Hissing Roaches

[Dom]

I've seen several colonies of Madagascar hissers around, G. portentosa. Some aren't much bigger than dubia and others are MASSIVE, approx. 3" or more. My understanding is that they are the same species and that certain bloodlines have the "giant-gene". Is this correct or is there more to the story.
Are the P. vanwaerbecki the same size as the G. protentosa?

 

[xelda]

Here are some comparison pics of a giant G. portentosa and a regular G. portentosa. Both are adult males.

Notice that on the giant, the body is much broader and the horns are more prominent.

Here's the black morph of G. portentosa:

And here's a group shot. I've got G. oblongonata to add to the mix too.

Starting from the upper left going clockwise are adult pairs of princesses, tigers, dwarfs, then an adult male giant G. portentosa, and a regular adult male G. portentosa. The pic doesn't really show it, but the tigers are actually smaller than the princesses and giant. They just look bigger in this pic because there's only a clear view of the female. Some female hissers swell to huge proportions when they get really pregnant, so it's not fair to compare them to males.

 

[Dom]

Thanks for the reply Zelda!
I'm pretty sure the ones I saw recently were bigger than the ones pictured and more "fearsome/bumpy" looking . The ones I've seen in the past weren't nearly as big. Perhaps my mind is just exagerating the size of them but I was quite shocked when I saw them.

 

[IguanaMama]

Thanks for the pictures, Zelda, I think it's just the camera angle or lack of "coin" for scale that is throwing you off, those are big! The only ones I don't have now are the giants and the oblongonata, so now I'm on a mission to get them.... I wasn't interested in the giants before I saw those pictures, but now I like them .

BTW, I have a couple of regular females that measure in at over 3.5" and are just FAT, they looked like they were going to burst! This happened after I fed them some left over wet dog food, never again though, it doesn't look healthy. I'm in the process of building a mini-treadmill.

 

[Dom]

Those deli cups are 3.5" in diameter at the bottom and the inner circle that is slightly raised is 2 5/8".
As you say IguanaMama I wasn't that interested in keeping hissers again until I saw these monsters. I'll try and get some pics. Perhaps next time I see them they won't look so big and fearsome.

 

[IguanaMama]

So they were bigger than 3.5" Where did you see these? Were they regular hisser color?

 

[Dom]

The biggest ones in the above pictures looks to be about 3". The ones I saw were probably about 3.5". I wasn't really paying attention to coloration, I was just blown away by the size. I'll let you know when I see them again.

 

[jbrd]

3 inches is big? :? we have some that are 4 inches or bigger in a colony of about 400 hissers. could it have something to do with there diet?

 

[psionix]

i'd like to see more pics with a ruler as reference. like this:

 

[IguanaMama]

A few of my girls were bigger a few weeks ago, when I fed them wet dog food that one time, but since they are back on fruits and veggies and roach buffet, they are a bit smaller. I just tried to get a picture, but they wouldn't stop moving. The girls are maybe just over 3" and the boys just under.

 

[xelda]

Some female hissers swell to huge proportions when they get really pregnant, so it's not fair to compare them to males.

I thought I would reiterate my point here. I could easily pull out bigger hissers from my colonies, but they would most certainly be very, very pregnant females. When I took the comparison pics, I was aiming for consistency. It wouldn't be fair to compare a pregnant female of one species with a male of another because that would throw the entire comparison off kilter.

 

[Dom]

Yes, good point Zelda. The differnce in size between my gravid dubia and the ones that have just had babies is quite remarkable.
The ones I saw though were only a pair and the male was as big as the female. As I said I'll soon be seeing them again and providing pics if they were as big as I remember. One thing that I do remember clearly is that they were much bigger than the hissers I had kept in the past.

 

[Tleilaxu]

How much are the black and giant morphs? :drool:

 

[IguanaMama]

OH GOOD!!! I bet some of my big girls are pregnant, I didn't even think of that, but they sure do look it now that I think of it. I'd love babies! Is there any way to tell for sure if they are "with nymph"?

 

[Randolph XX()]

why not using millimetres when the subject of measuring is just couple inches?
most bettles and butterflies are measured this way

 

[IguanaMama]

I am baffled as to why Americans haven't switched to metric, it is a much easier system. That said, we haven't, which is why we are all discussing these roaches in inches. I believe you are the only non-USA member that has chimed in so far. I did buy a nifty ruler tonight, that is pyramid shaped, it stands up, has metric on one side inches on the other, so I can now easily measure my critters either way. I am proud to say I am quit comfortable with the metric system, but I still automatically think in inches, it is what we learn in school.

 

[Randolph XX()]

I am baffled as to why Americans haven't switched to metric, it is a much easier system. That said, we haven't, which is why we are all discussing these roaches in inches. I believe you are the only non-USA member that has chimed in so far. I did buy a nifty ruler tonight, that is pyramid shaped, it stands up, has metric on one side inches on the other, so I can now easily measure my critters either way. I am proud to say I am quit comfortable with the metric system, but I still automatically think in inches, it is what we learn in school.

Not really
there are great number of european and asian mebers on board using centimetres for measuring,but counting in like 1/4" is really not suitable for subjects this small, cuz the margent of error could be greater than that.
cheers