Roach Colony Questions

[DFox]

I've been reading a lot about roach colonies for feeding, and I am seriously considering starting a B. lateralis colony to prepare for my collection of Ts to grow.
From what I gather, lats require some magic balance of humidity in order for them not to smell terrible but allow for the egg casings to hatch. I'm curious what solutions you folks who have experience with lats have come up with in order to ensure rampant breeding.

So far I figured I was going to use a large plastic tub and cut holes in the sides for screens, use no substrate and just use egg flats. I like the idea of the water crystals but wanted to look at all the possible ways of keeping the humidity just right without terrible smells. Has anyone tried anything like http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752181 for roaches? Seems like it would work well but I've never actually used them so I was hoping someone has and could share their experience with me.

Also how often do you usually need to clean out an enclosure of lats to keep them healthy and smelling inoffensive? I've already got a bag of dog food (and no dogs) for feeding store-bought crix so I will probably rotate between feeding them that and fruits/veggies. Is there any food that I should definitely stay away from? I've read high-citrus fruits aren't good but they love carrots, lettuce, apple, etc.

Chances are if you refer me to another thread I will have already read it. Any response is appreciate though, I'm not ingrateful. :}

 

[Endagr8]

I've used the water pillow for crickets once. They're just contained water crystals. It's much cheaper to just use water crystals.

 

[Atreyuhero4]

I have also used cricket pillows for crickets they dont last very long and they get stuff all over them.

 

[jmiller]

I have Lats and have them in a Rubbermaid bin with small screen in the top. Heat underneath with temps in the 90 - 100 range. I have a sheet of unprinted news paper on the bottom (I don't know why I put it there but I did) with no other substrate. Egg flats/paper towel tubes. I use water crystals for moisture and have never misted. I refill the crystal dish with water/new crystals every day when I feed. I also give lots of fruit/veg with ground dog food as staple. I clean out bin every couple of months. I have not had any offensive smells and they breed/molt just fine. I live in Ohio so the humidity might be higher that where you live but have had no trouble even in the dry winter with humidity. Lats do have a smell but I do not find it too offensive.

If you have any other questions please feel free to ask. I would be happy to share my experience. I am no expert though.

Good Luck.

 

[gvfarns]

I had the same problem with my last colony of lateralis and I ended up getting rid of them when I got married. Now I have a second colony and I think I'm on to something.

I've got what seems so far to be a really successful experiment going on (I've mentioned it I think in a few places). I have my new colony on deep substrate (6 inches or so) very moist. I put them in there and them them do their thing for a while. After a time their spilled food and accumulated frass began to stink my house up, at which time I threw in some red wriggers.

Reg wrigglers are a species of small earthworm adapted for living very near the surface in composting vegetation. They eat frass, mold, and yucky stuff in general and produce nice earthy smelling dirt. I got mine at petsmart for$5.

By 48 hours after introducing them, they had knocked out the mold I had growing and now the enclosure has totally stopped stinking. I'm hoping they will continue to eat the frass, dead roaches, mold, and other food sources as needed. I also hope they do not eat egg casings.

Once caveat with them, you must heat the roaches from above since the worms won't tolerate a ground temperature above the high 70s or so.

I haven't had the worms in my setup for more than a week yet, so I don't know how it will work out in the long run, but they made a near immediate and most excellent difference. I really don't like cleaning up after roaches and would be very happy if I never had to do it again.

So that's my (for now) solution. Maybe it will be a great thing in the future.

 

[DFox]

Thanks guys, sounds like the pillows are more trouble than they're worth.

I have Lats and have them in a Rubbermaid bin with small screen in the top. Heat underneath with temps in the 90 - 100 range. I have a sheet of unprinted news paper on the bottom (I don't know why I put it there but I did) with no other substrate. Egg flats/paper towel tubes. I use water crystals for moisture and have never misted. I refill the crystal dish with water/new crystals every day when I feed. I also give lots of fruit/veg with ground dog food as staple. I clean out bin every couple of months. I have not had any offensive smells and they breed/molt just fine. I live in Ohio so the humidity might be higher that where you live but have had no trouble even in the dry winter with humidity. Lats do have a smell but I do not find it too offensive.

I'm originally from Ohio as well but I'm in Indianapolis right now, pretty much the same climate as Ohio, maybe a little less humidity. Do you just add water to the crystals as they are or do you have to replace them altogether?

 

[jmiller]

I add water to the dried out crystals to make them last a little longer. I add fresh crystals to the old until they look to nasty then replace as needed.

If you need some water crystals I can give you a deal. PM me if you want.

 

[DFox]

I ordered my first lats last night, thanks everyone who gave advice, I'm sure I'll have more questions as I start breeding them. I've been trying to get some egg flats for free because well I'm in college and don't pay for things if I don't have to. I haven't found any yet but we get packages at work that have these notched cardboard pieces, they should serve the same purpose for now.
Has anyone had any luck selling excess roaches to the large chain pet stores? (Petco, Petsmart, etc.) Those are the only pet stores that I know if in my area so was curious for sometime down the road when I have more than I need.

 

[8 leg wonder]

Using water crystals is a huge waste of money, as long as your feeding them fresh veggis regularly they will get all the hydration they need. I only ever use water crystals when I'm on vacation and can't feed my roaches

 

[scottyk]

I don't think you'll have any luck selling to Petco type shops...

Also, if you are on a budget, there are lots of free things you can use instead of egg flats. A couple of examples:

Toilet and paper towel roll tubes
Regular egg cartons after you eat the eggs
The paper cup holders you get at Starbuck/convenience that hold 4 drinks..

You can pile up stuff like that in a big messy jumble. The roaches will love it...

Scott

 

[elportoed]

You probably can get free eggcrates from your local bakeries or restaurants esp places that serve breakfast, all you have to do is ask for them. You can also use fruit flat for apples and pears packaging from local supermarkets.

I haven't had any use for water crystal yet, but I found a source that's pretty reasonable.

http://watergelcrystals.com/order.htm

 

[clear]

Using water crystals is a huge waste of money, as long as your feeding them fresh veggis regularly they will get all the hydration they need. I only ever use water crystals when I'm on vacation and can't feed my roaches

If they dont eat all the veggies it will mold and stink, water crystals are cheap and last a very long time, i dont know how it is a huge waste of money.

 

[JDeRosa]

Instead of veggies, can I feed them cricket feed?

 

[DFox]

Thanks again guys for all the great info, wish me luck on my first colony.

JDeRosa I can't remember where but I have read that the cricket feed is not good for roaches because of the amount of calcium? I'd try searching for it.