Tenevanica
Arachnodemon
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2015
- Messages
- 726
Nauphoeta cinerea. The lobster cockroach. This roach is an underrated feeder species, and is my personal favorite feeder for several reasons. I am creating this thread to highlight this feeder, as I feel it is underused. This thread will only talk about the pros of using this feeder for tarantulas, hence its placement in the tarantula section.
Background:
No one is really sure where N. cinerea originated. It's found in almost every tropical part of the globe, and is occasionally seen in greenhouses in colder climates. It was originally thought that central Africa was this roaches's home, but phylogenetic evidence suggests that it may have originated in the Caribbean, and has been spread throughout the globe by human activity. This species has been cultured as a feeder since the early 90's, but it has yet to catch on and gain popularity. I don't understand how this is, as I LOVE this species as a tarantula feeder.
Description:
N. cinerea is very versatile in its sizes. Pinheads are about 4 mm long, while adults are just under an inch. It is an attractive bronze or sandy beige color, and the pronotum markings are very interesting. My colony produces both "long wing" and "short wing" variations of this species. The long wing individuals possess wings that cover the entire abdomen, wile the short wing individuals have wings that only cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the abdomen. This characteristic is purely aesthetic, as both forms are incapable of flight, and it is not a sexually dimorphic trait. Nymphs are a dark brown or black color, and will hide in a substrate if it is provided. This species feeds well on the usual roach foods, but this species is semi-predatory, and will cannibalize if they are not fed enough. This species can climb glass and plastic, but they are easily (and I mean EASILY) stopped by a layer of Vaseline. These are the most prolific roaches I have ever worked with. (And I've worked with well over three dozen roach species!) If you thought B. dubia, or S. lateralis bred fast, you've clearly never kept lobster roaches! My colony doubles in size every 1-2 months, and that's with no supplemental heat! These are incredibly easy to breed! All they need is food, something to hide under, and mates!
As a tarantula feeder:
Pros:
.Versatile. Different life stages can feed the smallest slings, to the largest adults!
.Prolific. This species breeds like mad with no supplemental heat! If you have a large collection, this should be a go-to feeder.
.Soft. This species has a very soft exoskeleton. That means a tarantula is less likely to injure its fangs while feeding on this species.
.Easy to breed. These would breed in a freezer. I swear!
Cons:
Climbing. This species can climb glass and plastic, so it can become an escape artist unless it is properly contained.
.Burrowing. Nymphs of this species will burrow, so unless the T eats right away, the roach will burrow down; never to be seen again! (Or worse yet, maybe emerging later to snack on a molting spider!
).Prolific in many conditions. Although there have never been any confirmed reports of this species infesting a house, I could see it potentially happening with how hardy they are.
There's the run-down! Let me know if you'd consider this species as a feeder. I'd love to see it used more often!
