Setting up a a B. lateralis colony

[Frogdaddy]

I'm at the point where I'd like to quit buying feeders. It's a pain to drive to get crickets or pay a ton to have them shipped so I'd like to start a red runner roach feeder project.
I've raised dubia before with success previously so husbandry shouldn't be an issue. But I do have some questions for those of you with feeder B. lateralis experience.
I'm only at 25 spiders and most are slings so I don't need a huge colony. I'm thinking of housing them in a large or XL Kritter Keeper.
Questions:
1. How many roaches should I start with? Apparently B. lateralis are hard to come by and I can aquire mixed sizes in lots of 50.
2. Given steady temps in high 70's - low 80's and proper humidity, how long till they start to really reproduce?
3. When maintaining dubias I tried to feed off mature males to maintain a ratio of 1 male to every 5 females. Are B. lateralis maintained the same way?
3. Is it reasonable to think I cn start feeding off roaches two months after starting the colony?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Liquifin]

1. How many roaches should I start with? Apparently B. lateralis are hard to come by and I can aquire mixed sizes in lots of 50.

50 is a good number to start with if you only have 25 T.'s in your collection.

2. Given steady temps in high 70's - low 80's and proper humidity, how long till they start to really reproduce?

It will vary all the time but usually ootheca will hatch anywhere between 28-35 days. The number of days will vary, but this is a rough estimate.

3. When maintaining dubias I tried to feed off mature males to maintain a ratio of 1 male to every 5 females. Are B. lateralis maintained the same way?

Basically they are kept very similarly in terms of care. I keep my ratio at 1:4 (1 male and 4 females), but a 1:5 will do fine.

3. Is it reasonable to think I cn start feeding off roaches two months after starting the colony?

Honestly, it would depend on how much progress your colony has grown and populated. It takes a while before it reaches a point where a colony can be ready for feeding off in a starter colony. It will vary for everyone, so I honestly cannot say. I have 3 colonies of B. lateralis, but with a T. collection my size, I always make sure I'm not culling too much out of each colony. If you do plan on feeding off a colony at a set time after establishing it, I would ensure that there is enough to produce another generation as well.

 

[Frogdaddy]

My roaches came in. I ordered 150 "mixed". It was like 140 tiny nymphs and 10 juveniles. Given it will take 2 to 4 months for these roaches to mature and start breeding, this is not the solution I was looking for.
I guess I'm going to try and order 50 adult B. lateralis to get this colony going. The good news is I guess I can feed some of these smaller nymphs to some of my smaller slings.

 

[l4nsky]

I wanted to feed off immediately, so my starter colony numbered 500. I'm a little paranoid with them so I keep them double tubbed and only feed off nymphs, juveniles, and adult males to ensure an ootheca doesn't get laid in any of my warm, moist Asian enclosures. I do give a few dozen away every few weeks to friends with reptiles and I'll cull adult females (they also go to reptile keepers) every 8 months or so. Took me a little while to get them dialed in, but I still think it was one of the smartest decisions I made in my invert 'career'.

 

[Frogdaddy]

I wanted to feed off immediately, so my starter colony numbered 500. I'm a little paranoid with them so I keep them double tubbed and only feed off nymphs, juveniles, and adult males to ensure an ootheca doesn't get laid in any of my warm, moist Asian enclosures. I do give a few dozen away every few weeks to friends with reptiles and I'll cull adult females (they also go to reptile keepers) every 8 months or so. Took me a little while to get them dialed in, but I still think it was one of the smartest decisions I made in my invert 'career'.

Wow 500 is a huge starter colony, but with feeding off of it immediately you would need those numbers.
I need my whole colony to be about 500 roaches. With 25 mostly small spiders I only need to produce 100-150 nymphs per month to feed everyone. So I'll add the 50 adults then feed crickets and mealworms for a couple of months and hope the colony takes off by August 1st.

 

[Frogdaddy]

Update:
I observed my first ootheca on 7/15/21 and I observed about 100 or so new nymphs today, 8/19/21.

Many ootheca have been laid and at first I was worried about hatching but it appears everything is right as rain condition wise. No substrate, nothing special for humidity or heat, just placed in a warm spot in the room.

Now once winter comes may have to add some substrate to keep the humidity up. But so far the B. lats are just as easy as dubia.

 

[ellie1600]

My roaches came in. I ordered 150 "mixed". It was like 140 tiny nymphs and 10 juveniles. Given it will take 2 to 4 months for these roaches to mature and start breeding, this is not the solution I was looking for.
I guess I'm going to try and order 50 adult B. lateralis to get this colony going. The good news is I guess I can feed some of these smaller nymphs to some of my smaller slings.

Where did you order your red runners from to ensure you got both males and breeding females? A lot of sites I look at specifically say they dont include males or breeding females. In the last 2 years that Ive been buying them (from a local source) Ive only seen a few males. If I knew then what I know now, I would NEVER have fed those guys to my T's and wouldve started a colony forever ago! Ehh, you live and you learn....

 

[Frogdaddy]

Where did you order your red runners from to ensure you got both males and breeding females? A lot of sites I look at specifically say they dont include males or breeding females. In the last 2 years that Ive been buying them (from a local source) Ive only seen a few males. If I knew then what I know now, I would NEVER have fed those guys to my T's and wouldve started a colony forever ago! Ehh, you live and you learn....

Check out some reputable dealers on eBay and Amazon. Also check some actual T vendors some do sell roaches as well.