Macropanesthia rhinoceros in the USA (Inquiry)

[Dark]

Hello folks,

I've noticed a lot of people getting active and interested in roaches in this section of the forums and it warms my tiny heart. Anyway, I'll cut to the chase. Like many arachnoboarders, there are certain species of invertebrate that we covet but for one reason or another cannot have. It is either not yet ideal to attempt to obtain them or they are otherwise unobtainable. For me, I've always longed for a pair of M. rhinoceros, also known as the Australian Giant Burrowing Cockroach. Now I know there are a few sources that I could turn to if I absolutely 100% must have one but at $125 - $300 per roach, I can't sleep at night knowing I spent that on a single roach, let alone double that on two! So I've decided to just make a thread about them so I can bask in the glory of other people's specimens and their pictures and stories of them. So to those of you who keep them, can you please share pictures and information on how you keep them? Does anyone have any idea how many breeding pairs of them exist in the USA? Is it possible they might go down a few hundred bucks in the next 10 years? I know they're slow growers and even slower breeders so it makes sense why they are so rare and expensive. A man can dream though, a man can dream.

Eric

 

[Hisserdude]

Well this last year 2015, a few people were selling them for relatively cheap, inch long nymphs for about $250 per sexed pair, sure you would have to wait 4-5 years till they mature but who cares, that's a great price!

Seems like slowly, more and more people are getting them and selling them so more and more roaches are being created, so I'm sure prices will keep dropping.

I think it would be impossible to tell how many breeding pairs exist in the US, there are lots of breeders out there who keep their collections private. And, while these guys are rare, they are not so few in number that when a breeding pair is created it is announced publicly.

Sadly, I don't own this species so unfortunately I can't post any pictures or anything to make you jealous, one day though!

 

[Dark]

The cheapest I've seen them were two inch nymphs for $150 a pair at a reptile show, I even got to hold one! I took a picture of the moment but since the roach was running the picture is super blurry. I understand what you're saying though. I think the major issue with pricing and availability is the whole taking half a decade to mature before being able to breed thing.

Eric

 

[Hisserdude]

The cheapest I've seen them were two inch nymphs for $150 a pair at a reptile show, I even got to hold one! I took a picture of the moment but since the roach was running the picture is super blurry. I understand what you're saying though. I think the major issue with pricing and availability is the whole taking half a decade to mature before being able to breed thing.

Eric

... How could you see them for that price, HOLD them and then say no!?!?! Lol! Yes, the slow growth and reproduction rates are what make these so rare, if only the females gave birth to more young and did so more often. A year between litters is insane, and that's if you're lucky! Apparently the females sometimes only ever give birth to one litter!

 

[Galapoheros]

I bought a pair of nymphs a few years ago(?), don't remember the year, real bad about time-lines. Somebody was bailing from the hobby, health reasons so was said. I paid up, $150. They are both mature now but the male is acting weird, walking around on the surface and I see a small injury on it's left side. I wonder if he got slapped around a little and kicked out. I'm hoping for offspring but I'm prepared if nothing happens, whatever, I don't care, 'so what' if she doesn't have babies, I won't cry. ...hmm, no "liar" emoji available, sup with that. I think 100 to 150 is fair, you have to think ahead, like with any investing venture along with the risk and speculation. I don't breed to sell, not to make $, just turns out that I do make a little now and then. I've gotten my money back and a little more without trying to. If you buy and breeding is successful, if the female only has 3, you made more than you spent. lol I know, still hard to do sometimes.

 

[Hisserdude]

I bought a pair of nymphs a few years ago(?), don't remember the year, real bad about time-lines. Somebody was bailing from the hobby, health reasons so was said. I paid up, $150. They are both mature now but the male is acting weird, walking around on the surface and I see a small injury on it's left side. I wonder if he got slapped around a little and kicked out. I'm hoping for offspring but I'm prepared if nothing happens, whatever, I don't care, 'so what' if she doesn't have babies, I won't cry. ...hmm, no "liar" emoji available, sup with that. I think 100 to 150 is fair, you have to think ahead, like with any investing venture along with the risk and speculation. I don't breed to sell, not to make $, just turns out that I do make a little now and then. I've gotten my money back and a little more without trying to. If you buy and breeding is successful, if the female only has 3, you made more than you spent. lol I know, still hard to do sometimes.

