Giant Cave Roach (Blaberus giganteus)

[satchellwk]

I should be getting in six of these guys tomorrow (courtesy of Bugs in Cyberspace), however, I wanted to get a few of the care facts a bit more concrete, for the internet is full of conflicting, wrong, or localized information. I was wondering if anyone who has successfully kept these guys could tell me the humidity, temprature, foods, substrate, etc. that they trive on. Right now, their 10 gallon terrarium in room temp, has a water bowl for humidity, about an inch and a half of coconut fider, a lot of peices of driftwood and bark oriented vertically for climbing. And, from what I understand, the food is pretty much any fruit or vegetable from your fridge and some type of protein, either meat or dog food, to keep them from eating eachother. Is all of my info correct? Is there anything I can improve on? I want these guys to be more of a pet than a feeder, but once the colony gets substantially larger, I'll feed off a few nymphs every now and then.
Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

I keep them in a five gallon aquarium with a small heat pad on the bottom, plugged in all the time. I have mainly coconut fiber substrate on the bottom. I pour about 1/3 cup of water into the substrate once per week, but it could be more often and they'd be fine. About 1/3 to 1/2 of the lid on the cage is screen. I feed them mainly watermelon rinds, apple and fish food pellets. I have a few pieces of corkbark in with them. I guess you can pretty much see my setup in the video on the ordering page. I do supplement other foods from time to time, but it's random leftovers from various fruits or veggies I cut up.

They do well and six is an okay number to attempt a culture with. The vertical surfaces of the corkbark help their wings to dry properly in the last molt.

Thanks!

 

[satchellwk]

Thanks Peter!
They came in yesterday (thanks for the freebie, by the way) and headed straight for the substrate. I saw two eating this morning, but that's all I've seen of them. They're supposed to be like that until adulthood, right? Also, I'm going to get a heat mat soon and partially cover the lid to help hold in some humidity. So far, I've fed them some dry dogfood, half a strawberry, and some romaine lettuce, and seem to be enjoying it. I've also put in some oak leaves since you state on your site that they thrive on "mixed organic matter" (of course I've frozen them repeatedly before using them). I think I got them set for now, but I would appreciate any other suggestions or input.

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

"Mixed Organic Matter"...did I say that? Sounds really good though

If food is disappearing, roaches are growing. Mine like it fairly dry compared with other roaches. I've had problems with this species in the past when I had them in bins with high humidity. They would remain pale in appearance for too long after a molt and die occasionally. Hey, enjoy and thanks for the review!

 

[Bob]

Hey Peter,
Did you ever get moved ?

Bob in Troutdale

 

[Bugs In Cyberspace]

I'll reply via PM, Bob. Here's another video I did of this species a week or so back:

[YOUTUBE]2giu9bdk-Gk[/YOUTUBE]

 

[1Lord Of Ants1]

Too bad just about all the cool roach species are illegal in Florida!

 

[bugmankeith]

I've had them, I fed mine cat kibble, romaine lettuce, white bread, apples, bananas, cantaloupe, fruit loops ( as a treat), fruit bearded dragon chow (rainbow colored, fruit scented), and cooked meat (plain). I even gave them turkey for Thanksgiving they loved it! My tank was lined with wood chips and they would also munch on those too!

All in all there fav foods were the cat kibble, bananas, white bread, and hamburger meat they demolished and I Never had wing biting or cannibalism in my colony. I misted with water each night before bed, they like to eat in the dark.

 

[satchellwk]

Thanks!
Peter: You're welcome for the review, and i'll keep the mesh top uncovered, and see how they do with some periodic mistings. Also, cool video, can't wait to have some adults running around.
bugmankeith: Thanks for the info. I just removed some fo the uneaten food they had and replaced it with some banana, white bread, and more dogfood, of which, by far, has seemed to be their favorite. Hopefully, based on your observations, they'll like this blend. And, yes, the only time I've seen mine eating has been at night, and I've only seen a maximum of two of them at once. I can't wait until they reach adulthood so I can actually see them on a regular basis.
LordofAnts: That sucks about Florida's laws. It's a shame that the legislature down there doesn't realize that some people can be responsible with their pets.

 

[le-thomas]

LordofAnts: That sucks about Florida's laws. It's a shame that the legislature down there doesn't realize that some people can be responsible with their pets.

The burmese python issue proved that people aren't responsible enough as a whole. It really is sad, but it is for the best. :/

 

[satchellwk]

The burmese python issue proved that people aren't responsible enough as a whole. It really is sad, but it is for the best. :/

Exactly, but I dont think the actions of a few individuals should ruin it for everyone; a much better option would have a been a permit system, in which a permit (possibly costing around 20$) would be required to own certain species. Then, the money made by the government from the permits could go towards removing already introduced species. Much like fishing and hunting licenses work.
And, besides, these new florida laws are directly in opposition to an individual's right to property, effectively throwing the constitution under the bus at the wills of the politicians. But I digress.

Back on topic, My roaches have been very secretive lately; I haven't seen any of them out for about 3 days. They're probably just coming out at night when I'm asleep, but I'm gonna try to dig a few out today, just to make sure they're ok. Does anyone know approximately how long they take to mature?

 

[jebbewocky]

Most of the burmese pythons actually originate from zoo animals freed during a hurricane--there's a thread referencing that in the vert forum.