Giant Islander Roach Questions

[sgrxs]

Hello, I recently got two cockroaches labeled "Giant Islander Roaches" from my local petco who were being kept in subpar conditions. First of all, they look a lot like hissing roaches to me and seeing as I have never heard of "Giant Islander Roaches" I want to assume that they are either hissers that were mislabeled, or they are hybrids of some sort. They were being kept in a very small plastic bin with no water or humidity and no food. I also highly doubt that the store separated them by sex so for all I know they could be mating soon (I have a bigger enclosure in case this happens). When I first put them in my enclosure they both immediately slurped up a ton of water, so I think they were severely dehydrated. However, they have not touched the food I put in there for them. This is now the second day I've had them and I haven't seen them do anything except crawl over it. I gave them a variety to choose from just to see what works best (carrots, lettuce, apple, dog food) and nothing is catching their interest. Do you guys think this is because they're still getting used to the enclosure and will eventually settle down and eat? Or do you think that they're sick? They look fine physically besides being dehydrated. Also, I have several darkling beetles who are pupating right now that I was considering putting in with the hissers since they have the same diet, do you think this is a good idea or no?

 

[DomGom TheFather]

They are probably your common hissers. Do you have a picture?
Their requirements are very minimal. If you only have two, give them a baby carrot and a protein source. Mine love fish food. Rabbit pellets are a great addition to their diet. Don't expect two adults to eat very much. I wouldn't add additional species to their enclosure.

 

[schmiggle]

Petco manages to have it listed as both:

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/giant-islander-roach

I'm thus fairly certain that you have hissers, but you might as well post pictures just in case.

 

[Hisserdude]

Probably standard Gromphadorhina hybrids from the sounds of it, Petco often labels them weirdly.

 

[Arachnoenthusiast]

How big does this variety get? Comparable to Madagascar?

 

[RoachCoach]

If they are Hisser of any variant the do as McMonigle says. Cooked chicken, kibble, bananas, and the whole shebang. The best way I get mine thrilled to know it's dinner time is throw some nanners on the flats then spray them down and let the water drip down. The rain simulations seems to drive them out of hiding.
Edit: Quality kibble though. Not the cheap stuff. Too much sodium.

 

[sgrxs]

here’s a badly lit picture of the larger of the two if this helps, I’m at work rn so I can’t take a better picture till I’m off. I actually have a pet rabbit so I might try the rabbit kibble and see if they like that better than my dogs food. I’ll also try the banana and spraying down the food. They do seem to get more active when I spray the enclosure down. I also have not heard them hiss yet even though I have handled them (very little but still), so I don’t know what’s up with that.

 

[Polenth]

I also have not heard them hiss yet even though I have handled them (very little but still), so I don’t know what’s up with that.

Most individuals don't hiss constantly. They will give a sharp hiss when disturbed (and most likely aren't bothered about you picking them up, as they get used to that quickly). They also have some softer hisses you might hear sometimes. I did have one that hissed softly most of them time they were moving around, like they were muttering under their breath... but most of them are silent most of the time.

 

[Hisserdude]

How big does this variety get? Comparable to Madagascar?

They're literally the same thing as any other Madagascar hisser hybrids LOL, just a different, stupid common name Petco made up. So the size will be the same.