Health check on the colonies

[Andee]

I often health check my roaches. Even my larger colonies. Going over all if not a large portion of the adults to check for regular deformaties, wings or leg injuries, and just general diseases. Here is some pucs from yesterdays

 

[SpookySpooder]

Can you provide examples for what you're inspecting and checking for?

Like, detail your internal process and what signs or symptoms you're keeping an eye out for.

Asking because I would like to know what to look for

 

[Andee]

Ive had wing biting in past winged colonies so i always look for that. Usually it means they need more protein or fluids in some forms. Depending on the species it can signal, along with antenae nipping, that they need more space. I look for full abdomens, if they dont have that i feed more fluids, like veggies and fruit. I look for healthy molting. Especially in my peppered roaches. I lost a large batch to really horrible molts lately. There can be a lot of reasons for poor molting you just gotta watch out. And i any left dead. If they arent picked over by cleaning crew or roaches usually that is a warning sign to me something is wrong with that roach and i should keep my eye on the colony.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I often health check my roaches. Even my larger colonies. Going over all if not a large portion of the adults to check for regular deformaties, wings or leg injuries, and just general diseases. Here is some pucs from yesterdays

Any alternative to roach chow you’d suggest ? I don’t feel like spending for something I could easily make .. last time i tried they didn’t care for it . Very nice colony’s were those blaberous sp the ones with big wings 🪽 that weren’t orange heads ?
The colony’s you keep how big are they any tips ?

 

[Andee]

They are headlamps, i think if i know the ones you are talking about, they are eublaberus sp. Might be wrong which you are referring to though.

I make my own roach chow since i have so many different species and i feed some off to my spiders and it has shown to make healthy colonies that breed well and overall produce better roaches, at least from like the commercial crud. A lot of commercial stuff has no nutritional value. Which roaches will survive on but not thrive. I feed the chow i make and then fruits and veggies only

 

[SpookySpooder]

Roach chow is not a requirement. You can simply just feed, roach chow is supposed to make your life easier, and I mentioned a bunch of ingredients you could potentially use in the other thread about crickets.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Roach chow is not a requirement. You can simply just feed, roach chow is supposed to make your life easier, and I mentioned a bunch of ingredients you could potentially use in the other thread about crickets.

I mean good call that was a good start I checked it !! I’m already feeding them loads of veggies. But I don’t have a lot of grains besides bread . Or oats they won’t touch ..

 

[Andee]

I don't use basic grains in my chow. I use a small amount of ancient grains because of protein boosts. Like i said i sometimes need to give my roaches a boost of protein and plant based protein is not only better for the reptiles but also more natural for most of the species i have. But wheat hulls and oats offer no nutritional value to insects without a lot of stuff backing it up.

 

[SpookySpooder]

I use steel cut oats, blended into a powder with fish flakes for grazing fish made with spirulina algae and krill for my roach chow.

Hikari Fish Food <=== LINK

Spoiler: Oats Nutritional Value

Oats, 1 cup
Protein (g)
26.35

Total lipid (fat) (g)
10.76

Carbohydrate, by difference (g)
103.38

Energy (kcal)
606.84

Fiber, total dietary (g)
16.54

Calcium, Ca (mg)
84.24

Iron, Fe (mg)
7.36

Magnesium, Mg (mg)
276.12

Phosphorus, P (mg)
815.88

Potassium, K (mg)
669.24

Sodium, Na (mg)
3.12

Zinc, Zn (mg)
6.19

Copper, Cu (mg)
0.98

Manganese, Mn (mg)
7.67

Vitamin A, IU (IU)
0

Retinol (mcg)
0

Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid (mg)
0

Thiamin (mg)
1.19

Riboflavin (mg)
0.22

Niacin (mg)
1.5

Pantothenic acid (mg)
2.1

Vitamin B-6 (mg)
0.19

Folate, total (mcg)
87.36

Vitamin B-12 (mcg)
0

Folic acid (mcg)
0

Folate, DFE (mcg_DFE)
87.36

Cholesterol (mg)
0

Fatty acids, total saturated (g)
1.9

Fatty acids, total monounsaturated (g)
3.4

Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated (g)
3.95

Then I feed them greens and fruits for hydration and extra nutrition. Carrots, potatoes, oranges, spinach, lettuce, bokchoy, brocolli, green beans, peas, etc. etc.

What kind of ancient grains are you using?

 

[Andee]

I use steel cut oats, blended into a powder with fish flakes for grazing fish made with spirulina algae and krill for my roach chow.

Hikari Fish Food <=== LINK

Spoiler: Oats Nutritional Value

Oats, 1 cup
Protein (g)
26.35

Total lipid (fat) (g)
10.76

Carbohydrate, by difference (g)
103.38

Energy (kcal)
606.84

Fiber, total dietary (g)
16.54

Calcium, Ca (mg)
84.24

Iron, Fe (mg)
7.36

Magnesium, Mg (mg)
276.12

Phosphorus, P (mg)
815.88

Potassium, K (mg)
669.24

Sodium, Na (mg)
3.12

Zinc, Zn (mg)
6.19

Copper, Cu (mg)
0.98

Manganese, Mn (mg)
7.67

Vitamin A, IU (IU)
0

Retinol (mcg)
0

Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid (mg)
0

Thiamin (mg)
1.19

Riboflavin (mg)
0.22

Niacin (mg)
1.5

Pantothenic acid (mg)
2.1

Vitamin B-6 (mg)
0.19

Folate, total (mcg)
87.36

Vitamin B-12 (mcg)
0

Folic acid (mcg)
0

Folate, DFE (mcg_DFE)
87.36

Cholesterol (mg)
0

Fatty acids, total saturated (g)
1.9

Fatty acids, total monounsaturated (g)
3.4

Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated (g)
3.95

Then I feed them greens and fruits for hydration and extra nutrition. Carrots, potatoes, oranges, spinach, lettuce, bokchoy, brocolli, green beans, peas, etc. etc.

What kind of ancient grains are you using?

Stuff like amaranth and quinoa, and then i use fatty seeds etc. Tbh theres probably 25 ingredients in my chow. Its a pain to list. I dont feed animal protein since i use these roaches as feeders. Its not good for reptiles for them to have animal protein fed to their feeders especially if its roaches

 

[SpookySpooder]

Yeah, I agree an excess of animal protein leads to a build up of uric acid which can lead to health problems in your reptiles.

The fish product I listed has great ingredients, and krill meal is one of the last ingredients. I suspect they only add it to entice the fish. Most of the protein is derived from algae, wheat germ, corn, and yeast.

It is a great alternative to what I see other people using; cat food, dog food, chicken feed...

Thanks for all of your insight, I'll look into quinoa as a replacement for the oats I'm using.