Hissers (madagascan hissing roaches)

[Scythemantis]

Actually, I do hold all animals in an equal light, haven't kept any predators in years, and quite literally don't even enjoy killing fleas. But I'd never put a personal qualm before the needs of an animal, predatory or otherwise. It's just that if it's gotta be done, I'd prefer to use smaller, more prolific species as feeders.

And yes, they get eaten in the wild, but so do the reptiles, too...and their hunters

 

[james]

hissers.

It's been years since I've kept normal hissers, but a freind just sent me 14 pounds of them today and it didn't even make a dent in his colony. I think they breed as well as any other roach with exception to the lobsters and species considered PESTS (B. germania, orientalis, etc...).
James

 

[Drosera123]

How exactly do you know that they are mostly fat? Have you taken a bite recently? I'd love to see some evidence to prove that your statement isn't completely false, so tell me, how do you know they're all fatty besides saying they look fat?

 

[Scythemantis]

Who said it was because of how they look? They don't get love handles or beer bellies.

I imagine the nutritional value of different roaches has been worked out through years of trial and error......or just dissecting them.

 

[DR zuum]

Who said it was because of how they look? They don't get love handles or beer bellies.

I imagine the nutritional value of different roaches has been worked out through years of trial and error......or just dissecting them.

I've never seen anything on that,crix yes but ive never seen one done on roach species or a comparison of nuritional value between said species.Which is why i wanted to look at that info as im thinking of going over to roaches the more nutritional the better,which would be super with my gutload which i make myself.

But just because somebody says they are all fat,doesnt make it so without some form of backup.I went to that site he listed and perused it,i found nothing of value there concerning this topic.I picked up some hissers today pretty big ones 8 of them 1.00 each.Ive got them in high humidity on a combination of flukers feed and my gutload just to see how they breed.I've found sources that say slow,i found sources that say medium to fast.Im going to see,temps 85 degrees,good humidity peat/potting soil substrate.

 

[Wade]

The reason they know hissers are high in fat is that all those people on "fear factor" put on like ten pounds after taping the show.

Seriously, I'd also like to see the data on the relative nutrative value of various cockroaches. I'm not disputing it, but I am curious to see who actually did this research.

Weather or not they're high in fat, I agree that hissers don't make good feeders. The thick, chitonous exsoskeleton makes them difficult for many animals to eat, and some tarantulas actually seem repelled by them (although I doubt a really hungry one would turn it down) the glass climbing becomes a pain when transporting them for feeding a large collection, and in some cages they wedge themselves into an inaccessable corner where the spider can't get to them.

I like them just as captives, though, and they are one of the stars of my educational programs. Always a big hit with the kids!

Wade

 

[Digby Rigby]

Hisser Fat!

Hello some hissers were dissected by a professor at UC Berkely. She was looking for suitible replacwnts for P americana. When sahe dissected the hissers she found them to be shell and fat. Also post the question at http://exoticfeeders.com a question can not be answered if it is not posted :?

 

[DR zuum]

Is there a link to that info?Id like to see her method of determining this,before i'll just accept it as fact.So far theres been nothing provided by you to support your position in the slightest,except your assertion that it is so. :? And not to sound arrogant or anything along those lines,but if such info existed i think it probably would have been posted here. I contacted a friend who is a entomologist and he's never heard that before either.So please if you have the link to that data it would be appreciated.Because it's certainly not at your site.

 

[Wade]

I couldn't find it there either. I guess we're supposed to join that forum and post the question there? Unfortunately, I barely have time to keep up with the forums/lists I already belong to.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned so far is where is it written that high-fat prey is bad for tarantulas? The original query was about feeding hissers to tarantulas, and I don't think there's any evidence that a high-fat diet makes any difference to them. Who knows, a high-fat snack now and then might actually be bennificial.

Wade

 

[davegrimm1]

hissers as food

fat or not my theraphosa apophasis (related to blondi) relishes the hisser,and not one complaint. I also fed an adult hisser to my hatian brown 3" spider and he slammed that hisser hard. the only thing left is his little helmet and a pile of goo in the corner. Dave :}

 

[JustBugs]

Variety a key to captive husbandry.

