep them with my dessert beetles. I have a moist part of the tank and a dry part. Been using this setup for along time.

 

[goliathusdavid]

I keep my males and females wide horn hissers separate so they don't mate. I like about 3 of each. Once they are big, then just a wire mess lid is good. I have had some huge males. I keep them with my dessert beetles. I have a moist part of the tank and a dry part. Been using this setup for along time.

I have only one question: why? I don't understand why you would cohabitate US desert beetles with a roach species from halfway across the globe. Yes, it CAN be done, but SHOULD it? The answer is in my opinion a clear no.

 

[Bugs and Herps]

Yeah I’ve heard of keeping them with Desert Hairy Scorpions or velvet ants which makes sense because they are both from the Sonoran desert. But the wide horn hissers are not even a desert species... I would think it would be too dry for the hissers and stressful for the beetles to have giant unfamiliar cockroaches in their midst. I wouldn’t be able to keep wide horns in my desert beetle tank even if I wanted too since it has no lid lol.

 

[Matts inverts]

Yes, they need like 60 percent humidity so a desert beetle tank would probably get too humid and would probably kill the beetles