Why wont my hissers breed?

Gr8Reptile

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Messages
145
I have two females and one male in a ten gallon tank. What am I missing?
 

Matt K

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
Messages
941
I have two females and one male in a ten gallon tank. What am I missing?

Well, what do you have?:?
Substrate? What kind? What is the temp? What are you feeding them? Humid or dry? How much light or darkness are they getting? How long have they been together? How old are they? Etc., details help get advice... ;)

If the temp is 70 something or 80 something, you are fine. If the substrate (if you choose to use any) is anything but a pine or fir tree product you are fine. Mist them once or twice a week. Feed them Leafy veggies, firm fruits and fish food pellets/sticks. Then wait. Hissers will invariably make nymphs without much effort. Handling them often will slow down thier desire to reproduce. They also prefer dim or dark places. More dark equals more breeding / feeding time. You may also try a smaller container. When roaches are in close quarters they tend to be more inclined to reproduce.

If the environment is stable and consistant, they will reproduce. (This can take 45 days to 3 months).

Just a few thoughts.....
 

KyuZo

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
1,553
how about water, food, hiding places, and warm temperature?

have also have 2 female and one male and I am having the same problem. I've been seeing them breed for only a short moment before my female cut it off (not literally). The male would get an insertion, only for a short time and then my female would pull away.
I've seen this about 3 times and i have not seen her protruding any eggcase yet, she doen't seem to get any fatter either. they have plenty of hidding places, water, fruits, dog food, etc.
I guess you and i just gonna to have to be patient.
good luck to you
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
HA! ..cut it off.. It took mine a while to start up too, seemed like forever. But now I'm going to have to get rid of some pretty soon. I probably lost 100's of babies crawling between the cracks in the top, so watch out. I fed a bunch of house spiders that way.
 

Gr8Reptile

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 18, 2007
Messages
145
Yeah I just changed the substrate from wood chips to dirt. I unfortunately just finished handling the male. I have it at room temp most of the time and frequently spray. They are in twilight during the day and complete darkness during the night.
 

Andrew273

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
344
That's weird, my hissers make babies all the time. When I first introduced the 2 males, my two females were living in a tupperwear container with paper towels as substrate and a single paper towel roll for a hide. Sure enough a litter of babies soon followed. I wasn't even giving them proper food or water. They ate romaine and stale cookies. Sorry didn't mean to rub it in...
 

KyuZo

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
1,553
if they successfully mated once, then the female will be fertile for a while and will produces many batches without the need to mate again.
in this case, Grreptile and my hissers have not mated yet, and yours did, so your females will continue to produce more babies until she needs to mate again.
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
2,301
I heard you had to have them in groups of five or so before they start breeding readily. (To Andrew273, it sounds like your females were already gravid.) I switched from 1.2 to 2.3 and had babies in about . . . five or six months? Some of that time I was still in the dorms and they didn't get the peace and quiet they needed.

To keep babies from escaping, either line the top two inches of the tank with vaseline or keep a layer of paper towel between the tank and the lid (the latter helps to prevent meal moth infestations, too).
 

Andrew273

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
344
Maybe, they did mate in that setting though. They kind of liked it in a weird way. When I cleaned it out and would put them in a little plastic container my male even tried mating in there (with a girl, then a boy, then the same girl). It did take over a month (I'm not sure how long exactly) before I got babies.
 

Galapoheros

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
8,982
I had to go from Vaseline to olive oil. I caught several babies crawling across the Vaseline at night. But it's a little cool in that room, so I wonder if the lower temp thickens the vas up enough for them to do that(?) The terr is heated at one end so they are happy down there. I put in more hides too so they don't go wandering looking for new places. I think my females were gravid too when I got them but it still seemed like a long time. They are really going now though.
 

KyuZo

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
1,553
olive oil huh? i'll definitely have to try that. because i do find one or two babies out and about every now and then (these are my dwarf hissers by the way).
 

Rochelle

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
1,596
Kyuzo is right about them mating once and being then viable for many eggcases (oothecea)...if you want to see pics go to my picture thread (jbrds) and see the "infamous 80 gallons of hisser fun"; we have thousands of them..
Keep them at an optimum of 89' for breeding. Supply citrus fruits or treats with citrus acid in them. Hissers seem to prefer to congregate in crowded numbers so keep them a little cramped. They also need protein, so give them cheap dog/cat food. We prefer dog food. Grinding actually seems to promote molding and we don't do it anymore. We also give fishflakes and cichlid pellets. Outdated fruits and veggies of the dark green variety are also given. ( No broccolli, asparagus, cauliflower or brussel spouts!)
Hope this helps. Be patient...when they take off...they really take off! ;)
 

KenTheBugGuy

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
666
breed

I found that just raising my hissers to about 82 and keeping them well fed and moist made them breed happily. Mid 70's and mine would not breed either
 

Mr. Mordax

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
2,301
Give 'em a while to themselves. These guys are overall a slower-growing roach than most that you'll find in the hobby. Also be sure to leave them alone for a long time. Too much stress can make females abort their ooths.
 

GailC

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Sep 19, 2005
Messages
1,402
I was given a small colony (about 30) of hissers awhile back. I had them for a couple months with no babies, as soon as I put heat on them they started to produce like mad. I'd suggest getting a small UTH to stick on the side of their tub, make sure to lean their egg crates against the side with the heat.
 

Rochelle

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
1,596
Logan, your colony is mainly small nymphs and half grown juvies; though you do have a few adults. Give them about 6 months and steady temps.... you'll end up with an explosion of them. They just take a little longer than some other sp. to grow.
On the "up" side; they also live quite awhile. ;)
The colony that yours were pulled from has always been kept in a high traffic area of the house, and they haven't failed to turn from about 50 of them into THOUSANDS of them in about 2 1/2 years.
They started out in a 10 gallon and are now housed in an 80 gallon...and we have to continually sell them off to keep from simply being over run...lolol
Keeping roaches is not rocket science.
Patience is all that's needed, hon.
~Rochelle xo
 
Top