dubia might have eaten plastic?

[darlingi]

While transferring dubia roaches I had their box in a bigger container in which I recently drilled holes, so there were still some plastic bits inside. One escapee made it into said container and crawled over the plastic bits.
I’m now slightly worried the roach may have attempted to eat the plastic? There are no indications it did (and it was in there just for a few seconds, probably stressed) but I now regret throwing her in with the other roaches.

Is it even possible for them to identify things like plastic as food and even ingesting it?
Now theoretically, if this actually happened, would the roach most likely die, simply digest the plastic or would it remain inside her system forever? In a worst case scenario I’m also wondering wether the T eating the roach would even care about the plastic, given the way T’s liquify and suck out their prey? I was thinking it may stay out of the T’s system anyway and just be part of the bolus.
This is all hypothetical of course but maybe somebody with more knowledge about dubia roaches and their metabolism/feeding behavior can give me some peace of mind.

 

[Poonjab]

It’s fine

 

[Dry Desert]

While transferring dubia roaches I had their box in a bigger container in which I recently drilled holes, so there were still some plastic bits inside. One escapee made it into said container and crawled over the plastic bits.
I’m now slightly worried the roach may have attempted to eat the plastic? There are no indications it did (and it was in there just for a few seconds, probably stressed) but I now regret throwing her in with the other roaches.

Is it even possible for them to identify things like plastic as food and even ingesting it?
Now theoretically, if this actually happened, would the roach most likely die, simply digest the plastic or would it remain inside her system forever? In a worst case scenario I’m also wondering wether the T eating the roach would even care about the plastic, given the way T’s liquify and suck out their prey? I was thinking it may stay out of the T’s system anyway and just be part of the bolus.
This is all hypothetical of course but maybe somebody with more knowledge about dubia roaches and their metabolism/feeding behavior can give me some peace of mind.

If your roaches are well fed I'm sure they won't be interested in plastic.
Even if hungry I don't think they would be interested.

 

[viper69]

Eaten plastic? Do not feed them to T

 

[darlingi]

If your roaches are well fed I'm sure they won't be interested in plastic.
Even if hungry I don't think they would be interested.

Well they are a new colony that had just arrived so I’m assuming they were well fed, coming from the breeder. If they did indeed eat it though, do you think it will get out of their system eventually through digestion?

 

[darlingi]

Eaten plastic? Do not feed them to T

Probably not, that’s why I’m trying to figure out how likely that is

 

[The Snark]

During roach 'plaques', extreme over population, they will attempt to eat any organic material. So dial that into probability odds, there is a chance a roach or two found something organic on the plastic and took a few nibbles.

 

[darlingi]

During roach 'plaques', extreme over population, they will attempt to eat any organic material. So dial that into probability odds, there is a chance a roach or two found something organic on the plastic and took a few nibbles.

Luckily it was only one single roach out of 100 that happened to fall into the bin with the plastic bits, and that only for a few seconds. There was no other organic material present, so I hope the chances are slim that anything happened.

I’d feel crazy to throw away 100 roaches because one of them could hypothetically have ingested plastic. So I guess I’ll keep them, give them a few days to digest whatever they have in their guts and hopefully be fine.

 

[The Snark]

It bears mentioning, boric acid is deadly for roaches and is used in countless materials today as part of the manufacturing process. Odds are there is something in everybody's home that involved the stuff somewhere in manufacturing, packaging, or storing. Always good to keep in mind.

Boric Acid Fact Sheet

Boric acid poisoning: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia

Boric acid is a dangerous poison. Poisoning from this chemical can be acute or chronic. Acute boric acid poisoning usually occurs when someone swallows powdered roach-killing products that contain the

medlineplus.gov

 

[viper69]

Probably not, that’s why I’m trying to figure out how likely that is

Is it REALLY worth the risk? The fact it's even a question is beyond me from my point of view. What's worse losing a T, or some stupid feeders?

 

[The Snark]

Been wondering why this sounded faintly familiar. Hup Seng crackers, distributed all over Asia. Supposedly got busted for using plastic as one of the ingredients. Big time controversy. Everything got whitewashed and swept under the rug of course.

Someone Burned Hup Seng Cream Crackers And Claimed That The Biscuits Contained Plastic

Biscuit and crackers manufacturer Hup Seng has rubbished these allegations.

says.com

Harmful Cancer-Causing Chemicals Detected In Hup Seng Cream Crackers, Might Affect Male Fertility

It could affect our kidneys too...

juiceonline.com

Hup Seng Biscuits Safe To Eat In Moderation, No Proof Compounds Cause Cancer: SFA

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) confirmed that Hup Seng biscuits are safe to eat in moderation through a Facebook post.

mustsharenews.com

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

While transferring dubia roaches I had their box in a bigger container in which I recently drilled holes, so there were still some plastic bits inside. One escapee made it into said container and crawled over the plastic bits.
I’m now slightly worried the roach may have attempted to eat the plastic? There are no indications it did (and it was in there just for a few seconds, probably stressed) but I now regret throwing her in with the other roaches.

Is it even possible for them to identify things like plastic as food and even ingesting it?
Now theoretically, if this actually happened, would the roach most likely die, simply digest the plastic or would it remain inside her system forever? In a worst case scenario I’m also wondering wether the T eating the roach would even care about the plastic, given the way T’s liquify and suck out their prey? I was thinking it may stay out of the T’s system anyway and just be part of the bolus.
This is all hypothetical of course but maybe somebody with more knowledge about dubia roaches and their metabolism/feeding behavior can give me some peace of mind.

I find it highly unlikely a dubia roach is going to eat anything, nonetheless plastic, in the few stressful seconds of being transferred from one container to another. When I had dubia roaches, not once did I find that any of them stopped for a snack while I was jostling them around. I say the one exposed to the plastic bits is absolutely fine to feed to tarantulas.

 

[dragonfire1577]

I purchased a hissing cockroach pair from petco years ago and opened the cup to discover this. Thay being said, those roaches lived for years after this.