Help, should I be worried? Discoid roach problem.

Dylan14

Arachnopeon
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Sep 6, 2018
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So, I have a maybe 3 inch tiger rump. In about 3.5 inches of substrate. The problem is 2 discoid roaches about an inch in size burrowed deep in his enclosure and I can’t seem to remove them or catch them on the top. Will they just come up eventually for food and he will eat them? Or should I be worried. I just rehoused him so hes a little stressed atm i feel like so thats not an option again soon. Help haha
 

Teal

Arachnoemperor
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Jan 11, 2009
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If you're that worried, put a bit of carrot in the enclosure and check back during the night... the roaches will probably be feeding and you can catch them.
 

Dylan14

Arachnopeon
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Sep 6, 2018
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If you're that worried, put a bit of carrot in the enclosure and check back during the night... the roaches will probably be feeding and you can catch them.
I have tomatos, banana and avacado. Bread?
 

Teal

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I just said carrot because it is one of the things I feed my roaches... use whatever you feed yours with. Any of those three might work? Or apple or orange.
 

Dylan14

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Sep 6, 2018
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I just said carrot because it is one of the things I feed my roaches... use whatever you feed yours with. Any of those three might work? Or apple or orange.
I fed them carrot haha i could use dog food
 

Teal

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Yeah, anything that they like to eat will work!
 

MikeofBorg

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Your T should be safe though, roaches are one of the few feeders that will not munch on a live T. Especially Dubia roaches, because they are frugivores. Crickets, mealworms, super worms or hoppers I never leave in more than a few hours. Unless I pre kill the mealworm for a sling. Crickets especially will eat anything they can munch on and a T molting would be a feast, being nice and helpless.
 

MikeofBorg

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Not true, roaches will cannibalise (even dubia) and this makes them capable of harming a tarantula.
Never heard of Dubai’s doing that. Other than eating roaches in the colony that have died. They tend to avoid protein rich food, because they are very susceptible to gout. I’m no roach expert though. But I’ve had Ts about 4 years now and yet to see a roach try to munch on a T. Not saying it won’t happen, but they are way less likely to than say a cricket or hopper that has much more powerful mandibles and do include protein rich foods in their natural diet. Some are even predatory. Obviously we don’t use those predatory species as feeders.

FYI my friend decided to feed his Dubia colony dog kibble and it collapsed due to gout. They also stop breeding too. You can tell when they get gout. They get very weak and lethargic.
 

Greasylake

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FYI my friend decided to feed his Dubia colony dog kibble and it collapsed due to gout.
I sprinkle a few pieces of dog kibble in my colony to provide them some protein along with the regular fruits and veggies I feed them. I actually noticed their population exploded after I started feeding them kibble, but i sprinkle in a dozen or so pieces every other week, so maybe your friend fed them more than I do. I did hear from a roach supplier that too much protein will kill roaches as they don't metabolize it the same way we do, but a smaller amount is good to keep them breeding fast.
 

MikeofBorg

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I sprinkle a few pieces of dog kibble in my colony to provide them some protein along with the regular fruits and veggies I feed them. I actually noticed their population exploded after I started feeding them kibble, but i sprinkle in a dozen or so pieces every other week, so maybe your friend fed them more than I do. I did hear from a roach supplier that too much protein will kill roaches as they don't metabolize it the same way we do, but a smaller amount is good to keep them breeding fast.
I may try that, but my colony is going crazy as it is. I feed mine rabbit pellets supplemented with fresh kale and sliced apples. They always bury themselves in the pellets and make short work of them. They are just shredded and pressed alfalfa.
 

The Grym Reaper

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Never heard of Dubai’s doing that. Other than eating roaches in the colony that have died.
I've heard of them eating nymphs, eating dead/dying/injured roaches, and even males taking chunks out of each other.

They tend to avoid protein rich food, because they are very susceptible to gout.
Anything above 50% protein causes them to die from uric acid build-up (cockroaches convert protein into uric acid and store it, they can then convert it back into protein when food is scarce, if they never run out of food they just keep storing it until it kills them), mature males are the worst affected as they're not growing or producing young.

Not saying it won’t happen, but they are way less likely to than say a cricket or hopper
Yeah, they're not as bad as crickets which will resort to cannibalism the second they run out of water or food but it still happens.

FYI my friend decided to feed his Dubia colony dog kibble and it collapsed due to gout.
I switched the fish food I used in my roach chow (basically a mix of chick feed and fish food) without realising it contained double the amount of protein that was in the other stuff, dead MM red runners everywhere, nymphs and females were completely unaffected though.
 
Last edited:

lazarus

Arachnoknight
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I've never heard of a roach killing a T, but it's better to be safe than sorry, take your "tiger rump"(Davus pentaloris?) out of the enclosure and get the roaches out from the substrate.
To prevent these types of issues all you need to do is crush the head of the roach.
 
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