Thinking about joining the roach hobby

[Scorp guy]

Hi,

i am thinking of going into the roach hobby here

I have a few questions, to start with though.

1. what are good "pet" roaches? i remember bugmankeith having a very nice sp. which he took to the park:}

2. what kind are large (hisser etc.) and are good reproducers, but wont leave me with 10,000 babies?

3. what kind of setup should be used for a small colony of each sp. (not speaking of particular sp.) of about 30 roaches?

4. what are your opinions on them as a hobby? as in taras, scorps, pedes, but roaches? are they interesting to have?

5. what's good for substrate? i used peat for my lobsters, and it molded like theres no tomorow (ultimately ending my small 100 roach colony)

6. what can i do to prevent them from escaping? i had one or two lobster TINY babies escape...i had to seek out and kill them....no fun at all.

Any other input on this is appreciated {

 

[IguanaMama]

Just like different people like different tarantulas as pets, there is no one answer as to which roach is a good pet. I have about 2 dozen species, I like them all. I have one mixed tank, with about 5 species that is very interesting except I'm not getting good breeding except for the hissers. I just started to pull egg cases out though. Hissers make great pets. Check out this link:

http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/Roaches/

and see what looks interesting.

Peat doesn't get moldy, it's what you put on it that gets moldy. You just have to be careful to remove food after a day or two. I use organic top soil and vermic as a substrate with spaghnam moss and dried oak leaves on top. Lobsters are probably the only roach I don't like, btw. You will like the others better.

Some roaches don't climb so you don't have to worry about babies escaping, and for the others, there are ways to keep them in like using vasaline or bug barrier around the edge of the tank. Right now, I am experiementing with panyhose--don't ask.

 

[cacoseraph]

my roach tanks (especially hisser tank) are MUCH more active than any of my predators

also, i like to use olive oil instead of vaseline as a barrier. i never tried bug barrier, but i can't conceive of it being cheaper than the large bottles of OO from the 99c store. you do have to reapply OO more than vaseline... but vaseline makes hideous messes if you bump into it with your dang elbow and don't notice and then leave little dots of the wretched stuff all over you room.


also, some roaches don't even slow down for vaseline... Panchlora nivea actually laughed at me.

 

[IguanaMama]

OH, thanks for the suggestion, I'll try olive oil. I HATE vasaline, hense the pantyhose experiment :8o .

 

[Atrax robustus]

Don't!!
You start of with one species and then your hooked you end up with loads of the little Buggers
I started with one sp. to feed my T's now I've got about 19 diffrent ones I think they're fantastic
AR.

 

[Brian F.]

Don't!!
You start of with one species and then your hooked you end up with loads of the little Buggers
I started with one sp. to feed my T's now I've got about 19 diffrent ones I think they're fantastic
AR.

I agree. They're almost -- almost -- as addictive as tarantulas. Have fun with it.

 

[Aquanut]

#1-2 i like Discoids, a cool looking non climber, a moderately fast breeder, but like any can be slowed with reduced temp. ( moderately large ~2")
been thinking about getting a few of the larger cousins B. giganticus. Much slower growing and much larger, males up to 5". Don't climb but males can fly a bit. Dubias are probably a better feeder, meatier, faster breeding but not nearly as cool looking to me. I had some for a while but sold them and kept just the discoids since i think they are cooler looking.
#3 a 10 -15 gallon container with egg crates and shallow dishes for food and water crystals and heat to about 85 f is about it. Since i have non climbers i use a glass aquarium and don't have to mess with Vaseline etc.

#5 I don't use substrate, most don't need it although i suppose there are some that might. It makes for cleaning the cage easier, as well as finding small nymphs to feed and mold issues. After a short time you'll get plenty of frass and other detritus for the babies to hide in.

#6 Non climbers - glass is all you'll need. Plastic tubs work fine but i would still use a barrier of some sort (Vaseline etc) if the plastic isn't new and/or slick they can still get out sometimes.
Climbers - never heard of them!

i began with 15 discoids to build a colony to feed my sons Beardies about 4 years ago, couldnt stand crickets. I have became very addicted to them. It killed me to have to sell off several thousand of them recently.

 

[Scorp guy]

#1-2 i like Discoids, a cool looking non climber, a moderately fast breeder, but like any can be slowed with reduced temp. ( moderately large ~2")
been thinking about getting a few of the larger cousins B. giganticus. Much slower growing and much larger, males up to 5". Don't climb but males can fly a bit. Dubias are probably a better feeder, meatier, faster breeding but not nearly as cool looking to me. I had some for a while but sold them and kept just the discoids since i think they are cooler looking.
#3 a 10 -15 gallon container with egg crates and shallow dishes for food and water crystals and heat to about 85 f is about it. Since i have non climbers i use a glass aquarium and don't have to mess with Vaseline etc.

#5 I don't use substrate, most don't need it although i suppose there are some that might. It makes for cleaning the cage easier, as well as finding small nymphs to feed and mold issues. After a short time you'll get plenty of frass and other detritus for the babies to hide in.

