El Pistolero GL
Arachnopeon
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I was thinking about starting a hissing cockroach colony, any thoughts on this> Good or bad idea? Also does anyone know if they poop? lol
Hisser colony?
- Thread starter El Pistolero GL
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good idea. what r u feeding them to? and they r easy to take care of and the enclosure rarely needs cleaned. i have a small colony of hissers and b dubias. cheap and easy to take care of but they prefer water crystals over water and they love warm dark spots.
El Pistolero GL
Arachnopeon
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That sounds good. Do they poop?
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They do poop. I never heard of a bug that didnt. :? They dont eat there poop either.
They make great feeders for large Ts. On the downside they have a very strong exoskeloton. (That can cause your Ts' fangs to break) Smaller Ts will refuse them because of this also. I would recommend dubias as a great all around feeder. (fairly soft and large) lateralis are a great feeder also. although small they have a very soft body and have the fastest life cyle. (4 months) Of course if your dead set on having hissers you can wait until they molt. They will be ghost white and soft after molting.
They make great feeders for large Ts. On the downside they have a very strong exoskeloton. (That can cause your Ts' fangs to break) Smaller Ts will refuse them because of this also. I would recommend dubias as a great all around feeder. (fairly soft and large) lateralis are a great feeder also. although small they have a very soft body and have the fastest life cyle. (4 months) Of course if your dead set on having hissers you can wait until they molt. They will be ghost white and soft after molting.
El Pistolero GL
Arachnopeon
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Even as babies are their exoskeleton's strong? I really only plan on using babies-juvis
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They are pretty soft when under 3/4" long. But if you only want to use juvies then it makes scense to just go out and get some lateralis. Hissers have a very long life cycle and take longer to grow up. Lateralis are my Ts favorite. Specialy my slings. I almost want to eat them up myself. :} All Ts love lats!
Lorum
Arachnosquire
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IME, they poop A LOT. Really, A LOT (at least, the adult specimens make big "presents" for you
).I have a colony, and feed them to all my Ts, adults and slings.
Hissers do not develop the hard exo until they hit about 3-4cm. None of my Ts has ever had any trouble with them. I have watched my Ts grab the hisser and take their time probing the body with their fangs looking for a soft spot to penetrate.
While adult hissers have a fairly tough exo, they are just too big for an average sized T (6-8") as a result I feed juveniles to my adult Ts and nymphs to my spiderlings.
The bolus left behind is also very small, which is a good indicator that the tarantulas have no trouble at all eating them.
My colony needs to be downsized again.
Hissers do not develop the hard exo until they hit about 3-4cm. None of my Ts has ever had any trouble with them. I have watched my Ts grab the hisser and take their time probing the body with their fangs looking for a soft spot to penetrate.
While adult hissers have a fairly tough exo, they are just too big for an average sized T (6-8") as a result I feed juveniles to my adult Ts and nymphs to my spiderlings.
The bolus left behind is also very small, which is a good indicator that the tarantulas have no trouble at all eating them.
My colony needs to be downsized again.
I agree. I keep an isopod colony in with my hissers for this reason.IME, they poop A LOT. Really, A LOT (at least, the adult specimens make big "presents" for you
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Mine do great this way, also introduced Hyopsis mites to control the "bad" mites-allgone, I have far exceeded capacity and need to be rid of like...I dunno 150, 250?