Roach cohabitation question...

Praxibetelix

Arachnosquire
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Mar 24, 2016
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Are there any concerns about having T. petiveriana and T. olegrandjeani cohabitating?

They seem similar, might they hybridize? We are not trying to breed or sell or have a bunch of these. Asking before we buy.

@Hisserdude anything I should know before taking the roach plunge?
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
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Apr 18, 2015
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2,453
Are there any concerns about having T. petiveriana and T. olegrandjeani cohabitating?

They seem similar, might they hybridize? We are not trying to breed or sell or have a bunch of these. Asking before we buy.

@Hisserdude anything I should know before taking the roach plunge?
Yes they very well may hybridise, you should never keep two species of the same genus together. I would highly advise against keeping the two together.

Care wise, Therea are all very similar, a deep substrate with a moist lower layer and a drier upper layer is appreciated, and a layer of dead leaves needs to be added on top of the substrate, since most of their diet consists of rotten leaves. Supplement their diet with fruits, veggies and dog food, and you should be good! Just don't keep two Therea species together lol! :D
 
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Praxibetelix

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Mar 24, 2016
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Awesome to know, thanks! Our daughter wants to have more bugs, and hubby has vetoed arachnids :(

Hoping to slip the roaches in as "bugs" or "beetles" lol.

We will probably get the Dominoes then, she likes those best. Is there another species you would suggest that could live with the Dominoes? They will probably go in a 5 gal or smaller tank. Looking at letting her have these in her room, it is warmer than the rest of the house.
 

Hisserdude

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Apr 18, 2015
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Awesome to know, thanks! Our daughter wants to have more bugs, and hubby has vetoed arachnids :(

Hoping to slip the roaches in as "bugs" or "beetles" lol.

We will probably get the Dominoes then, she likes those best. Is there another species you would suggest that could live with the Dominoes? They will probably go in a 5 gal or smaller tank. Looking at letting her have these in her room, it is warmer than the rest of the house.
Well, seeing as Therea are supposed to mimic tortoise beetles, you could just call them beetles and he'd never be able to tell the difference lol! :D

As for what species could live with the dominos, perhaps Ergaula capucina, the Burmese beetle mimic? They have basically the same care needs as Therea and should coexist nicely with them, plus they won't be able to crossbreed with your dominos! :) The males can fly but usually only try to do so at night, they stay hidden under the substrate most of the time, and the females completely lack the ability to fly.
 

Praxibetelix

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Mar 24, 2016
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Thank you so much @Hisserdude ! We have a 5 year-old budding entomologist. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, "a bug scientist" is her answer. She is turning me into an appreciator of inverts. Next thing I need is an entomologist friend for her lol!
 

Hisserdude

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Apr 18, 2015
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Thank you so much @Hisserdude ! We have a 5 year-old budding entomologist. When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, "a bug scientist" is her answer. She is turning me into an appreciator of inverts. Next thing I need is an entomologist friend for her lol!
No problem, happy to help! :) That's great to hear, glad you are encouraging her love for bugs instead of squashing it like a lot of people do, (Haha get it, squashing..). I hope she grows up and becomes a great entomologist! :D
 

ratluvr76

Arachnodemon
Active Member
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Jul 12, 2014
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+1 it's great to hear of a child developing a passion like this. Great job mom, letting her explore it. When I was her age, I wanted to be a herpetologist. My mother however completely "squashed" that lol.
 

Praxibetelix

Arachnosquire
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Mar 24, 2016
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I have to admit, when my child ran up to the Stag beetle wanting to pick it up while all the other kids ran AWAY screaming, I thought it was pretty darn cool. So now we actively look for insects when outside, and look up the ones we are unfamiliar with.

Coincidentally, our son's name is Damon.....so there is probably a Damon diadema in our future lol. Trying to introduce the idea of that arachnid to the hubby, he liked the video on one of these threads of a D. diadema catching a cricket. Wizentrop seems to be the amblyphid (sp?) expert around.

It is fun to watch both kids enjoying inverts and I do like getting over the creep out reaction, I had to show a brave face so the children would not be afraid. Some things still freak me out though! (Like when a flying insect lands in my hair, I still squeal lol)
 
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