Hey, that's a good price! It they are both mature and you are expecting babies, you should remove the male, they have a tendency to eat the babies. The females kick them out of their burrow in the wild, but in captivity he keeps coming back in the confines of a tank. She may have inadvertently injured him while kicking him out of her burrow, hopefully he will be alright.

I agree with your statement, I keep bugs as a hobby, not to make money. If I spend more money than I'll ever get back in this hobby, I won't care! If I happen to make some money off my inverts, great, more money to spend on new inverts!

 

[Dark]

... How could you see them for that price, HOLD them and then say no!?!?! Lol! Yes, the slow growth and reproduction rates are what make these so rare, if only the females gave birth to more young and did so more often. A year between litters is insane, and that's if you're lucky! Apparently the females sometimes only ever give birth to one litter!

I didn't have the cash in my pockets and I can't say I'd make the decision to purchase even if I did. Right now $150 is not something I can spend frivolously. I don't trust myself with the responsibility at this point in my life, once I have my own place and have a steady income then I can start making decisions about an animal that will be with me 5 years down the road. (Yet I hypocritically have a lot of birds with 20 year lifespans, but in my defense they only cost $5 each!). What it really boils down to is spending $150 on an invertebrate isn't something I can justify to my budget at this moment in time. I think they're neat, very cool and overall very appealing but not enough to shell out that sort of money. Same reason I don't have an ipad, a gopro, or any other fancy gadgets. They're luxury items.

I bought a pair of nymphs a few years ago(?), don't remember the year, real bad about time-lines. Somebody was bailing from the hobby, health reasons so was said. I paid up, $150. They are both mature now but the male is acting weird, walking around on the surface and I see a small injury on it's left side. I wonder if he got slapped around a little and kicked out. I'm hoping for offspring but I'm prepared if nothing happens, whatever, I don't care, 'so what' if she doesn't have babies, I won't cry. ...hmm, no "liar" emoji available, sup with that. I think 100 to 150 is fair, you have to think ahead, like with any investing venture along with the risk and speculation. I don't breed to sell, not to make $, just turns out that I do make a little now and then. I've gotten my money back and a little more without trying to. If you buy and breeding is successful, if the female only has 3, you made more than you spent. lol I know, still hard to do sometimes.

I really hope your male ends up being fine and that your female gives you a litter or two in the near future (or at all). I would be afraid that even if I did get the babies that it would be hard to find someone else willing to shell out the money. Plus like I said to Hisser, I see them as a luxury item, like the Rolex watch of the roach hobby. Very impressive but not a necessity in my life.

Eric

P.S. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with spending a lot of dough on bugs, in my younger years I EASILY spent over $500 on tarantulas, one of which was a P. metallica when it was fresh in the country. But at the time I was a kid working at a store and living at home and the money was mine to spend as I pleased. I wish I had some of that money now lol.

 

[Hisserdude]

I didn't have the cash in my pockets and I can't say I'd make the decision to purchase even if I did. Right now $150 is not something I can spend frivolously. I don't trust myself with the responsibility at this point in my life, once I have my own place and have a steady income then I can start making decisions about an animal that will be with me 5 years down the road. (Yet I hypocritically have a lot of birds with 20 year lifespans, but in my defense they only cost $5 each!). What it really boils down to is spending $150 on an invertebrate isn't something I can justify to my budget at this moment in time. I think they're neat, very cool and overall very appealing but not enough to shell out that sort of money. Same reason I don't have an ipad, a gopro, or any other fancy gadgets. They're luxury items.



I really hope your male ends up being fine and that your female gives you a litter or two in the near future (or at all). I would be afraid that even if I did get the babies that it would be hard to find someone else willing to shell out the money. Plus like I said to Hisser, I see them as a luxury item, like the Rolex watch of the roach hobby. Very impressive but not a necessity in my life.

Eric

P.S. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with spending a lot of dough on bugs, in my younger years I EASILY spent over $500 on tarantulas, one of which was a P. metallica when it was fresh in the country. But at the time I was a kid working at a store and living at home and the money was mine to spend as I pleased. I wish I had some of that money now lol.

I totally understand, I don't have the money to spend on them either, as evidenced by the lack of this species in my collection. Also, make that about 10 years down the road, these guys have a LONG adult lifespan.

