Turkistan roach farm

KevinsWither

Arachnodemon
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Jul 11, 2014
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Any good setup for turkistan roaches? Do they need a lot of space to breed? Any drawbacks to them?
 

G. pulchra

ArachnoGod
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The biggest drawback is if they get loose in your home. Prolific breeders that are actually displacing the oriental roach in some areas.
 

KevinsWither

Arachnodemon
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Jul 11, 2014
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Yea are there any other profile but small species of roaches I can culture for food? Any methods of preventing escape? Do I need to heat the enclosure for Turkish roaches?
 
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Andy00

Arachnoknight
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Feb 4, 2016
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This is how I keep mine. Pretty simple but it works. They're pretty hardy ime. The toilet paper roles make it easier to shake them out into a feeding container. Also you could fit max 100-200 in a small critter keeper, that's what I did and it turned out fine. Haven't had any of them breed, but I'm not trying to get them to. I keep them without a heater, just the same as my T room temps. Also I have only noticed one mature male. IMG_8039.JPG
 
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KevinsWither

Arachnodemon
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Jul 11, 2014
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Alrighty, now is there a cheap method of heating? I am trying to breed them for food so that I don't have to buy crickets.
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
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Apr 18, 2015
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Any good setup for turkistan roaches? Do they need a lot of space to breed? Any drawbacks to them?
For breeding, you'll want a substrate, it makes it easier to keep the cage at the humidity levels that the ootheca need to hatch.

A decent sized plastic bin that has a tight lid should be good for these guys, be sure to get a clear one as opaque storage bins usually have a textured that makes it easy for the roaches to climb up to the lid. This species can't climb smooth surfaces, so as long as there are a few inches of space in between the hides and the top of the enclosure, they shouldn't even reach the lid. I'd still try to get a container with a pretty tight lid though.

They also require temps in the 80s or above for fast reproduction rates, colonies kept at room temperature may not reproduce quickly enough to be used as feeders often. I would suggest getting a heat cable, it's cheap and easy to use, just plug it in and place it under your enclosure and it should keep it warm enough for optimal reproduction.

The biggest drawback is if they get loose in your home. Prolific breeders that are actually displacing the oriental roach in some areas.
This species is already present in AZ, he could probably go catch some to start a colony if he wants, lol! They generally stay outside though, like Periplaneta, so they aren't that big of a concern, unlike the Blattella or Supella that love breeding in houses.
 

nepenthe

Arachnopeon
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Jun 25, 2016
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I use a regular sterilite storage bin and a back heating pad by Sunbeam (make sure it doesn't have auto shutoff, you'll now because it has a switch control instead of buttons!). I've never used heat tape so I'm not sure what is cheaper. Make sure there is always a protein source (dry cat food, fish flakes) or they will start to cannibalize each other. I also suggest toilet paper rolls rather than egg crates because it's almost impossible to pick one roach up, so you'll have to shake them off of something to get them out and they will cling like crazy to egg crates. Turks are definitely not picky and I've bred them, albeit probably more slowly, without substrate or heat or separating the oothecae.

I used to be paranoid about my turks getting out but then I acquired some truly pesty species and I like them much better now. If you're really paranoid get a gasket bin, they're only a couple of bucks more. I'm actually transitioning to all gasket bins, I like the look better and the peace of mind is totally worth it!

Here's what I use!
small heating pad (I think they cover about half of a large bin)
large heating pad (I uses this size and put multiple bins on these, half on and half off so they have a cooler side as a retreat)

small non-gasket box 6 pack (I'm transitioning away from these but they're okay for non-climbers)
small gasket 6 box pack (they're on sale now! I think you can get singles at target too)
larget gasket 4 box pack
Note: if you get the gasket boxes, I suggest cutting any openings for screening with a rotary tool because the plastic cracks more easily if you use a razor blade. The non-gasket box lids are a softer plastic, so that wasn't an issue.
 

KevinsWither

Arachnodemon
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Jul 11, 2014
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Do the baby turkish roaches get eaten by the bigger ones? Also could I just have a dish of cocofiber in the tank for humidity and breeding purposes? Would I be able to culture sow bugs and springtails with them? Could banana roaches work for the setup too if I had cocofiber cover the whole floor?

On the rotary tool, sadly I do not have one. So i'll have to find another way to cut the plastic. I have a hot glue gun and I might be able to heat a large thumb tack with a lighter and melt the holes in the plastic.
 

nepenthe

Arachnopeon
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Jun 25, 2016
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I keep babies and adults together with no problems. I can't speak much about cohabitation with other species because I don't keep them with anything but buffalo mealworms. You will have to be careful about your enclosure with banana roaches because the adults can both climb and fly.
 

KevinsWither

Arachnodemon
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Jul 11, 2014
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Also the other thing is that I have an old zoo med Heater pad (for Kritter keepers. Could I use that? So far when I had it it was not bent at all. I took it off carefully and used tape on the sticky side to preserve it.
 

KevinsWither

Arachnodemon
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Jul 11, 2014
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Also I kind of realized that since its 5 gallons, could I raise dubias productively in there?
 

nepenthe

Arachnopeon
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Jun 25, 2016
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I've never used them but I don't think a reptile pad would cause issues. You might want to test it for a bit to make sure you're getting the right temp and coverage, and then check periodically while it's in use to make sure it isn't warping the plastic over the long term.
 

nepenthe

Arachnopeon
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Jun 25, 2016
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You'll probably want to move to something bigger eventually, but I think 5 gal is a good size to start off a colony of dubia.
 

1Lord Of Ants1

Arachnobaron
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Sep 9, 2010
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An established colony smells more than dubia, but the odor is still 100x better than a cricket that's been dead for 12 hours.
 

Hisserdude

Arachnoking
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Apr 18, 2015
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Do the baby turkish roaches get eaten by the bigger ones? Also could I just have a dish of cocofiber in the tank for humidity and breeding purposes? Would I be able to culture sow bugs and springtails with them? Could banana roaches work for the setup too if I had cocofiber cover the whole floor?
No, they won't eat each other, unless they are underfed that is, and they'd only go after each other when they molt.

You are gonna want more than just a little dish of substrate, lots of them probably won't even find it. Just a thin layer of substrate, about an inch, should work nicely to keep humidity up.

You don't want to keep isopods with egg laying roaches, as they can eat the cockroaches' oothecae. Springtails would be just fine though.
I wouldn't keep the green banana roaches in with them since they like conditions more moist than the red runners, plus they'd need a deep substrate to burrow in. Additionally, the red runners would probably outcompete them fairly quickly.
 
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