care of lobster roaches

[hurley0816]

i already know that they are suppose to be easy to care for, but i was curious if and what they need for a water source and if they need any certain structure or substrate to breed? any advice will be appreciated.

 

[Immortal_sin]

I keep mine in a ten gallon aquarium. I have a very thin layer of peat moss as substrate, but it's really not needed. I have piled up layers of egg carton for them. I mist the sides of the aquarium every couple of days, and also keep a very wide shallow water bowl for them. I had a couple of heat mats on them, but they were breeding so fast, I turned it off. LOL.
You can control the breeding by the heating, IME.
I feed them all kinds of things: apples, lettuce, cricket food, dog food, tortoise food (they LOVE it), carrots, etc.
I wait till they finish one thing then put in some more. The only drawback is their glass climbing abilities.

 

[hurley0816]

so the misting and water in the foods are the only water sources needed then?

 

[TheNothing]

...and also keep a very wide shallow water bowl for them.

i use a small animal dish that has the resivour on it so i only have to fill it up once a week... works well...
i spred some veggie oil on the side with a paper towel and my lobsters don't climb much any more

http://www.blaberus.com/documents/Roach Care sheet.pdf

 

[hurley0816]

thanx for the info. lol i didnt even see

very wide shallow water bowl for them

the first time i read it

 

[surena]

thanx for the info. lol i didnt even see the first time i read it

I use a top from a plastic deli cup and put "water crystals" . It is inexpensive, very shallow and it works

 

[Scythemantis]

"Easy to care for" isn't the half of it.

These roaches will survive and breed with absolutely no attention paid to them EVER. Set them up with soil and hiding places, leave for six years, and you will come back to a tank full of healthy, happy little animals. I only feed them because they seem to really enjoy diverse new treats.

 

[hurley0816]

doesnt the food make them more nutritous also? and what you are saying is ill have no problems. I like that. im getting 50 next week, do u think that is enough to start with?

 

[Scythemantis]

My colony descended from just one. Oddly, they have never outgrown the same ten-gallon tank (and they're pets, so they're not getting fed off or anything)...their numbers just remain consistent.

But yes, you can't possibly go wrong with them.

 

[Dark Raptor]

Scythemantis is right. I started from 20 immature specimens. Now I have thousands of them. They breed like hell.

I give them only apples and dry cat food. And I think that's enough for them.

Pictures of my colony you can find here (taken 2-3 months after start):
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=39260

...I also added some egg cartons as hideouts for roaches.

 

[jojobear]

They say that the Rose hair is a beginer T and the Emperor is a beginer scorpion so I guess I would have to say the Lobster is the beginer roach. I started with about 20 (adults) of them less than a year ago and now there are thousands. I have never had a roach that reproduced with so little in the way of food or water. I took 1 adult and 5 or 6 nymphs in to show my students one day with a little piece of romaine lettuce in the deli cup. After show and tell I put them aside and to make a long story short they were forgotten for over a month. When I found them again, still in the deli cup, the population was 20-30. It seems the adult had been a female, the thing that amazed me was there was no food in that container for over a month and I still had healthy roaches.

So yes they are easy to care for. I have found the more I pamper them (feed them) the better they reproduce. I have mine in a rubbermaid bin no substrate just eggcrates. I use the water crystals for water, my own roach chow and 2 times a week they get some fresh fruit and veggies (carrot, banana, sweet potato, apple, romaine). There is nothing cooler than to put a whole peeled banana in a large roach colony and watch them swarm all over it and the banana literally disappears in a matter of minutes, its like something you would see in an old horror flick (Attack of the Lobster Roaches).

 

[hurley0816]

thanx everyone and great stories on how hardy they are.

 

[hurley0816]

jojo, what is in your chow? if you dont mind me asking and is there anything i shoulnt feed them?

 

[Scolopendra55]

I know their not a pest species but if some got out would they reproduce and cause a problem? Also, how affective are barriers such as potroleum jelly and do they actually prevent escapes or just minimise them? Im not worried about an infestation I'm just trying to convince my parents that a roach colony would be good considering how many things I have to feed (we also spend at least a hundred dollars on crickets each year so I thought if I got a colony started we would not need to buy crickets anymore).

 

[Dom]

Also, how affective are barriers such as potroleum jelly and do they actually prevent escapes or just minimise them? Im not worried about an infestation I'm just trying to convince my parents that a roach colony would be good considering how many things I have to feed (we also spend at least a hundred dollars on crickets each year so I thought if I got a colony started we would not need to buy crickets anymore).

I would recommend B. lateralis. They don't climb and apparently breed almost as fast as lobsters. With lobsters not only does your colony need to be secure but also all of your herp/invert cages. Right now I'm raising a couple of species of roaches and crickets. The roaches are WAY more enjoyable to work with. I've yet to have a roach escape but I have had plenty of crickets escaping at feeding time.
Let your parents read some threads discussing the benefits of roaches over other insects. I think there is a pretty strong consensus that they are the easiest/ best feeder to work with.