giant burrowing roach not eating

[lychas]

My pair arnt touching their leaves at the moment. They have a warm end and a cool end and a moist and a dry end. Any idea what could make them go off their food?

 

[IguanaMama]

OK, I see from your prior posts that you are in Australia and they are indeed Rhinos. First thing you have to know is that there are many types of eucalyptus leaves, you have to be careful of which type to feed them. You don't want any highly aromatic ones. Are you sure they aren't just munching at night when you don't see them? Are they nice and fat? Do you have a water source for them? Could be that it's just time for them to molt, in nature I believe they have a cycle, but I'm not sure what happens in captivity, something I'm going to look into....

 

[lychas]

i was thinking i wasnt noticing them eating so i only put 5 leaves in. They are not skinny, i might try other types of gum leaves

 

[lychas]

can they eat other natives such as grevillia, banksia etc?

 

[lychas]

pic of the enclosure, cold end is about 19c hot end about 24c

 

[Matt K]

Not to state the seemingly obvious, but: Have you tried calling Australian Insect Farm, where they raise Rhino roaches (aka Litter Bugs) for a living? They can answer your questions, and may even be able to show you in person. Being in your country and all.....
That would be and has been the first place I would ask any questions about the litter bugs. And no, they are not known to eat grivellia, banksia, etc.
Just a thought or two....

 

[lychas]

will email them, being about 12hrs away to fay to show me in person tho.

 

[ftorres]

HEllo Lychas,

The eucalyptus leaves seems to be too green, they prefer the ones that are completly browm, that is in my own experience.
good luck.

Let us Know what Insect Farms tells you about their care.
regards
F

 

[xelda]

The moist/dry warm/cool idea is good, but I recommend making the substrate A LOT deeper. 1 foot deep, if you can. You should also put in a lot more leaves so the leaves themselves become a layer of substrate. But I agree with Francisco. Don't use those kinds of leaves because they're too green. They need rotten leaf litter--the kinds of leaves that have been on the ground for at least several months. They're also not restricted to Eucalyptus.

 

[lychas]

these were bone dry but sitting on moist soil they have re hydrated

 

[lychas]

so do i use dry leaves or rotting leaves?

 

[ftorres]

HEllo,
Usally the rotten leaves when dry are all brown, those are the ones I use for my Rhinos as well as rotten oak leafmulch.
regards
f

 

[lychas]

all i can really get my hands on are dry leaves from the gums. I'll have a look for rotten stuff 2morrow

 

[roberto]

They take some time to acclimate.

Mine took a couple months before I noticed them eating anything. They burrow and create large tunnel systems and should have substrate to accomodate this behavior. I keep 8 inches of damp sand on one end and oak leaf litter (which is dry) on the other end. Everytime i dug them up and ruined their tunnel systems it seemed to actually set them back into digging mode again. They will eat leaf mold with almost any hardwood leaf. They will also eat the bark off small diameter tree branches. If you can't find dry brown eucalyptus leaves, try the small branches off the trees. Also, I killed a beautiful adult male by feeding it eucalyptus, so I am very wary with the types of leaves that I feed them, as they really don't need eucalyptus to thrive. Only feed them the least aromatic elongated eucalyptus leaves. The aromatic types don't go over to well.

So, my advice is: Moist sand on one end. Leaf mold on the other. Throw in some hardwood dry brown leaves and twigs. And leave them alone. Once you notice them rearranging the "furniture", throw in the occasional treat of dry dog kibble, fish food, banana, and organic lettuce.

 

[lychas]

so pure sand? i dont know where to find leaf mould but was thinking of composting my own.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Avoid deep substrate if they're not adults. In captivity deep substrate often collapses on larger nymphs during molting to cause minor to massive deformities. In the wild the depth is around three feet (width four) which you're not likely to match.