Communal cockroaches

[JumpingSpiderLady]

We will soon be ordering some Therea olegrandjeani for my daughter, so my husband and I decided we should get something for ourselves too. She's going to want to keep hers in her own enclosure, but I thought it would make sense for mine and his to share. He wants Gromphadorhina grandidieri or something similar. I'd like Therea regularis. Would that work?

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

It really depends on the species. I don't have much experience in cockroaches, but certain species can be very friendly toward each other and you could get hybrids, or they will harshly compete for food until only one or two remain standing (and everything in between). Not sure about your roach species, but I wouldn't risk hybrids or food competition. Btw, your daughter wants roaches? That is awesome that she can see them in a better light!

 

[JumpingSpiderLady]

It really depends on the species. I don't have much experience in cockroaches, but certain species can be very friendly toward each other and you could get hybrids, or they will harshly compete for food until only one or two remain standing (and everything in between). Not sure about your roach species, but I wouldn't risk hybrids or food competition. Btw, your daughter wants roaches? That is awesome that she can see them in a better light!

I didn't think about food competition at all! That's an excellent point. It won't be that big a deal to keep them separate. Thank you for your insight.
Yeah! She's a cool kid! She's wanted to catch pest roaches to keep and we had to explain why those aren't okay.

 

[WeightedAbyss75]

I didn't think about food competition at all! That's an excellent point. It won't be that big a deal to keep them separate. Thank you for your insight.
Yeah! She's a cool kid! She's wanted to catch pest roaches to keep and we had to explain why those aren't okay.

Lol! Love seeing people (especially girls) get into this hobby Alo, never heard of those species of roach. You should take pics when you get them

 

[jaredc]

They should be fine housed together, especially if there are only two individuals (which is what it sounds like?) If you wanted to start colonies then there would be competition for food. I think the only thing is grandidieri like it a little more moist. They both love dried leaves, though.

 

[Hisserdude]

We will soon be ordering some Therea olegrandjeani for my daughter, so my husband and I decided we should get something for ourselves too. She's going to want to keep hers in her own enclosure, but I thought it would make sense for mine and his to share. He wants Gromphadorhina grandidieri or something similar. I'd like Therea regularis. Would that work?

Nice to see more people joining the hobby, glad your daughter and you have taken an interest in roaches!

Gromphadorhina generally like drier conditions than Therea, though a moist enclosure wouldn't kill them. G.grandidieri could do well with the T.olegrandjeani, so long as the cage had good ventilation.

Most species of roach in the hobby have slightly different care needs than each other, and some can be relatively aggressive towards each other. You also have to consider the fact that some species may out-compete other species for food and breeding areas, so one species could end up eliminating the other. That's why generally, I advise against keeping different species in with each other.

Please don't keep any of the Therea species together, they could create hybrids which would not be good. Same goes for any other cockroach genus, never keep two species of the same genus together, like Gromphadorhina portentosa and G.grandidieri for example.

 

[JumpingSpiderLady]

Thanks! Can't say we're exactly joining the hobby though, as we've kept hissers in the past. Still have one five year old grump, Leonard. Good to know about thier different care needs. I'll have to look each species further to make sure we give them the best care we can.
Don't know why I thought, "Oh roaches. Easy. Just make sure they have food and water." I should know by now that different species of things have different needs.
Oh well! No harm done.

 

[JumpingSpiderLady]

@Hisserdude whats the best site for care information?

 

[Stugy]

We will soon be ordering some Therea olegrandjeani for my daughter, so my husband and I decided we should get something for ourselves too. She's going to want to keep hers in her own enclosure, but I thought it would make sense for mine and his to share. He wants Gromphadorhina grandidieri or something similar. I'd like Therea regularis. Would that work?

Wow I wish my parents were as lax about me keeping my arachnids! My parents are limiting me so much and I've been asking for some money for my birthday because I really have no interest in other things anyways. Only 1 scorpion in my collection was purchased and my other 2 exotics were from a trade. It seems to me that my parents very hesitantly go into my room now though I pretty much own native US species lol.

