Cockroach Questions

Spepper

Arachnodemon
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Jul 22, 2013
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745
I'm slightly interested in getting into roaches (as pets, not tarantula food since I have no tarantulas *waits for shocked silence at statement about having no tarantulas* LOL) and I have a few questions. By the way, I have used the search function and pretty much only came up with threads about tarantula care and how to feed roaches to them. I know roaches are communal, at least with their own specific species, but can you house more than one species of roach in one tank? Also I know you can keep B. dubia roaches without substrate, but can that go for all? It seems like most places say to use substrate. There's also roach chow or roach gel I've seen for sale online, but could you also feed them solely on fruits and veggies? Thanks in advance for the replies guys. :) If I have more questions I'll ask them as I think of them.
 

MatthewM1

Arachnoknight
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Apr 27, 2013
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Different species will tolerate each other to a certain degree, but they will compete for hiding places and food and it will stress the smaller ones. It depend on the roach really. Dubia are my only sp. That I keeps substrate less. I once tried moving a bunch of hisser nymphs to a bare bottom bin, and lost 2-3 dozen within a week. Added substrate and haven't lost another since. I buy water gel crystals in bulk online. And I feed all the roaches a blend of fruits, veggies and oatmeal.
 
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Peter Parker

Arachnosquire
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Jun 30, 2012
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The roach forum will answer all your questions. It's not good to contaminate the colony by putting different species of roaches together. They fight for food and will possibly breed into a bad roach.
 

Spepper

Arachnodemon
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Jul 22, 2013
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745
Thanks, guys, for the replies. :) I was researching a bit more using Google this time and found out about hissers hybridizing with other kinds of hissers so I thought "Okay, won't put more than one kind of hisser together," because I don't want hybrids. But from what you're saying it looks like I'll have to go with one species only. Yeah, I guess using substrate only makes sense... it probably makes them feel more at home.

Another thing, are hissers particularly noisy? (Because one of the species I'm interested is a hissing cockroach) I've heard that you can hear them walking around their cages at night, and that they'll hiss in unison on occasion for no apparent reason. Is this true?

Also, I don't believe mine would be breeding because it rarely gets to 75° Fahrenheit in our house, even in the summer like it is now. 75° seems to be the temperature roaches begin breeding at. Is it safe to assum I won't get babies then, unless I get a heat pad, or some other kind of heat source?

I'll check out the roach forum website, but replies here are also very welcome. :D
 

MatthewM1

Arachnoknight
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Apr 27, 2013
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You may get babies on occasion but they are more sensitive with temps and humidity in terms of breeding than say dubia. And yes they can get pretty loud for a roach. Atleast when the males get fighting for dominance. They can be pretty brutal to each other. Very interesting to watch tho.
 

Spepper

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
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I wouldn't mind getting babies once in a while, I just don't want an out-of-control population. Thanks guys! I'll do some more research.

---------- Post added 08-27-2014 at 09:41 AM ----------

Any special tips for Eurycotis decipiens? They seem like a neat species, but I can't find much info on how to care for them, even on the roach forum. I'm guessing moist peat with some dead leaves mixed in, fruit, veggies, cat and fish food, bark hides, and... a shallow water dish? I've heard that roaches can drink out of shallow water dishes, but I've also heard all they need is water drops left over on the sides from misting, and also to put water gel in as another means of hydration. Which is right? Or they all viable options?

Also, I've heard some people say their populations explode with minimal care. Has anyone had experience with this? Sorry for all the questions, but finding info online is surprisingly difficult with cockroaches. :?

And my last questions sounds kind of paranoid, but in the event of escape (which I would do my best to prevent) could they infest the house?
 
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tweakz

Arachnosquire
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May 14, 2014
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57
word of advice, stick with tropical species. no chance of an outbreak outside of your enclosure(typically). Otherwise just be careful and make sure they can't get out, good luck.
 

Spepper

Arachnodemon
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Blaberus colosseus are from Peru, if my research proves correct, but if they live in caves, does that make them non-tropical? Because caves are usually quite cool in temperature.
 

tweakz

Arachnosquire
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May 14, 2014
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Blaberus colosseus are from Peru, if my research proves correct, but if they live in caves, does that make them non-tropical? Because caves are usually quite cool in temperature.
not quite sure. As far as I know, Dubias wont necessarily die at room temperature but they can't reproduce and that's what makes them low risk for infestation if they got out. Either way just make sure they don't get out, it's very preventable.
 

Beary Strange

Arachnodemon
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Aug 30, 2013
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(I have no tarantulas *waits for shocked silence at statement about having no tarantulas* LOL)
But...but why?

As to the keeping roaches without substrate, you can but I would suggest using it. With it, you can keep cleaning crews like small mealworms and isopods along with the roaches so that any uneaten food, molts or dead roaches are a non-issue. There are a lot of threads about smelly roach colonies, even dubia who have a reputation for being less stinky--with substrate and the cleaners, my tanks smell earthy and pleasant. And while I can't source or prove it, without rotting things in their enclosure and more places to hide (they really enjoy hiding in the sub, especially as young), it seems healthier for them, to me anyway. I never intended to keep my dubia as pets, but as it stands, I do treat them like them like I would a pet--outside of having to occasionally steal and feed off some of their young.