After 30+ years of captive husbandry of a myriad of insectivorous animals, I would have to agree with James. It's not which insect or item has what nutritional value but feeding a variety of items is the key to successful husbandry. Monocultural diets incur a risk of nutritional deficiencies and dietary imbalances.
I'm sure that if you watched any of a number of animals in their natural habitats, with exceptions of course, it would be determined that most are opportunistic feeders and eat whichever prey happens to come along. It's always best to vary your pets diet unless it contains a formula to address most of the nutritional requirements for that animal. Insects simply, do not provide this formula.
It's also proven that many insects assimilate whichever food items they are fed prior to feeding your pets. It's best to give your feeders just as nutritional of a diet as you would want to feed your pet. Organic fruits and vegetables and a good protein source is essential. You are what you eat is the case with your feeder insects. Proper gutloading formula, like that available on the Adcham website, has been utilized by many professionals and has been proven to ensure proper nutrition for your pet. It has worked quite well for us and our animals.
It is available at http://www.adcham.com/html/husbandry/gutload.html

I hope this helps in some small way.

Kenn Mease
Admin
www.justbugs.com

 

[Gsc]

Completely agree... If you are NOT raising your own feeder insects (like roaches) please remember to feed your "pet store" crickets for a few days before you feed them to your animals... you'll have alot happier/healthier animals by doing this...

JustBugs- Great link! The bee pollen at my local healthfood store is WAY overpriced...I'll have to look at the online sources!

 

[NiGHTS]

Not to change the subject too much... but I have heard that the coloration of Hissers can be determined by the type of food that they are fed. It seems like they can range from orange banded to completely black, depending on their diet. Has anyone experimented with this to see what types of foods yield which colorations?

 

[Gsc]

I think thats BS NiGHTS...I say this because I have a colony of hissers that has both regular colored individuals and black morphs living in it alongside each other.... both eating the same stuff.... In tropical fish, you can modify their coloration through diet, but I don't think you can do much with roaches by offering a certain "color enhancing/changing" food.

I could be completely wrong... there are some really good roach people on this board that could give you another opinion.

Good luck

 

[cacoseraph]

I think thats BS NiGHTS...I say this because I have a colony of hissers that has both regular colored individuals and black morphs living in it alongside each other.... both eating the same stuff.... In tropical fish, you can modify their coloration through diet, but I don't think you can do much with roaches by offering a certain "color enhancing/changing" food.

I could be completely wrong... there are some really good roach people on this board that could give you another opinion.

Good luck

i thought most invertebrate coloration was from refraction of light on cuticle etc, not reflection from pigments... so for one thing, food affecting coloration would only be noticeable after a molt.

 

[NiGHTS]

I have to admit that I'm a roach noob (I actually just ordered my first ones from James today =). I read about the color changing on a few different web sites. Here's a quote from the Allpet Roaches site:

(http://www.angelfire.com/oh2/Roaches/) "Adult coloration is variable and can be determined more by food than genetics. Roach cultures tend to shift color --over time-- depending on what their owner's feed them. Feeding only affects coloration when still nymphs; adults will never change to another color because they do not molt."

So, that said... is it B.S., or has anyone experienced this? I'd just like to know so I can figure out what to feed my new babies when they arrive.

 

[Gsc]

Hey NiGHTS- If Orin & Roachman Willis says it in the Allpet Roach book then I'd say its true and I stand corrected... I've never seen it in any of my colonies, but I respect Orin and Willis...they are both Roach Kings!

I'm going to check into this...now you got me thinking...

 

[jtablerd]

digby - i'm sorry man, i understand that youre trying to promote your site and all, but if youre going to incessantly plug by finding a way to put exoticfeeders.com in each and every post (and yes, it really is in every post he's made) ... maybe youd consider putting the address in your signature and stop finding ways to make me read a paragraph just to tell me to go to your site...i know i'm not a mod, and im sorry if im flaming, but come on, i have no problem reading a post on how roaches are so great....but ..

that being said, i think that hissers certainly cant be any worse than the crickets that most people feed their t's and other insect/carnivores...

sorry if i sound b!tchy...