Few Questions cant seem to find

A

Andy_Panda

First Instar
I have been searching this forum and I can’t seem to get these questions answered so I’m going to ask here (not sure if this is the right place).

first of all I would like to purchase or obtain some NON CLIMBING/ NON FLYING/ NON ABLE MULTIPLY OUTSIDE THEIR ENCOSURE feeder roaches that I plan to keep in a Rubbermaid container for my 2 Alligator lizards and soon Bearded Dragons, so what ones should I be looking for (I Believe that roachman26 told me in a pm a while back but lost it since) would Domino Roaches work???

My second question is in the Rubbermaid container what screens do you use, and how to secure/glue the screens on for ventilation

my third question will be would a 10 gallon, Glass aquarium be able to accommodate 2-4 Archimandrita tesselata, or even some hisser roaches :) thanks again an I do apologize in advance if I did not post this in the right area / and all the questions lol.

 
Hello,

a good feeder roach for you would be Blaptica dubia. Domino roaches are rather slow producing and adult ones are able to climb. You also have to keep them a little more humid than other roaches and they like to burrow themselves.

I cut my plastic containers with a disk saw, but a cutter also works fine. Then I use a soldering iron to melt the plastic and fuse it to metal fly sreen. That was the most robust solution I tried so far.

Yes, that tank is actually very big for just a handfull of roaches. With the hissers you must make sure that your tank is secure because all stages are good climbers.

 
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first of all I would like to purchase or obtain some NON CLIMBING/ NON FLYING/ NON ABLE MULTIPLY OUTSIDE THEIR ENCOSURE feeder roaches

*Your requirements really narrow it down to a few limted choices. Most tropical roaches will not survive in your house for long if you live in a temperate or northern climate. So your best choices may be Blaptica dubia and Blatta lateralis, which is why they are the two most common feeders.

My second question is in the Rubbermaid container what screens do you use, and how to secure/glue the screens on for ventilation

* I use common aluminum window screen and use hot glue to adhere it to my rubbermaid or Sterlite tubs. Works well, and I have photos of them on this forum for reference.

my third question will be would a 10 gallon, Glass aquarium be able to accommodate 2-4 Archimandrita tesselata, or even some hisser roaches :) thanks again an I do apologize in advance if I did not post this in the right area / and all the questions lol.

*A 10 gallon tank will hold up to 30 or 40 A.tesselata easily, maybe more. Certainly even more than that (up to 100) hisser roaches. Note that with hissers you will need a very well fitting lid, as they climb, and the nymphs are small, climb well, and can get through narrow spaces.

 
Other good feeder species would be:

Blaberus discoidalis, Blaberus boliviensis, Eublaberus posticus.

 
ok another quick question on both of these .... do the Blaptica dubia and Blatta lateralis grow very big ... my 2 alligator lizards are pretty small .. but each will eat 3-4 small crickets a week... thanks in advance

 
Dubia's are about 5 times the size of lateralis.

Lateralis are a little bit smaller than crickets.

 
Zephyr said:
Dubia's are about 5 times the size of lateralis.Lateralis are a little bit smaller than crickets.
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ok then .. i have been looking around and the Lateralis are INVASIVE??? then some people say they cant breed at low temperatures .. i plan on leaving in garage ...... i think im going to rephrase my question ... what is the most least invasive cockroach i live in the mountians of northern california so cold wet winters and hot dry summers

 
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Andy_Panda said:
ok then .. i have been looking around and the Lateralis are INVASIVE??? then some people say they cant breed at low temperatures .. i plan on leaving in garage ...... i think im going to rephrase my question ... what is the most least invasive cockroach i live in the mountians of northern california so cold wet winters and hot dry summers
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Hi Andy. The others forum members have definitely been steering you the right way. I make my bins the same way as Matt, with hot glue and a Dremel tool with a cutting disc. I make an opening on opposing sides about 3x6". But a little bigger or smaller might be appropriate depending upon how humid it is where you will be keeping them.

I've been keeping Blatta lateralis now for several months and have had no problems with escaping and or infestation. I read those other posts too and was also very leery. For me, they have been no different than any other roach species. They don't climb, they don't fly and mine don't escape in any way. They are also probably a little more cold tolerant, which sounds scary, but it also means they are likely to do better in a cold garage.

The dubia or discoidalis will be a better size for your dragons as they get older, but the lateralis will be just right for alligator lizards and small beardies. You can handpick the right size dubia or discoids for any size predator.

