Tartara colony trouble...

[Cirith Ungol]

I've had a small colony of tartara roaches for a few months now and am still waiting for babies!

Most folks know I have dubias too, and those are doing just fine!

The setup is the same for both colonies but obviously something is wrong when it comes to the tartaras. I could certainly pick up 10-20 ejected eggcasings if I wanted to.

I feed them the only thing they seem to enjoy eating - apple and pare (sp?). No substrate, egg carton, temp of arround 25-27C. I have loads of mature males and females and some juveniles.

I've tried feeding them dog food but they don't seem to like it. What else can I do to finally get some much needed offspring??

 

[Aquanut]

Don't know Tartaras, I have Discoids for a long time. I would try offering small containers of many different higher protien foods and see what they will go for. Many foods they will eat well when first offered, then they get bored with it. Things to try -different brands of dog and cat food, fish flakes, chicken food. The higher the protien the better. Cat food is typically much higher in protien than dog food, puppy food is also higher. I started keeping keep 4 differnt foods in with them at all times and my production has increased alot. I also offer produce 2-3 tiems a week and keep water crystals avialible. This may be old info since you already have disciods, but maybe it will help. Do you have pictures of the Tartaras?

 

[8 leg wonder]

They are not a live bearing sp so keep the egg cases some where warm and humid and they will hatch. some humidity is important so the eggs don't dry out

 

[Cirith Ungol]

They are not a live bearing sp so keep the egg cases some where warm and humid and they will hatch. some humidity is important so the eggs don't dry out

Oh! I didn't know that!! I had heard they were live bearing!
Man! And here I sit for ages and wait for tiny tartaras for my slings and wonder why nothing happens... I hope I can save a few of those egg cases. I think I'll put in a little dish with vermiculite, moisten that and then put the egg cases there. I'll put the dish into the colony box, hopefully nothing happens with them...

Thanks!

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Well, I've prepared a separate box for the oothecas; in it is a cup with wet vermiculite for moisture and I put the box+lid on my modem. It has a very comfortable temperature and since that's turned on all day I can aswell use the "heat" for something.

So, what colour are those oothecas supposed to have if they are ok, not ok, freshly layed, ripe, dead?
I found some which looked quite caved in, so I guess they've dried up? I put them in the box anyway, since I can't be sure what's up with those.

How many roaches will hatch out of one ootheca?

 

[8 leg wonder]

I usually get about 15-20 roaches per ootheca, as for the dried and cave in ones I don't think that their any good. Just remember the warmer you keep the oothecas the faster you will have babies running around

 

[Bloodletting]

Roaches will expell the oothecas if there is a lack of food and it is used as food for the colony. Try different foods to get them to eat more. cat food...I also heard, not sure if it true, oranges help with the reproduction of roaches, maybe a chemical or vitamin..

Mine like oak leaves, I also make a mix of oat bran, oat meal, corn meal and other grains found at the grocer and they love it.

Scott

 

[Cirith Ungol]

I'm getting conflicting messages here - do tartaras or do they not on purpose drop the ootheca?

I found 6 oothecas lodged into some small space on an egg crate, that didn't look random at all, but rather deliberate. So, what is it? Stressdrop or deliberate placing for hatching?

I know that when dubias drop the ootheca then they're stressed or not well fed, but I got the other version about tartaras now too...

 

[Nikos]

tartaras will drop the oothecas nomatter if they are fertile or not.
The good ones have a brown-to-red coloration and are quite plump.

If my memory serves me right, they need around 3 week to hatch.
They are very prolific and will breed like fire....they are an excellent feeder roach caise they don't climp glass and they don't burrow either.
They only bad thing about them is that they are too "roach" like and wifes usualy don't appreciate this....

I used to feed them musli and fruits for moisture. I recall they used to enjoy pop-corn too!

Be carefull with them cause unlike b.dubia they will attack molting inverts (I lost 2 assasin bugs to them).

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Thanks! Good to know. Well I have picked up all the oothecas for now and put them on moist vermiculite in a warm environment. Let's hope I'll get some babies soon!

 

[Nikos]

they don't need too much humidity either. I got tons of little roaches by only adding 1 cm peat to the colony!
Temperature was around 25-28 C

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Even more thanks! :worship:

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Must have done something right!

Babieess! Tiny babies!! My incubation box seems to have helped. Now comes the trouble of getting them out of the box ... I'll do it somehow, maybe after another moult or so...

 

[galeogirl]

Congrats on the babies, I bet your slings are thrilled.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Congrats on the babies, I bet your slings are thrilled.

Yeah, all except the A. metallica. I don't know what's been up with them. One died the other day (refused food), leaving me only with 1 now, instead of 3 and if it continues to be so extremely stupid as to not take any prey, no matter how small it is, then I see myself sitting on 0 metallicas in a few weeks. Anyway, I'll never ever in my life go for A. metallica slings again, wether this one makes it or not. Sorry for this semi rant...

 

[galeogirl]

Have you tried pre-killing prey for it? I had to do that for my A. braunshaunseni for awhile.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

yeah, tried it, but with the then smallest prey at hand - giants in comparison - dubia babies. I can try tartara babies now. they're only a fraction as large as you certainly know.

 

[galeogirl]

Yeah, try splitting the gut open, that seems to encourage timid slings.

 

[Cirith Ungol]

Ok, I'll try! Thanks!

 

[nomad85]

With B. Lateralis(tartara) a sandy substrate kept slightly moist on one side is the best way to go. No need to incubate the ootheca. There is enough humidity for them to hatch just fine.