Mite on my MHC

madagascarhissinglover

Arachnosquire
Joined
Nov 15, 2022
Messages
92
I was recently watching my Male G. Portentosa, and saw one mite walking around on him. I’ve read about people removing the mites from their roaches, but do I really need to? My cockroaches don’t quite like me or being held yet and I don’t want to stress him out if it’s not vital to remove the mite.
 

Dielc4

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 27, 2022
Messages
7
I was recently watching my Male G. Portentosa, and saw one mite walking around on him. I’ve read about people removing the mites from their roaches, but do I really need to? My cockroaches don’t quite like me or being held yet and I don’t want to stress him out if it’s not vital to remove the mite.
Hissing cockroaches don't quite get "stressed" the way other pets can. They'll hiss when disturbed, but this isn't directly detrimental to their health the way tarantulas react to, stress (for example). If a hissing cockroach gets extremely stressed it will vomit, but I've only had this happen twice in my 6 years owning hissers, and this was after about an hour of constant handling. I say this all to say that handling your roach to remove mites shouldn't hurt it, if you are concerned. Some people I've read about occasionally bathe their roaches with a toothbrush and some warm (DECHLORINATED) water. That's something relatively non-invasive that you could try.
 
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