Discoid roach behavior conditioning

[UltimateDracoMeteor]

I ended up accidentally purchasing a discoid roach as a pet and have been working on reconditioning her behavior. She started out very skittish and tried to run very fast and escape whenever held, sometimes even trying to fly down off of my arm, but after a week of steady daily interaction and handling, she has made much progress. She is much slower and more curious rather than scared when held. Perhaps I'm misinterpreting her behavior, but she seems to be much more friendly! If you have a skittish roach, don't give up on handling and interacting with it. The results are very rewarding; I think roaches might be my new favorite bugs in the hobby!

 

[Hisserdude]

Yeah, skittish roaches can become accustomed to handling and often act more calm when held frequently. I used to have a really feisty male Elliptorhina javanica, who would hiss like crazy whenever he was held, touched, or even breathed on. However, after a few weeks of frequent handling, he really calmed down and became more docile. In fact it got to the point where it was hard to make him hiss!

Thanks for sharing your experience, and glad your new pet is acclimating to your care so well!

 

[Tenodera]

Very nice work, habituating them takes patience and sensitivity, but it's so cool watching them boldly explore once they're not afraid of you!

 

[Introvertebrate]

That skittishness is why discoids are sometime suggested over dubia as feeders. Discoids don't play dead. They run around like raving idiots.

 

[Pipa]

and discoids are so cute and charming .. I had 1000s of them before .. I was going to use as feeders ... just never could do it , hahahahaha..