Watering Roaches Can Get Expensive- Here's a Cheap Solution

[Dave]

I had 2 problems: Too many roaches to keep buying water crystals, and... ants .

So I came up with a solution that works!
The ant solution is well known already- I placed the enclosure in a pan of water propped up by very small terra cotta flower pots.

BUT THEN... (drum roll...) I cut a hole in the bottom of the enclosure and placed ANOTHER flower pot (right side up) in the hole and filled the water in the pan so it just touched the bottom of the flower pot in the hole.

The water saturated the pot into the enclosure but did not drip. Now the roaches drink right from the sides of the pot!!

The saturated flower pot is all the roaches (and crickets, for that matter) need to stay hydrated! It's like a water cooler for bugs! When they get thirsty, they walk over to it and stick their face on the pot for a while and walk away lol.

I've had this working successfully now for a month or two and all the roaches are growing, molting, breeding etc.

Here's a diagram:

It's important that the water is filled ONLY to the bottom of the flower pot so there will be no standing water in the enclosure, just a saturated pot.

With the right ventilation, the cage stays dry too!
Enjoy and I hope you duplicate it! Any questions just reply.
-Dave

 

[Exo]

Interesting....but how do you heat your colony with that setup?

 

[Dave]

Your welcome. That's a great question. I've never heated my roaches because the room is 84 degrees f. If you need to heat them, a wide heat tape on the side of the cage would work. Or on the wall with the cage pushed up to it.

 

[burmish101]

Thats an interesting idea, I might have to try that out.

 

[gvfarns]

Wait, so the water comes in through the hole in the bottom of the flower pot, right? So the bottom of the flower pot is full of water? If so, do you have drownings? In my experience lateralis, at least, can drown in just about anything. Or are we talking about bigger, hopefully smarter, roaches?

Great diagram. Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see an actual photo.

 

[Galapoheros]

Cool idea! What kind of roaches are they? I grow my own feeders, Hissers and dubias but I rarely offer them water. I have 1000's of these roaches, don't need much water. They get all their water from an apple or orange once every one or two weeks and still I have too many. I use no water crystals, bowl or anything else. I've seen them go for 3 months with no water when they don't get eaten(dubias).

 

[Pacmaster]

No offense, but I think this might be the craziest thing Ive ever heard . . .

Depending on the water-level to keep roaches from pouring out of a hole in the bottom a the tub, a hole that you put there on purpose

I know that in my 40g rainchamber for my frogs, in my 86 degree room, it would lose just under an inch of water each day, without even running.

I would definately look into rigging up an automatic topoff of some sort . . .

 

[Matt K]

WHY do so many people persist in making easy things complicated or difficult? It puzzles me to no end....

To water roaches: you just pour water on them- no crazy gel crystals or funny contraptions needed ever. That's just a waste of time and effort.

Example:

Can it get any easier? Do this once or twice a week and you are home free..... slosh on some water and leave them alone.

There must be dozens of useless threads on AB now for watering rigs or water crystals and I can't believe how many suckers buy into that info.

 

[tjmi2000]

That is exactly how I do it as well Matt. I gave away my water crystals because they were pointless in my opinion.

 

[Matt K]

That is exactly how I do it as well Matt. I gave away my water crystals because they were pointless in my opinion.

To clarify a few things I have been PM'd about:

I use tap water, but refill those water bottles because they are handy to have a few of. Mostly I use gallon bottles as you might get milk in.

Roaches do not need a glass of water to drink from like humans do. If we had wet egg carton to drink from once a week we wwould die! So, how do they drink it? Roaches can draw water from any surface that has any amount of moisture at all. The physics of drinking are very different when you are talking .0001 of an ounce or smaller than it is for say an 8 oz glass of water.

An example of how this works on a human sized scale: Take a plain ordinary paper towel and hold it under running water until it is soaked. Hold it out of the running water for 5 seconds so alot of the excess drips off. Then put the wet paper towel to your mouth and suck on it. You will find water comes out of the paper towel to a point. This is sort of how roaches can drink most of the time and get all the moisture they need on a very tiny scale.