#6 Non climbers - glass is all you'll need. Plastic tubs work fine but i would still use a barrier of some sort (Vaseline etc) if the plastic isn't new and/or slick they can still get out sometimes.
Climbers - never heard of them!

i began with 15 discoids to build a colony to feed my sons Beardies about 4 years ago, couldnt stand crickets. I have became very addicted to them. It killed me to have to sell off several thousand of them recently.

Thanks for the help! i think maybe i'll start with some hissers, then move on. i kept 2 hissers for a few years...one died, the other lived for about 3 1/2 years. they are tons of fun

 

[Atrax robustus]

If you like hissers try E.chopardi (ok they will climb the sides of the tank) but you can keep more of them in the same siz tank as the larger Sp. they're just as loud as the larger ones but way cuter
AR

 

[jojobear]

I presently have about 13 different kinds of roaches and I hqave to say with the exception of the lobsters I love them all. If you are set on a hisser type of roach you can't beat the Tiger Hisser (Gromphadorhina grandidieri) for looks and size. I have 4 kinds of hissers and these are my slowest produci ng ones of all. I also like the Black Princess Hissers (Princisia vanwaerbecki) again for shear size and looks. The Dwarf Hissers (Elliptorhina Chopardi) are cute; but man are mine productive. The only drawback I have with hissers is that they climb.

My favorite non-climber has got to be the Giant Cave Roaches (Blaberus giganteus) they make a great display bug and are very slow to reproduce so you won't be overrun with them in a few weeks. They don't climb and the males will flutter their wings but I have never had one actually fly.

I also like my Glow Spot roaches (Hormetica Subcincta see avatar) and my Domino Roaches (Corydia petriveriana) for just their uniqueness as a roach.

For some great pictures try http://www.blaberus.com

 

[6StringSamurai]

What is wrong with the lobsters? I've only had my colony going for a few days but so far they seem ok.

 

[jojobear]

What is wrong with the lobsters? I've only had my colony going for a few days but so far they seem ok.

There is nothing wrong with Lobsters. I just happen to like other species better for a "pet roach" lobsters have always just been a feeder roach and nothing more for me. I am getting rid of my entire lobster colony because there are IMO better roaches for feeders that don't climb and don't burrow into the substrate in my T's cages.

 

[Scorp guy]

What is wrong with the lobsters? I've only had my colony going for a few days but so far they seem ok.

I dont know...i didn't have much success with them, and dont care to keeping them anymore. They didn't eat much for some reason, and my T's refused them. I also noticed quite a few had escaped from the enclosure, and it wasn't fun catching them all.

 

[IguanaMama]

What is wrong with the lobsters? I've only had my colony going for a few days but so far they seem ok.

Are you keeping these as pets or feeders? Nothing wrong with them, most people don't consider them "pet" roaches, and that's really what we were discussing.

 

[Digby Rigby]

Big fun roaches

Peppered roaches are a good, large, massive roach, slow moving and non glass climbing and much bigger bodied than giganteus.

Digby Rigby

DigbyRigby@exoticfeeders.com

http://exoticfeeders.com

 

[Scorp guy]

Well....i got a warm welcome this afternoon

Got myself a dozen eublaberus prosticus, and they arrived today.

I have sopme questions.

I currently have them in a large sterlite container with ventalation holes. What's best for substrate? humidity? will fruits work as food? will they produce young easily, or will it take time?

 

[Brian F.]

I actually don't use any substrate. I have mine in a large plastic tub with several cardboard egg crates. It makes cleaning a lot easier -- I just sweep out the bottom of the tub every couple of weeks. They'll eat a wide variety of veggies, e.g. greens, carrots, & cucumber. I also give them dry dog or cat food, which seems to cut down on the wing-biting. This species is notorious for chewing on each other.

I can speak for the orange-heads and discoids; it may be a few months before you see any babies. Good luck!

 

[Scorp guy]

I actually don't use any substrate. I have mine in a large plastic tub with several cardboard egg crates. It makes cleaning a lot easier -- I just sweep out the bottom of the tub every couple of weeks. They'll eat a wide variety of veggies, e.g. greens, carrots, & cucumber. I also give them dry dog or cat food, which seems to cut down on the wing-biting. This species is notorious for chewing on each other.

I can speak for the orange-heads and discoids; it may be a few months before you see any babies. Good luck!

thanks alot for your help. you saved me a lot of trouble and time

 

[Brian F.]

No problem. Also, go to bugchick.com -- she has some nice caresheets. Have fun!

 

[IguanaMama]

You picked a particularly pretty species. Congratulations on your choice. Are you using them as pets or feeders? If you are using them as feeders, I have heard that they will eat molting arthropods, although I have not witnessed this. I use them as feeders for my aggressive eaters and sometimes they do not get eaten (if the spider is in premolt, for instance). They will just burrow and live peaceably I find. I have never lost an animal to them eating a molting spider, however, I would be careful because of the reputation. I keep all my roaches on soil substrate as I feel it cuts down on the odor. For this species, I keep them with a lot of cork bark and to harvest them I have to shake the cork bark hard to get the babies off. A lot of the babies remain in the soil as they like to burrow, so I have to sift and get my hands dirty so it might not be the best method for you. I don't mind getting my hands dirty.

Oh, and they make a lot of babies! Very prolific.

BTW, I once tried giving them wet dog food to cut down on the wing biting--SMELLED!!!!