---------- Post added 08-30-2014 at 05:08 AM ----------

not quite sure. As far as I know, Dubias wont necessarily die at room temperature but they can't reproduce and that's what makes them low risk for infestation if they got out. Either way just make sure they don't get out, it's very preventable.
Dubia can most certainly reproduce at room temperature. >_>
 

Akai

Arachnobaron
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Jul 23, 2012
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---------- Post added 08-30-2014 at 08:34 AM ----------

I never intended to keep my dubia as pets, but as it stands, I do treat them like them like I would a pet--outside of having to occasionally steal and feed off some of their young.

---------- Post added 08-30-2014 at 05:08 AM ----------

CLASSIC! lmao This is going in my signature. lmao
 
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Beary Strange

Arachnodemon
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Aug 30, 2013
Messages
670
---------- Post added 08-30-2014 at 08:34 AM ----------



CLASSIC! lmao This is going in my signature. lmao
Thrilled I could amuse you. Doesn't one ordinarily ask permission before plopping someone's post in their signature?
 

Spepper

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
745
Thanks so much everybody for your helpful posts. I'll be going the "natural" route with substrate, since it seems like it would be hard to keep humidity up enough without it, and I kind of feel bad for bugs in a plastic container with no substrate that kind of spin out with no traction, haha. And even if they can grip the plastic (most likely will... they are roaches :p) I'll be making sure there are no "great escapes" performed successfully, even if that means slathering on the Vaseline around the inner top 2 inches of the cage. :)

---------- Post added 08-30-2014 at 08:48 AM ----------

Oh yes, and to answer your question Belle Fury, I don't have tarantulas because it's obviously a hopeless addiction and I'm deep enough just keeping true spiders. xD
 

Spepper

Arachnodemon
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Jul 22, 2013
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I have a "captive bred" generation from wild-caught Isopods in with my wild-caught earwigs... would it be alright to put some of the teeny white baby Isopods in with my cockroaches to grow up and be a clean-up crew? It's only the second batch these Isopods have (hatched?), and they've lived in a kind of "unsantized" environment their whole lives. By unsanitized I mean the substrate was never baked, they're all wild-caught critters (with the exception of the baby Isopods born in captivity) and on occasion they eat leftovers of wild-caught insects I fed to my spiders. Are they safe to put in? Or are they as bad as having just been plucked out of the wild?
 

Forcep

Arachnosquire
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Jan 13, 2014
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Sure wild things are okay, those roach colonies were originally wild caught anyway. Leaf litter and rotten wood are necessary to many species, those have to be collected from natural environment too. Just keep an eye on potential pesticide contamination.
 

Spepper

Arachnodemon
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
745
Thanks Forcep, my concern is that they would have something the roaches would have no natural immunity against since the roaches were originally from Peru, and the Isopods... my backyard. Thanks though. I may end up putting some of the babies in.
 

SolFeliz

Arachnosquire
Joined
Apr 29, 2017
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If you want good healthy energetic roaches I'd suggest going to Spider Shop online and purchasing everything there; everything there is good quality and comes well delivered.

PS you may end up buying their whole stock after late nights scrolling through the site...! ;)
 

Draketeeth

Arachnoknight
Joined
Mar 22, 2015
Messages
209
Yeah, I guess using substrate only makes sense... it probably makes them feel more at home.

Another thing, are hissers particularly noisy? (Because one of the species I'm interested is a hissing cockroach) I've heard that you can hear them walking around their cages at night, and that they'll hiss in unison on occasion for no apparent reason. Is this true?
I tried keeping hissers with and without substrate, and I found mine did better with substrate. They're less antsy and don't test the limits of the cage as much.

Hisser can be noisy. They like their space and when I kept too many in a small space, it caused them problems so they wrestled and tried to crowd each other out. Putting them into a larger container solved most of my problems. They wrestled far less and didn't hiss as often.

Males will compete with each other and that gets noisy. My group holds 2am tournaments every couple of weeks and really go at it. The cork bark is all re-arranged the next morning and I have to set the cage straight. They'll hiss and bang on the glass as they push each other around.

At your temperature you're unlikely to have nymphs, but it's still possible. My group gives me offspring at the height of summer (82*F or so), but no other time of the year. The only way to guarantee no babies is to keep a single gender. Not always possible when buying nymphs.

I like how individual hissers are. They can exhibit some real personality. I used to have a male who hated a dirty cage and would hang out on the wall when much frass accumulated. That's when I knew it was time to clean. One of my ladies, against all logic, likes the morning sunshine in the cage and hangs out in the light. One of my current males is sensitive and throws hissy-fits when I take the lid off the tank, and doesn't stop till the lid goes back on.
 
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