I water most of my bins once a week. Some of them I mist a little in between waterings, but most of them not. A few of them I only water heavily every two weeks. They are fed equal amounts of dry food and food like romain lettuce, carrots, apples, and misc. other fruits/vegetables- if a local store has alot of produce they will throw away sometimes I can get some of that too and then the roaches get more of that and less of the dry food that week. Many stores though cite legal reasons why they cannot give away the food they throw away.

 

[Exo]

WHY do so many people persist in making easy things complicated or difficult? It puzzles me to no end....

To water roaches: you just pour water on them- no crazy gel crystals or funny contraptions needed ever. That's just a waste of time and effort.

Example:

Can it get any easier? Do this once or twice a week and you are home free..... slosh on some water and leave them alone.

There must be dozens of useless threads on AB now for watering rigs or water crystals and I can't believe how many suckers buy into that info.

Wouldn't doing that breed mold and decay? I would think that you would end up with a stinking, rotting, unheathy situation.

 

[Matt K]

Wouldn't doing that breed mold and decay? I would think that you would end up with a stinking, rotting, unheathy situation.

NO.

Well after doing that for 12 years plus, I have not had that problem yet. No mold because there is adequate ventilation. I also allow for it to dry inbetween waterings. Nothing rots, and very little bacteria grows on samples grown on a standard agar plate. Your standard reptile keeper has more bacteria in thier cages than I do in my roach bins.

If you have a "stinking rotting unhealthy situation" you have something else way out of whack with your husbandry practices.

The bin pictured has been going for 5 or 6 years, and probably cleaned 4 times in that time span. They chew up the egg carton slowly and as that disintegrates I add a new one periodically.

 

[Exo]

NO.

Well after doing that for 12 years plus, I have not had that problem yet. No mold because there is adequate ventilation. I also allow for it to dry inbetween waterings. Nothing rots, and very little bacteria grows on samples grown on a standard agar plate. Your standard reptile keeper has more bacteria in thier cages than I do in my roach bins.

If you have a "stinking rotting unhealthy situation" you have something else way out of whack with your husbandry practices.

The bin pictured has been going for 5 or 6 years, and probably cleaned 4 times in that time span. They chew up the egg carton slowly and as that disintegrates I add a new one periodically.

The ventilation must be very good, because I would think that any bit of leftover food and the roach frass would mold.

 

[Matt K]

The ventilation must be very good, because I would think that any bit of leftover food and the roach frass would mold.

In the photo you can see one of 4 two inch holes that have screen hot-glued over the hole in the top left-ish corner of the bin. The lid also has 4-6 identilce screened holes. There is no leftover food because I do not overfeed my roaches. They should get all they can eat in a 24 hour period with no leftovers once a week for most species, twice with some. Any leftovers after 24 hours shows how much you are overfeeding them. Roach frass does not mold in most circumstances.

 

[gvfarns]

Can it get any easier? Do this once or twice a week and you are home free..... slosh on some water and leave them alone.

Ahhh, but listen to what you just said. Once or twice a week. I only open my roach enclosures to grab bugs to feed to my T's, which happens once every two weeks or so...or whenever I feel like it. Having to remember to throw water on them twice a week every week...bad thing. Similar comment goes for feeding them only what they can eat in a 24 hour period.

Having to be careful not to throw too much in there for fear of mold...also a bad thing. Do you live in a dry climate? I would have to be pretty careful with the amount of water I threw in or it would rot here because stuff doesn't evaporate all that fast. More careful than I care to be, actually.

Sure, watering once or twice a week may actually take less effort than the work required to get a good watering system working, but it's a lot less fun. It's less true in this hobby than others, but the gear is still part of the draw.

It is very interesting that you have had as much success has you have with the method you use. Good information to share, but I think contraptions (including gel) are interesting as well, an no less legitimate as a roach husbandry practice.

