(Pets) Roach setup?

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
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I'm thinking about starting to keep a few different species of roaches (hopefully start in a colony for each) in the near future and wanted to see how people set them up. I always loved recreating habitats and such and was wondering if anyone did that with their roaches? Post some pics!
 

pannaking22

Arachnoemperor
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You can certainly try to recreate the natural environment, otherwise, you can keep things simple with cocofiber and something to hide under (I use pieces of bark for them). It's really up to the keeper. I'd like to see some of the fancier, more naturalistic enclosure as well :)
 

antinous

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I'm sure that someone has a naturalistic enclosure for their colonies of roaches! Haha
 

Tenodera

Arachnobaron
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Sep 28, 2011
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Right now, as a college student at a space-conscious Insect Zoo, I have not been able to splurge on naturalistic enclosures for my roaches. The scorpions and crabs have them, but the roaches are doing well on their cardboard and dirt and I'm waiting it out until next year, perhaps, when I'll be able to make a really nice display roach setup.

That said, all but the feeders at the Zoo live in cages with natural substrate and furniture, including hollowed logs, flat rocks to hide under, continually-replaced oak leaves, and bark slabs. I still think it looks nice, much better than the egg crate "factory" look.
 

antinous

Pamphopharaoh
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Right now, as a college student at a space-conscious Insect Zoo, I have not been able to splurge on naturalistic enclosures for my roaches. The scorpions and crabs have them, but the roaches are doing well on their cardboard and dirt and I'm waiting it out until next year, perhaps, when I'll be able to make a really nice display roach setup.

That said, all but the feeders at the Zoo live in cages with natural substrate and furniture, including hollowed logs, flat rocks to hide under, continually-replaced oak leaves, and bark slabs. I still think it looks nice, much better than the egg crate "factory" look.
I'm in the same boat as you, except w/o the insect zoo haha, I'm a college student with little to no money and living in the dorms. My plan is to keep a few different species of roaches, spiders, and some other inverts tho (when I do get an apartment).

Anyways, where/how do you collect the oak leaves? Do you go to a forested area and collect some that are on the ground? I'm a bit worried since there might be the presence of pesticides and all.
 

Forcep

Arachnosquire
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Jan 13, 2014
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I may have a different point of view on "naturalistic setup". If you made a beautiful tank with branches/vines/bromeliad/live moss etc. and keep dart frogs in, yes it is naturalistic. But if you keep hissers in it, then not. Hissers do not live in such environment in the wild, they are from much drier and rocky habitat.

So actually a bunch of my roaches are kept sort of nationalistically: eco earth with leaf litter on it, plus rotten wood and barks as hiding. It is very simple but still resembles their natural habitat.

For the hardy species like hissers, death head and most feeders, you can simply keep them on egg cartons with no substrate.
 
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