What roaches do you feed and why?

[cacoseraph]

lats, lobs, hissers

the lats have the smallest babies, good for feeding tiny things.
the mature male lats also have the broadest appeal of anything i have found. mature male tarantulas will eat MM lats when i can't get them to eat anything else. i have literally watched them step over other types to get to MM lats. i suck at oothecae roaches though

lobs are my staple. fecundity. fecundity. fecundity. they glasswalk to a headpinch might be in order when feedign them out... but i feed almost all prekilled anyways so it doesn't matter to me.


hissers... i feed them cuz i have them. they don't makea good feeder species due to unfecundity and LONG time to maturity... but if you have a burgeoning colony subadults make awesome big meals for stuff. i feel you MUST prekill any feeder hisser larger than ~1" or so, due to some serious defensive leg spines. i have been pierced to bleeding in the skin on the palm of my hand... which is defintely tougher than tarantula abdomen skin!

 

[GoTerps]

As far as roaches go, only lobsters at this point. I experimented with quite a few over the years, all the popular stuff... but have grown to dislike the larger species, and the lateralis proved to be a very real threat as a pest species here in TX. Maybe they can't climb glass, but they sure as hell climbed everything else when I kept them. And unlike my lobsters, the lats seemed to think my vaseline barrier was a joke.

Eric

 

[cacoseraph]

As far as roaches go, only lobsters at this point. I experimented with quite a few over the years, all the popular stuff... but have grown to dislike the larger species, and the lateralis proved to be a very real threat as a pest species here in TX. Maybe they can't climb glass, but they sure as hell climbed everything else when I kept them. And unlike my lobsters, the lats seemed to think my vaseline barrier was a joke.

Eric

vaseline *is* a joke. it is way way to viscous to stop light body roaches. and it gets worse the colder it is. i use olive oil. EVO. reapply every 2-3 weeks in summer and less in winter. i tried soy/olive hybrid (bought it in a rush) and it is not viscuous enough... you have to reapply it every 3-4 days when there is any heat at all. sucks.

plus, i think i am still cleaning vaseline up from when i got it on the sleeve of my hoody and then proceded to dab deposits all over my room until i noticed. *shudder*

lats are totally established in CA as pest species, btw.

also, i've never seen it but i think lats might be able to do wing boost jumps. they were escaping some tricky way from me for a while

 

[GoTerps]

also, i've never seen it but i think lats might be able to do wing boost jumps. they were escaping some tricky way from me for a while

For sure, they can double jump metriod style

I know there are better things to use than vaseline, I just never bothered. I'm honestly very happy using just lobsters at this point. I have a quality local source for healthy crix, which I also use... mainly to slings though.

Eric

 

[FilliamHMuffman]

I feed B Dubias because ... well, that's all I have. I have a small colony that I keep in the closet in a 5 gallon tank.

I've only got 9 T's (8 1" slings or so and 1 juvie), so the nymph-medium sized ones are just the perfect size, for now. It seems like every time I run out of the babies, along comes another batch 2-3 days later. And they're just the perfect size for my slings. Only one tarantula has refused them, but at some point I'm sure they'll get hungry and eat them. I've just got to be patient. At least that's what I've been told.

 

[ZooRex]

I used to keep latteralis, but got rid of them due to there alarming speed and breeding rates at room temprature . But I recently placed an order for some B.dubia and can't wait to see how they work out.

By the way, how long will it take for my colony to get started? I began with about 100 assorted nymphs and 10 adults. I understand I'll have to wait a bit, I just want to be informed how long I'll be waiting. Thanks ~ Rex

 

[Takumaku]

My pets are so spoiled...

I feed them primarily B. fumigata and B. rothi. I also feed from my colonies of B. crannifer, Elliptorhina chopardi, Neostylopyga rhombifolia, and Rhypharobia maderae as treats or when Byrsotria numbers are low.

 

[Xaranx]

I used to keep latteralis, but got rid of them due to there alarming speed and breeding rates at room temprature . But I recently placed an order for some B.dubia and can't wait to see how they work out.

By the way, how long will it take for my colony to get started? I began with about 100 assorted nymphs and 10 adults. I understand I'll have to wait a bit, I just want to be informed how long I'll be waiting. Thanks ~ Rex

Depends on how much you are feeding. Gestation period is one month, and maturity rate is 3-4 months. You can assume that any gravid female will abort their eggs in shipping, so once you get them they will start breeding again, Once the first of your new broods start to hit adulthood you will have exponential growth and can feed with no worries, so about 5 months in. If you have 20 or less mouths to feed you could probably start after 2-3 months, just try to feed off males. Only need 1 male for 5-6 females.

You can sex these easily from 1/2" and up, on the final molt males gain wings, females get glossy black/orange with wing stubs. The sub-adults and juvies all look alike, except for one big difference. When you turn the roach over and look at the last segment near the ass, the last segment on the females is fused into one, so that segment is twice as big as the males last segment.

 

[dtknow]

Currently dubia/discoids but lateralis have proved the most useful. Their is a place online that sells them at prices competitive to cricket and I just bought 1000 to use. I started with 2 dozen twice but I couldn't resist feeding them off and eventually fed off the last ones when they were not breeding(I still have a lone adult female though).

So people generally like lobsters better than lats?

 

[cacoseraph]

So people generally like lobsters better than lats?

if i had to pick one it would have to be lobs. i don't keep my lats well enough to have a high number of babies. lobs you have to actively try to keep from breeding before they get their numbers hurt. i swear they were still kicking babies out at ~60*F

 

[padkison]

The male B. lats can wing jump. I switched to a cooler with several 2" holes in the top hot glued with aluminum screening (they will chew nylon). The cooler shuts tight and now I have no escapees except occasionallly during feeding. They don't seem to establish themselves here in NC.

Nice size for the critters I keep and fast reproducers. Do great on water crystals and dogfood.

For sure, they can double jump metriod style

I know there are better things to use than vaseline, I just never bothered. I'm honestly very happy using just lobsters at this point. I have a quality local source for healthy crix, which I also use... mainly to slings though.

Eric

 

[ZooRex]

I feed them primarily B. fumigata and B. rothi.

How well do fumigatas work? How long did it take to start a colony? This was my first idea for a feeder, but then decided to start with B.dubia and then add in some fumigatas. This is mostly cause of the longer time it takes to get them started. Thanks ~ Rex

i swear they were still kicking babies out at ~60*F

That is why I don't keep them. I had a bad experience with lobsters in the past. I got 1doz at a show, feed them off and was done with them (climbers and too fast for me). Three or four months later while cleaning out my chams enclousre, I lifted up the clay saucer that a ficus tree sat apon. I was asstounted to see dozens of lobsters scurrying everywhere! They had managed to start a colony with vertually no food, water, or extra heat. There are a number of roaches out there that while there tropical sp. they can still infest, lobsters and latts are on that list. Its too bad I had to find out the hard way, at least I learned my leson...always do research! ~ Rex

 

[Takumaku]

B. fumigata work extremely well as primary feeders. They do produce a smaller broad size than dubia (roughly half) so you will need to have a little more. It took me just as long to start a feeder colony with fumigata as with dubia, but then again, I had roughly twice as many fumigata to begin with. They breed just as fast as dubia, so you will have a feeder colony established in no time at all.