Hissing cockroaches

[DizzyCrow]

Hey all. I went out and purchased a couple hissers on a whim while waiting for my mom to get out of chemo. I had an enclosure & substrate as I have 8 legged critters setup was easy. They just don't seem to be super active. I'm not even sure they're eating. I spritz them in the morning & I've given them fruits, veggies & cat kibble. I'm assuming they're just not active during the day? Any

 

[kadupul]

Put them somewhere warmer or give them a heat source and they should perk up. I'd remove the plastic plants because they will definitely eat them.

I hope your mom gets better.

 

[DizzyCrow]

Put them somewhere warmer or give them a heat source and they should perk up. I'd remove the plastic plants because they will definitely eat them.

I hope your mom gets better.

They'll eat the plastic? No kidding. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Thank you for letting me know. I'm bummed because it's the only decorated enclosure I have lol. Oh well.

 

[tarantulas118]

I Agree to put them in a warmer spot. Also, you don’t really need to spritz them for water or for humidity since they get all their moisture from the fruits they eat and you can keep their substrate dry all their life. From my own experience, hissers like dry Dog food more than cat food, and for fruits and vegetables, they love lettuce and every once in a while you can give them mandarins/oranges as mine Go absolutely nuts for them

 

[DizzyCrow]

I'll have to pay a neighbor for some dog kibble lol.

My house is pretty cool this time of year, northeastern US, I'll have to figure something out. I think they're both female, as I don't want any breeding.

I was so afraid to give citrus, I'll try it though!

 

[tarantulas118]

I'll have to pay a neighbor for some dog kibble lol.

My house is pretty cool this time of year, northeastern US, I'll have to figure something out. I think they're both female, as I don't want any breeding.

I was so afraid to give citrus, I'll try it though!

Don’t give them lemons though, or grapefruit, just mandarins and oranges, they will go crazy for them. don’t give them too much. Trust me you will be surprised at how fast they’ll find them. The only time I spritz the Side of the enclosure is when I just bring home a brand new hisser because they probably haven’t had moisture in awhile. So I suggest you could sprits the side of the enclosure next to them and they will probably find it and drink a lot and then they should find themselves a good hide to spend the rest of the day. I forgot to mention this but, it’s best to feed them fruits and veggies before you go to bed so it will stay fresh longer for them since they are more active at night and thats usually the time they start looking for food.

 

[kadupul]

I think they're both female, as I don't want any breeding.

Be careful when adopting females. They seem to often be gravid and then give birth unexpectedly.

 

[DizzyCrow]

I was concerned about that. Do you suppose mine are still juvenile? Or can they reproduce at the stage also?

 

[kadupul]

It's hard to tell just by looking at their bellies, but it looks like maybe they're still juveniles? A thick band of vaseline toward the top is a good safety measure in case they are gravid.

 

[DizzyCrow]

Definitely weren't the biggest of all of my choices, but still big.

 

[kadupul]

I think they're still juveniles and, if I'm not mistaken, they shouldn't be able to breed until their final molt. If they were mine I'd still put a band up for at least a little while.

 

[DizzyCrow]

I did the moment it was suggested lol!!

I have a tarantula that would eat a few gladly but I'm thinking not 60+ babies.