One of the things I like best about the lateralis is that they don't try to hide when you drop them into your animals enclosure. They just run around until they get eaten. The others are all pretty good burrowers and hiders. I usually hand feed the others ones with rubber-tipped forceps.

If I were you, I'd try two or three species and experience the difference for yourself. Get the roaches going ASAP as they take a while to really get up and running enough to feed them out in substantial numbers. You'll also have to learn how to sex them, so you can feed out the males and save the females for breeding. But more on that stuff later...

 
Andy_Panda said:
ok then .. i have been looking around and the Lateralis are INVASIVE??? then some people say they cant breed at low temperatures .. i plan on leaving in garage ...... i think im going to rephrase my question ... what is the most least invasive cockroach i live in the mountians of northern california so cold wet winters and hot dry summers
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I wouldn't be worried too much about lateralis invasiveness. They are already out in CA so if they were going to become invasive (as in an invasive species in “the wild”, they don’t live well in your house) in your neck of the woods my guess is that they'd already be there. They are really easy to contain though so I wouldn’t worry about that too much.

Also, what temps are you looking at in the garage? No matter what the feeder you're using they don't like cold (<65 at a max) temperatures. Personally I love my lateralis for feeders; I’d support Roachman26’s opinion in saying you may want to try a few (lats and dubia) to see which one you like. Be warned however, you’ll probably like both for different reasons and that’s how the addiction starts for most of us… :)

 
well thanks to both of you ... ok then im going to set up the glass fish tank i have for some of the lateralis ... i already have egg crates, and some dishes, metal screen top and a heat lamp just need a bulb now and the little feeders... what type of bulb should i use? the red heat lamps thanks again for all the insight

When i start breeding them better ill make a rubbermaid container so i can place the lateralis in there and make the aquarium a home for some much bigger pet roaches (so the kids can enjoy them )

again thanks for all the answers to my "noob" questions

 
Andy_Panda said:
well thanks to both of you ... ok then im going to set up the glass fish tank i have for some of the lateralis ... i already have egg crates, and some dishes, metal screen top and a heat lamp just need a bulb now and the little feeders... what type of bulb should i use? the red heat lamps thanks again for all the insightWhen i start breeding them better ill make a rubbermaid container so i can place the lateralis in there and make the aquarium a home for some much bigger pet roaches (so the kids can enjoy them )

again thanks for all the answers to my "noob" questions
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I wouldn't use a fish tank for lateralis. The little nymphs can climb up the silicone in the corners. You might be able to use a thin layer of vaseline to stop them, but I've never tried that with this species. You can hot glue your metal screen on the top of a rubbermaid bin, instead of the sides, if you're going to use a heat lamp. I've never used this method, so I'd rather somebody with more experience chime in here. I've only kept them in an 18 gallon plastic tub in a heated, humidified room.

The fish tank would probably work great for some pepppered roaches. These are relatively calm and easy to handle. Plus their nymphs are born pretty big, so climbing the silicone in the corners shouldn't happen. Any of the hissers would be great too, but you'd have to run silicone all around the top since they are great climbers.

 
Roachman26 said:
I wouldn't use a fish tank for lateralis. The little nymphs can climb up the silicone in the corners. You might be able to use a thin layer of vaseline to stop them, but I've never tried that with this species. You can hot glue your metal screen on the top of a rubbermaid bin, instead of the sides, if you're going to use a heat lamp. I've never used this method, so I'd rather somebody with more experience chime in here. I've only kept them in an 18 gallon plastic tub in a heated, humidified room.The fish tank would probably work great for some pepppered roaches. These are relatively calm and easy to handle. Plus their nymphs are born pretty big, so climbing the silicone in the corners shouldn't happen. Any of the hissers would be great too, but you'd have to run silicone all around the top since they are great climbers.
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well the peppered roaches are not a good feeder option right now ... i really dont have a room thats both humid and warm so i think the vasaline trick should work for the lateralis unless there is a different small spieces of feeder roach avalible ... or i can get a bin that seems the easiest at this time ... i just really am on a fixed buget to tell the truth but a bin should not be too expensive..

 
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Andy_Panda said:
well the peppered roaches are not a good feeder option right now ... i really dont have a room thats both humid and warm so i think the vasaline trick should work for the lateralis unless there is a different small spieces of feeder roach avalible ... or i can get a bin that seems the easiest at this time ... i just really am on a fixed buget to tell the truth but a bin should not be too expensive..
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Oops! I meant run vaseline around the top for the hissers.

 
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