 

[Matt K]

"Ahhh, but listen to what you just said. Once or twice a week. I only open my roach enclosures to grab bugs to feed to my T's, which happens once every two weeks or so...or whenever I feel like it."

Which is fine to water them that often (or infrequently) too.

"Having to remember to throw water on them twice a week every week...bad thing. Similar comment goes for feeding them only what they can eat in a 24 hour period."

You don't HAVE to water /feed them that often. If you are only using that few of the roaches then you don't need to get maximum production from a colony. I have a friend that only feeds/waters his once every 3-4 weeks for that reason. For that matter, how hard can it be to glance at a bin of roaches the day or two after you feed them? That's like 2 seconds an no work involved....

"Having to be careful not to throw too much in there for fear of mold...also a bad thing."

Fear? Careful? Nothing to fear and you definately dont have to be careful about it, it's more of a common sense thing unless you are using an air-tight container for your bugs.

"Do you live in a dry climate?"

Ha! No. The humidity here is fairly high, which I very much dislike...

"I would have to be pretty careful with the amount of water I threw in or it would rot here because stuff doesn't evaporate all that fast. More careful than I care to be, actually."

Then you do not have the appropriate amount of ventilation holes for your area. You need to add more vents. The same amouont of ventilation for anyone in the USA is not correct for T's, roaches, or otherwise. Its a common sense thing though it helps if people new to the hobby have these things pointed out.

"Sure, watering once or twice a week may actually take less effort than the work required to get a good watering system working, but it's a lot less fun. It's less true in this hobby than others, but the gear is still part of the draw."

True for some people, but out of the people who do this and the new ones who don't know any better and read this, there are a high percentage that post on these very boards about the problems they have associated with it, get frustrated and give up on "thier mess" rather than enjoy the fruits of thier slight labor (or lack of). So its better to steer someone to the simpler easier cleaner way to do it right in the first place.

"Good information to share, but I think contraptions (including gel) are interesting as well, an no less legitimate as a roach husbandry practice..."

Well this is true. Many people only learn from thier own problems (dont really want to call it 'mistakes'), and certainly no less legit as a husbandry practice- just not the easiest cleanest one available based on my experience, several others experiences, and more obviously from the number of posts on these boards about watering thier feeder roaches....

 

[Dave]

OK. Looks as though this thread was hijacked and that I need to make some clarifications. This should answer everyone's questions.

First, the flower pot I used is about three inches tall with a 2 1/2 to 3 inch opening. It's very small, therefore the one drain hole in in the bottom is much too small for any size orange head roach (that's what I have in the setup) to escape through. Maybe a 1/16 of an inch. Also, when the pot is in the hole in the bottom of the cage it's tight all the way around where no roaches can escape. I haven't had a single roach escape.

Second, there is zero standing water in the pot. lol This means no drownings. The way it works is when the water level underneath is juuust touching the outside bottom of the pot, the porous terra cotta draws the water right up to the top of the pot. So the roaches do drink from this "saturated paper towel" so to speak, it's just in terra cotta flower pot form. No free water. No drips. No waves. No drownings. I only use the tiny hole in the pot to judge when the water is at the correct level. As I'm pouring I look at the hole and when I see water, I stop pouring. The water never enters the pot. It just touches the outside underneath. Oh, and btw, I only have to fill the water level once to twice every two weeks or so! And that's it! Clean cage, available water all the time, happy roaches, and 60 seconds max of maintenance time every two weeks!

Third, before I made this setup, I tried (sloshing water in the cage) every few days and the results were terrible! It made the egg crate material nasty, left standing pools on the floor and dried out really fast leaving this extreme high and low in humidity and drinking water every day. If they weren't nasty humid, they were dehydrated!
By watering them via flower pot, there is no extra humidity in the cage and the roaches have CLEAN water available 24/7. My roaches have never looks so fat and healthy! All 5 or 6 or 7 hundred in the setup look healthy from one little spot in the cage that takes up a 2 or 3 inch space!

