hissers are dying

[ScorpZion]

hello, i got around twelve assorted sizes of hissers a couple of days back, the larger of the group are doing ok but i have had to nymph deaths. i feed fresh carrots and vegis, i dont know why the nymphs died anyone know what my prob is?

 

[ScorpDemon]

cant help ya there man.. i wish i could.. i just started keeping roaches myself a week or so ago.. orangeheadsgave them about 1 inch of peat, a large dish for water crystals, and i just throw in some apple slices or carrots.. whatever i have handy.. they all stay under the watering dish unless they are eating.. i mist them once a day, between feedings.. and i keep the temp around 77-80..
this is a temporary setup however.. i went and got a plastic tote last night and havent had a chance to set it up yet.. i have to make a skyscraper type hide so they have room to multiply in a small space..

i dunno if this even begins to help you.. im not sure if hissers will do well in these conditions.. but its working for orangeheads.. hope it helps a little anyway

 

[TheWidowsPeak]

i had the same problem I think it was the peat. a friend of mine kept them too but in some hamster bedding stuff. and they did great and had more offspring and everything. after like three months I was down to around 8 out of thirty and he had around 200. im not sure oits the peat but it seems to be what it was.

 

[ScorpZion]

ok i will try a switch them over to other type of bedding, they are in a large kritter keeper for now they are still small.

 

[cacoseraph]

i had the same problem I think it was the peat. a friend of mine kept them too but in some hamster bedding stuff. and they did great and had more offspring and everything. after like three months I was down to around 8 out of thirty and he had around 200. im not sure oits the peat but it seems to be what it was.

interesting, i've heard a lot of hearsay that peat is more acidic than most of the other substrates. i wonder if that has something to do with it?

 

[Huk7]

I don't keep these guys now, but I have done in the past. Try the change of substrate, but one thing that did spring to mind when reading your post was the food.

Make sure that you thoroughly wash all fruit and veg really well prior to using it, as commercial growers do regularly use pesticides and fungicides to keep their crop outputs as high as possible. Even though they are washed before reaching the shops, some residual of the chemicals will inevatibly remain, this may be the problem. Especially as its the younger ones being affected, they don't need such a high level of chemical to affect them.

Hope this may be of some use.

 

[Mike H.]

i had the same problem I think it was the peat. a friend of mine kept them too but in some hamster bedding stuff. and they did great and had more offspring and everything. after like three months I was down to around 8 out of thirty and he had around 200. im not sure oits the peat but it seems to be what it was.

Very interesting ??? I have about 30 discoids and they were on peat and echo earth mixed together, result no breeding, no nothing...I have just recently swithed them over to clean soil, I always feed them fresh fruit and veggies and have a small dish of ground up dry dog food, so far I have had no luck in getting them to breed, I am thinking it may be the peat as well...we shall see in a few months if the substrate change makes a difference...

Regards, Mike :?

 

[NiGHTS]

I keep my hissers in a rubbermaid storage container, without any substrate whatsoever, and they seem to do just fine. You might want to up the amount of moisture in the enclosure, or provide a shallow dish with water crystals or some other form of moisture that they can't drown in.

 

[Dark Raptor]

I keep my hissers in a rubbermaid storage container, without any substrate whatsoever, and they seem to do just fine. You might want to up the amount of moisture in the enclosure, or provide a shallow dish with water crystals or some other form of moisture that they can't drown in.

I'm using exacly the same method. Everything works fine (I had two new broods this week).

 

[OldHag]

I vote for the NO substrate method too. Ive found it collects too much moisture and just causes problems. IF I do use it I use that shaved aspen and then only a tiny amount. Only the wee ones hide in it. The rest prefering the eggcartons to hide in.

 

[JohnxII]

Yes no substrate and keep things dry. A couple nymphs die off every now and then, but no biggies... oh! I think they reproduce more in a somewhat packed condition too - they seem to thrive with more company.