roach feeders for t's

[averagebehr]

Botar was running a sale on roachs as im sure the rest of the members are aware of i decided to pick up a order since crickets just plain old stinkas well as the phyloid flys they attract

how long before they are enough to sustain a viable colony and i can stop buying crickets also in using them for sling food cutting them up into bits safer idea or smash the head like on crickets.

 

[RichardDegville]

I must admit when I used roaches as a food source I had huge mite problems and found that most roaches carry loads of mite so now I use meal worms/maggots and defrost

 

[xelda]

How long it takes to create a self-sustaining colony depends on how many Ts you're feeding, how many roaches you're starting with, if you've got nymphs or adults, and what temperature you're keeping the roaches in. The warmer it is, the faster they'll reproduce. Discoids are pretty prolific, but it'll be at least a month or so before you'll see any babies--assuming you've got adults to start with.

I keep four roach colonies and haven't had any mite problems. Make sure you wear goggles or something if you're going to cut them up, because they will squirt. I use baby lobster roaches for my slings, since they're as small as 5mm long.

 

[Immortal_sin]

I don't have any mite problems either, and I have been raising lobster roaches for quite some time.
Lobsters breed prolifically and quickly...but it really depends on your temps and feeding habits, along with the species of roach you have.

 

[Nerri1029]

Tacking this on to this thread..

IF I have 6 adult T's 2 aren't so big..

and 5 slings and juvies..

with a starter colony of about 10 discoids.. with their FIRST "batch" of young.. about 20-25 babies..

HOW long do I wait till I can start removing roaches?

Does ANYONE feed the really big adults? ( my largest T is a Rosie ) she did take one down but it was a struggle..

I use no substrate with my roaches.. WHO DOES?

any other advice for balancing Breeding vs FEEDING to my T's would be MOST welcome..


Most threads are about the pros and cons of roaches..
so I rejuvinated this one !

 

[EDED]

I have a B. fusca colony

my B. vagan, C. crawshayi, and H. lividum all eat adults with no problems,

C. crawshayi just crushes the hell out of em but the other two do have to struggle a bit at first but no damaging nor harmful.

i keep my roaches no substrate with egg cartons, a water dish, a food dish and a heating pad,,,the container is a big and tall rubbermaid with no lid, no escapes yet.

i have about 40 little nymphs. ive bought adults and juvies from Botar like 3 months ago, i will not be using the first generation as feedlot, i will use the 2nd generation,,,that way i will have enough of all different sizes and etc.

 

[cacoseraph]

Does ANYONE feed the really big adults? ( my largest T is a Rosie ) she did take one down but it was a struggle..

holy cow! it is hilarious to feed big roaches to your bugs! the roaches are REALLY strong... i watched a roach that probably massed 1/4 the C. cyanopubescens drag the tara around the cage for maybe 20 seconds until GBB slipped it the big mickey. same kind of thing happened with a Heterometrus sp. scorp and S. polymorpha.

any other advice for balancing Breeding vs FEEDING to my T's would be MOST welcome..

the quality of your feeder bugs is hugely determined by what you feed them. gut-loading a lot of random fruit, vege, grain, & protein into your crix/roaches/worms/mags helps ensure they are maximally nutritious.

a lot of ppl suggest feeding your feeders quality dog/cat/kitten food... but whenever i look at the list of multi-polysyllabic ingredients i always say "maybe next time"

and something i heard called body-loading is basically just making sure your feeders are always well fed and hydrated, so that all their body tissue is chockablock full of nutrients

oh, and then there is dusting. you can coat your feeder bugs with a super-nutrious dust/vitamins with the hope that some of the dust will be digested when the bug gets eaten. there are tons of commercially available dusts for reptiles, but i don't seem to recall seeing any built specifically for tarantulas. also, some question the efficacy of this strategy. i myself do not do it, but merely add it for completeness

 

[james]

roaches

Species like Blaptica dubia are very easy to breed and have almost no odor. It your a lobster fan than Blatta lateralis are a non-climber that breeds just as fast and has no odor at all. Many good roach species out there. Even my new dwarf hissers are really cool. Over 100,000 roaches and zero mites. Mites are usually caused from dry food getting moist and bran type products. They can be easily killed by drying stuff out or if you like it moist then using pill bugs.
James
www.blaberus.com