Roach question

[fyrburn]

I'v been browsing the website on roach info and have picked up a few guidelines. But I just have a couple of questions due to mixed opinions.

I intend to keep them as food for my T
I want a breed that CANNOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES climb. I will have a lid but for the sake of argument, a breed least likely to escape on an open top container.
I want a small breed to feed to a 1 cm - 2 cm sling (nymphs will do if right size)

Preferably something quiet so i can sleep at night, but I absolutely DETEST roaches, so if they purr or hiss I honestly won't show them mercy, it's food and nothing more. (I hope to feed it much cuter fluffy creatures when t's big)

I already know they eat pretty much everything, and can get specialist gut loaders easily from faunology.co.uk anyway

My main questions - from the above, what's the ideal roach?

Also, a problem that's just slapped me on the ass is that I'll be working when deliveries get here, so being a caring neighbour I don't want to burden my perfectly normal God fearing neighbours with weekly deliveries of live insects, and the nearest petshop isn't as conveniently accessable for a regular basis, and they only satock crickets which to be honest I'm sick to the back of my teeth with the smells and sounds of, not to mention the speed of them. (I was initially prompted to post this after spending half an hour trying to get a baby cricket out of my T's enclosure only to have it jump right off my hand and onto my conveniently coloured cricket camouflage carpet, likely to never be seen again til I wake up with something blocking my nose.)
So, considering this is only to feed ONE tarantula, it will need to be a very small, highly controlled colony (not even hitting the hundreds)

Well, thanks for any poimters you can provide.

P.S. - Don't get me wrong I have nothing against those who keep roaches as pets, and I'm not a cruel heartless person who has no consideration for animals, but a "friendly" roach compared to a completely silent one has every right to live, so I'm not being roach-racist here, anything that fits the above categories will do, solely because they make greater feeders than crickets from what I understand.

 

[xelda]

Here are some tips I can offer...

1) Go with a live-bearing roach. This will give you the control you want over how large the colony is. If you want to speed up production, give them supplemental heat. If you want to slow things down, keep them in cooler temperatures. Roaches that give live birth generally reproduce more slowly than egg-layers.

2) Keep the roaches in a container with completely smooth sides. Under certain conditions, even non-climbing roaches can climb. I've seen mine climb up the glued corners of a glass aquarium. Some garbage totes also have enough texture for non-climbers to latch onto. Sometimes food particles will stick to rough or dirty surfaces and create even more climbing capability.

Males are usually the escape artists. Females are too large and heavy to be as fast and as energetic. If you have a male escape, it's not a problem because it can't reproduce on its own, and it would probably die of dehyrdration anyway.

 

[Scythemantis]

Noise? Dunno where you get the idea to worry about that, since the giant madagascar hissers are the only group that makes any kind of real sound and are completely unsuitable for you anyway. A few other roaches can make a soft swishing noise with their abdomens but they'd have to be right up in your face for you to notice it.

None I've ever kept as pets have smelled. There's some species with a defensive stench, but I hear crickets are still smellier over time.

 

[james]

roaches

I think that most people will say Blaptica dubia is the best roach to keep. They rarely climb and only can if there is something they can grip. I keep my in rubbermaids with vented lids and they never get out. The reason males can be more problematic is because every once and in a blue moon they will flutter and can jump. This is rare, but without a lid they can get out. Totally harmless they will not infest, but with a vented lid you'll never have one escape. They can be controlled by temps and if you get to many there is no shortage of people that want them.
James
www.blaberus.com