Feeder Roaches....

[Empi]

Alright, I am sick of breeding crickets. I hate them! Everything about them! The smell, the noise, the fact that everytime they lay eggs they dig them up and eat them. And they are just plain stupid sooo..... I want to breed some roaches. I have had the hissing roaches in the past and liked them alot. And they bread quite nicely but.. I need somthing a smaller. I have some scorps that are pretty small so I would like to have a good range of sizes. It would be cool if the adults were bigger than a cricket but I am going to need smaller ones as well. And I would like a roach that breeds fast and easy. I don't know much about the different kinds, so I would like some suggestions on the species I should get.

 

[Dark Raptor]

I think this is the most common thread on this forum

I would choose Blaptica dubia and Nauphoeta cinerea.

 

[Atrax robustus]

I use (for the smaller arachnids)
Lobsters (Nauphoeta cinerea),
Madereira (Rhypharobia maderae)
and for really small ones
Russian (shelfordella tartara)
AR.

 

[Empi]

I have been looking at lobsters. They seem to have a pretty good size range from nymph to adult. Do they breed good? I was thinking I'll get like 100 of them to start a colony.... Do they need to be heated?

 

[Schlyne]

I don't think lobsters need heat. They will breed like crazy...like you don't know what to do with them you'll have so many.

 

[Joe1968]

I breed B. dubias they are cool and cant climb glass but a few males manage to escape cant figure out how. I think its from the wire from the heat mat, male are skinny and athleatic, the females are just fat and slow.

I kinda like lobsters due to their small size but they can climb glass, but theres an alternative that I'm thinking of breeding.... the B. lateralis and B. orientalis, they both about the same size as lobster and both non glass climbers which is a cool thing about them.

 

[KJE]

I have a colony of B. discoidalis that have been doing very well. I started with about 20 in Feb. and now have over 300. Their temperature stays around 74 to 78 degrees. When you decide on what you want make sure you tell the person you are buying them from to set you up with some adults(if they are willing to do this) and juvies.

I have to say that I hate crickets as well. Plus, now I think I might have an allergy to them. Every time I feed them to my t's I end up wheezing and coughing a little and my eyes burn & itch. I haven't switched over to roaches completely as of yet.

 

[Empi]

I think I'm going to do the lobsters and see how it goes. If all goes well and they don't meet all my needs I'll probly start some other types too.. Thanks!

 

[Schlyne]

I breed B. dubias they are cool and cant climb glass but a few males manage to escape cant figure out how. I think its from the wire from the heat mat, male are skinny and athleatic, the females are just fat and slow.

male B. Dubia can "flutter" up about 4 inches.

 

[Gesticulator]

I plan on buying roaches to start my own "colony" at the westchester expo on sunday. Please do share
-how rapidly they breed
-appropriate container size
-wall climber vs non climbers (have arboreals and terrestrials)
-escapees
Thanks in advance for your posts....

 

[Gesticulator]

I plan on buying roaches to start my own "colony" at the westchester expo on sunday. Please do share
-how rapidly they breed
-appropriate container size
-wall climber vs non climbers (have arboreals and terrestrials)
-escapees
Thanks in advance for your posts....

found this
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?p=516009#post516009

any anectodes would be welcomed, too.

 

[GoTerps]

For a smaller roach, I've begun a colony of Blatta lateralis and highly recommend them. They are similar in size to lobsters, but don't climb smooth surfaces like the lobsters and also may breed even faster, if you can believe that!

 

[Dark Raptor]

Check this page. You will find good information about Nauphoeta cinerea:
http://www.herpshop.com.au/Food.html

 

[Gesticulator]

For a smaller roach, I've begun a colony of Blatta lateralis and highly recommend them. They are similar in size to lobsters, but don't climb smooth surfaces like the lobsters and also may breed even faster, if you can believe that!

and, thanks for the link DarkRaptor

The ones I looked at were lobsters, and discoids...I'm not too keen on having that many roaches around, but it's got to be better than those disgusting crickets. I'll check into Blatta lateralis too.

What do you keep them in, a big rubbermaid plastic container?? I've read that a ten gallon aquarium is not good enough. Do you need a screen across the top?