My first cockroach...

Heartfang · May 3, 2005

Well, it happened today. I went to the pet shop as usual to buy some food for my T's, when I noticed they had G. portentosa's for sale for $1 each. I picked one up to see if any of my T's would eat the little guy. When I got home, I took the roach out of her bag, and let her crawl on my hand before she was to be executed. Well, after handling her for about 5 minutes, I touched her back and she made the hissing sound which was the first time I've ever heard it. At that moment, I realized that I didn't have the courage feed it to anything, and decided to keep her! Lesson of the day : DON'T TAKE A LIKING TO YOUR FEEDERS!

:wall:

Randolph XX() · May 3, 2005

hissers rule!!!!
think of a dollar for a long living insect that will butt u if u push them with your finger
the hissing just make it as cool as a mad blondi

Scythemantis · May 4, 2005

I've had just one for over three years now, a female raised from a tiny nymph.

She still hisses and thwacks at me with her abdomen if I try to handle her because I never did enough. If you handle them often they will get used to you and no longer hiss, though some people can see that as a good thing or a bad thing. They do also hiss from time to time all alone in their tank, there's a few different kinds of hisses that apparently mean different things.

Slizarus · May 15, 2005

Very cool

, I love them.. though I lost my favorite male

I have quite a few nymphs, it's going to take nearly a year to reach maturity for the little things.. I can't wait.. they are my official pet roaches until I have over 100 adults.. then they join the discoids, fusca, and Lobsters as feeders

Dark Raptor · May 15, 2005

Scythemantis said:
If you handle them often they will get used to you and no longer hiss, though some people can see that as a good thing or a bad thing.

As I know, roaches remember things, that they were teached, for only few hours. So they can't get used to you... if it is true for G. portentosa (Periplaneta, Blatta and Blatella roaches were examined in experiments).

Slizarus · May 17, 2005

Dark Raptor said:
As I know, roaches remember things, that they were teached, for only few hours. So they can't get used to you... if it is true for G. portentosa (Periplaneta, Blatta and Blatella roaches were examined in experiments).

Not sure how true this is, I haven't made an experiment of the sort myself, though I think it'd be interesting, just need to find something that would attract the attention of a roach in a maze.. possibly a dark spot, who knows

But aye, My hissers don't hiss often anyways.. but it's true that if I'm screwing with them in their house for a few hours.. they'll get used to it, then the next day I flip over their hide and it's another sonic boom..

hm

Scythemantis · May 17, 2005

I've had hissers that eventually stopped hissing or resisting being handled after a while, even when left along for long periods in between. Maybe they were just sickly.

Many claim that the giant australian burrowing cockroaches (I'm trying to get ahold of one, like so many other people) display an intelligence that other roaches lack, possibly due to their slower metabolisms. No idea how true that is, though.

Dark Raptor · May 17, 2005

That experiments looked like that:
Roaches prefer dark places. When light was turned off, they were threated with electric shock. After few shocks, they learned that escaping to light will be good choise. Funniest thing was that after turning lights off, they were very nervous.
After few hours without stimuluses (I don't know if this plural form is correct) they forgot everything. Blatta, Blatella and Periplaneta species were tested (common laboratory species).

Some hymenopterans and flies have a very good "cartographic" memory. Especially species that build nests (bees, vasps, hornets and parasitic species).

greenfiremajick · May 26, 2005

did i ever tell ya about the pet goose i had??? it was meant for a 12' burmese python...i went to the pet shop and bought one of those sanitary pads that are for little dogs, put it on her, and that damn goose followed me everywhere!! speaking of hissing roaches, i have over a hundred babies!!! :clap:

Heartfang said:
Well, it happened today. I went to the pet shop as usual to buy some food for my T's, when I noticed they had G. portentosa's for sale for $1 each. I picked one up to see if any of my T's would eat the little guy. When I got home, I took the roach out of her bag, and let her crawl on my hand before she was to be executed. Well, after handling her for about 5 minutes, I touched her back and she made the hissing sound which was the first time I've ever heard it. At that moment, I realized that I didn't have the courage feed it to anything, and decided to keep her! Lesson of the day : DON'T TAKE A LIKING TO YOUR FEEDERS!
:wall: :wall: :wall: :wall: :wall:

greenfiremajick · May 26, 2005

what is the lifespan of a hisser??

Slizarus said:
Very cool , I love them.. though I lost my favorite male
I have quite a few nymphs, it's going to take nearly a year to reach maturity for the little things.. I can't wait.. they are my official pet roaches until I have over 100 adults.. then they join the discoids, fusca, and Lobsters as feeders

Dark Raptor · May 26, 2005

greenfiremajick said:
what is the lifespan of a hisser??

My oldest specimens had 2 years (as imago), but I know some that reached almost 3 years.

My first cockroach...

Heartfang

Arachnoknight

Randolph XX()

Arachnoprince

Scythemantis

Arachnobaron

Slizarus

Arachnopeon

Dark Raptor

Arachnoprince

Slizarus

Arachnopeon

Scythemantis

Arachnobaron

Dark Raptor

Arachnoprince

greenfiremajick

Arachnoknight

greenfiremajick

Arachnoknight

Dark Raptor

Arachnoprince