Fourth, Matt K, if you don't like my setup, and you feel the need to bash it, please just stop. Saying things like "There must be dozens of useless threads on AB now for watering rigs or water crystals and I can't believe how many suckers buy into that info." is just unnecessary and accomplishes nothing. I have not posted on Arachnoboards in months because of the overwhelming amount of bashers on this site. I'm very excited about my setup that actually works (and very efficiently) and decided to come back to share the info to anyone that might want to give it a try, and the very first thread I make has a hijacker.

If anyone else has legitimate questions further about this setup, feel free to ask. I'll stop by periodically to answer for you, but I won't entertain the stupid stuff. If you don't like this setup, don't ruin it for someone who might.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Matt did not hijack your thread, he posted a response. I think peculiar and expensive watering schemes are silly but I don't say anything since that may be a part of your hobby you enjoy most.

 

[Exo]

OK. Looks as though this thread was hijacked and that I need to make some clarifications. This should answer everyone's questions.

First, the flower pot I used is about three inches tall with a 2 1/2 to 3 inch opening. It's very small, therefore the one drain hole in in the bottom is much too small for any size orange head roach (that's what I have in the setup) to escape through. Maybe a 1/16 of an inch. Also, when the pot is in the hole in the bottom of the cage it's tight all the way around where no roaches can escape. I haven't had a single roach escape.

Second, there is zero standing water in the pot. lol This means no drownings. The way it works is when the water level underneath is juuust touching the outside bottom of the pot, the porous terra cotta draws the water right up to the top of the pot. So the roaches do drink from this "saturated paper towel" so to speak, it's just in terra cotta flower pot form. No free water. No drips. No waves. No drownings. I only use the tiny hole in the pot to judge when the water is at the correct level. As I'm pouring I look at the hole and when I see water, I stop pouring. The water never enters the pot. It just touches the outside underneath. Oh, and btw, I only have to fill the water level once to twice every two weeks or so! And that's it! Clean cage, available water all the time, happy roaches, and 60 seconds max of maintenance time every two weeks!

Third, before I made this setup, I tried (sloshing water in the cage) every few days and the results were terrible! It made the egg crate material nasty, left standing pools on the floor and dried out really fast leaving this extreme high and low in humidity and drinking water every day. If they weren't nasty humid, they were dehydrated!
By watering them via flower pot, there is no extra humidity in the cage and the roaches have CLEAN water available 24/7. My roaches have never looks so fat and healthy! All 5 or 6 or 7 hundred in the setup look healthy from one little spot in the cage that takes up a 2 or 3 inch space!

Fourth, Matt K, if you don't like my setup, and you feel the need to bash it, please just stop. Saying things like "There must be dozens of useless threads on AB now for watering rigs or water crystals and I can't believe how many suckers buy into that info." is just unnecessary and accomplishes nothing. I have not posted on Arachnoboards in months because of the overwhelming amount of bashers on this site. I'm very excited about my setup that actually works (and very efficiently) and decided to come back to share the info to anyone that might want to give it a try, and the very first thread I make has a hijacker.

If anyone else has legitimate questions further about this setup, feel free to ask. I'll stop by periodically to answer for you, but I won't entertain the stupid stuff. If you don't like this setup, don't ruin it for someone who might.

I don't know how these other guys manage to breed roaches instead of mold, but I actually think that your idea is pretty clever.

 

[Pacmaster]

Btw, I understand the way the thing works and the principles behind it all, I just think that any kind of an unsecured opening, especially on the very bottom of the bin, is an invitation for disaster . . .

I just dont see the necessity for that method, and/or disagree with you telling folks that this is a good idea, as we all know that somebody who tries it isnt going to get it right.

I think what Im trying to say, is that if it aint broke, dont fix it.
There are proven ways of doing things in regards to roaches, and I bet the accepted methods are the results of the "pioneers" finding ways to keep these things contained and not infesting their homes.