I definitely know where you are coming from, I have a couple tablets, but they are hand-me-downs from my richer relatives. I ain't got no xbox or ps3/4 or anything like that, in fact I no longer have a car! Just gotta roll with what life gives you I suppose, and hope that sometime down the line you can get a little extra cash to splurge and get some of lifes luxuries, like a pair of Macropanesthia rhinoceros.

 

[Galapoheros]

Well, it was $150 each, did you read that into it?, I wasn't real clear. I read the same, read some babies have been found with their heads chewed off, not as "communal" as some have said. Also could be a feeding issue there too. Yeah he's in another terr, a smaller one, typical divorce, he got the little place. I think the risk is that you didn't get babies at all. Even at $50 you'd get your $ back if you did get babies though. The guy I bought them from said there were some disappointed people because he ran out of the few he had to sell.

 

[Hisserdude]

Ah, $300 total then, kinda pricey. Yeah after a few months the mother should be removed too, after a while they will sometimes eat the babies as well. The babies themselves can be kept with each other until adulthood.

If I got babies I wouldn't sell them, I'd want to get to the second generation before I started selling.

 

[Galapoheros]

"If I got babies I wouldn't sell them, I'd want to get to the second generation before I started selling." Exactly, esp. due to the time it takes, most people don't think ahead with such things if they plan to keep things going. Do some female hoarding, maybe let a few males go though but never cutting yourself short with breeding security. I've learned not to get myself in trouble that way, I've made that mistake before with some species. You think you have enough left only to see things happen you didn't expect, things kicking the bucket, ...then what do you do.

 

[Hisserdude]

"If I got babies I wouldn't sell them, I'd want to get to the second generation before I started selling." Exactly, esp. due to the time it takes, most people don't think ahead with such things if they plan to keep things going. Do some female hoarding, maybe let a few males go though but never cutting yourself short with breeding security. I've learned not to get myself in trouble that way, I've made that mistake before with some species. You think you have enough left only to see things happen you didn't expect, things kicking the bucket, ...then what do you do.

Yup, you always want to make sure you have more than enough to keep your population going, you never know what could happen.

 

[Dark]

I guess you can't edit posts indefinitely anymore, but in case anyone scrolls down and sees this post. You don't have to be from the USA to post pics / info on your M. rhinoceros cultures! I can't live vicariously through anyone if I can't see or hear about your pets!

Thanks everyone so far for the replies.

Eric

Here's that blurry picture I mentioned to get the ball rolling.

 

[sschind]

Saving babies back to increase your breeding stock is one way to approach it. Selling a few to recoup your investment while keeping the majority back is another and its probably how I would approach it. At 150 a pair like Darkpredator said I might be close to being tempted but there is no way I could justify spending that right now.

A few times I've been vending at shows and something on another vendors table caught my eye. If I had a particularly good day I may treat myself. This past fall I was at the NARBC in Tinley Park and the guy next to me was selling Chameleon eggs. I was tempted all weekend but at $100.00 for three I wasn't going to pull the trigger. I had a T that I had put a sorta high price on because I wasn't all that keen on selling it and one guy came back three times wanting me to come down. I held firm and eventually he came back right before the end of the show and gave me what I was asking. Now I had the $100.00 because I wasn't really expecting to get the $260.00 for the spider and I bough the eggs. He even threw in 3 extra. Had someone been there with 2 in nymphs of the M. rhinoceros at $150.00 a pair I'd probably have 2 new roaches instead of a baby chameleon (only 1 of 6 chameleons ended up making it)

Someone there did have an adult pair or close to it and I think they wanted $500.00. They were huge. The thing is the money is not an issue if its something you want and most importantly you can afford it. If you are dipping into your utility bill stash to buy that $20.00 sling that's just as irresponsible. If I had the money, and I'm not talking Bill Gates or even powerball type money just enough that it wouldn't hurt me in other areas I wouldn't have a problem spending 300 or 400 bucks for a couple of bugs. I can't for the life of me figure out why my friend spends several hundred or a thousand bucks for another gun but he can afford it and he likes them. He'd probably step on my new roaches.

 

[MWAInverts]

Been wanting and waiting for these for a long time! I'm glad there is still interest in these guys, the knowledge for this species has grown so hopefully hobbyists are more successful with them.