 

[JumpingSpiderLady]

Wow I wish my parents were as lax about me keeping my arachnids! My parents are limiting me so much and I've been asking for some money for my birthday because I really have no interest in other things anyways. Only 1 scorpion in my collection was purchased and my other 2 exotics were from a trade. It seems to me that my parents very hesitantly go into my room now though I pretty much own native US species lol.

When I lived with my mom and dad there was no way I'd get even that much! I had a dog though, so it's all good.

 

[Stugy]

When I lived with my mom and dad there was no way I'd get even that much! I had a dog though, so it's all good.

I got a dog too. But mostly bugs!!

 

[Hisserdude]

@Hisserdude whats the best site for care information?

Roachcrossing.com has great, in depth information about the care needs of all the roaches he sells, though by far the best source of roach information on the web lies in the many posts at the Allpet Roaches Forum.

 

[Hisserdude]

Thanks! Can't say we're exactly joining the hobby though, as we've kept hissers in the past. Still have one five year old grump, Leonard. Good to know about thier different care needs. I'll have to look each species further to make sure we give them the best care we can.
Don't know why I thought, "Oh roaches. Easy. Just make sure they have food and water." I should know by now that different species of things have different needs.
Oh well! No harm done.

Wow, five years? That's a decent lifespan for a hisser, hope he continues to do well for you.

Yeah, lots of roaches have little specific care needs that are different from each other, Therea included.

You have to make sure they have a layer of dead, rotten leaves on top of the substrate for them to eat, or else they will slowly starve, and they like the top layer of their substrate to be dry, with the bottom layer moist.

 

[Nanchantress]

Roachcrossing.com has great, in depth information about the care needs of all the roaches he sells, though by far the best source of roach information on the web lies in the many posts at the Allpet Roaches Forum.

I second this! Also bugsincyberspace.com is good. My absolute favorite roach is Archimandrita tesselata because the adults are large, the nymphs and subadults are so cool looking, they are long-lived (for roaches), and they don't climb glass. Can't go wrong with them. I started with hissers (the gateway roach - LOL) but A. tesselata quickly became my favorite.

 

[JumpingSpiderLady]

You have to make sure they have a layer of dead, rotten leaves on top of the substrate for them to eat, or else they will slowly starve, and they like the top layer of their substrate to be dry, with the bottom layer moist.

Can I just use any old leaves from my woods? We don't use pesticides.

Leonard's brother, Sheldon, died a little over a year ago. My husband touches Leonard every day to check if he's still alive. I think I half be live he's immortal at this point. Though he doesn't move much anymore.

 

[Hisserdude]

Can I just use any old leaves from my woods? We don't use pesticides.

Leonard's brother, Sheldon, died a little over a year ago. My husband touches Leonard every day to check if he's still alive. I think I half be live he's immortal at this point. Though he doesn't move much anymore.

Yup, any old leaves should be fine, so long as they don't come from a tree with harmful oils, like eucalyptus, for example.

Yeah, they really slow down as they get older, their antennas also get shorter and they lose all their tarsi too. That's just life I suppose.

 

[JumpingSpiderLady]

Yup, any old leaves should be fine, so long as they don't come from a tree with harmful oils, like eucalyptus, for example.

We have a lot of maple trees. An oak or two. Lots of pawpaws too, but they have a pretty strong smell, so I'll just avoid them.

 

[Hisserdude]

We have a lot of maple trees. An oak or two. Lots of pawpaws too, but they have a pretty strong smell, so I'll just avoid them.

Maple and oak leaves should work great for them!

 

[nepenthe]

I've not heard of Therea hybridizing but I wouldn't keep anything from the same genus together just in case.

 

[Hisserdude]

I've not heard of Therea hybridizing but I wouldn't keep anything from the same genus together just in case.

To my knowledge it hasn't been done yet, but it's certainly possible, so it's better to be safe than sorry.