2 year old hisser colony

Urko2013

Urko2013

First Instar
Ive had my hisser colony for about 2 years now and they are in a large RUB with vents

85 F and they breed well, however ive noticed since i had the original few i started with 2 years ago, most of the roaches end up as smaller adults

the past few months, especially the males, the females still grow to a good size.

Also im finding quite a few dead each day (while the main colony seem very healthy, they are not overcrowded) and the dead can be of varying age.

They dont hiss that much but i guess thats because they are seen every day.

Any thoughts on the above please.

Also am i right in saying the protein they need doesnt have to be animal based ?

 
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I got some roaches from a few feeder breeders, I can't say exactly what type of hisser they were, probably hybrids. The adults ranged anywhere from 4 to 8 grams. I had only 20 or so. The offspring of those roaches were huge, 8 to 14 g. It is just an enormous difference. I think when they are crowded, stressed, and have competition for food, they reach a smaller adult size.

 
I currently have a 79.6 mm G. portentosa that was reared all by itself with a few millipedes in the cage next to the main colony (it is Perdue giant stock I picked up in 1996 so some have been very big over the years) but they rarely get anywhere near that big in the crowded colony. I am certain it would have been notably smaller in the colony but I wonder very much if it would have been one of my giants or one of my small males.

 
Allpet Roaches said:
I am certain it would have been notably smaller in the colony but I wonder very much if it would have been one of my giants or one of my small males.
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Sounds like an experiment is at hand. In colony conditions I have this impression that the roaches do not do as well than when kept alone in good conditions, but some species like Lobster roaches seem to not vary health wise and personality when kept in crowded colonies (not certain though, just got the feeling that is how it is...).
 
happy1892 said:
Sounds like an experiment is at hand. In colony conditions I have this impression that the roaches do not do as well than when kept alone in good conditions, but some species like Lobster roaches seem to not vary health wise and personality when kept in crowded colonies (not certain though, just got the feeling that is how it is...).
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Actually when a few dozen lobsters got into a hisser cage they ended up 30-40% bigger than those in the more crowded lobster cage. There were quite a few hissers but the cage had a lot more surface area (10 gallon glass vs. 5 gallon bucket).
 
Hmm... interesting. My lobster roaches I think have been smaller when kept in poor conditions, like when kept too moist (disease or something hurts the colony some with that much moisture).

 
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For more than a decade I kept my Gyna bisannulata in a deli-cup and thought it was just a really tiny species.

 
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Allpet Roaches said:
For more than a decade I kept my Gyna bisannulata in a deli-cup and thought it was just a really tiny species.
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Hahah, priceless! :lol: How surprised were you when realized they were bigger than you first thought?

 
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Hisserdude said:
Hahah, priceless! :lol: How surprised were you when realized they were bigger than you first thought?
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I was impressed they got as big as G. lurida. Unfortunately, I thought they'd do better in a larger cage and I've been on the verge of losing them ever since (quite possibly unrelated).
 
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Allpet Roaches said:
I was impressed they got as big as G. lurida. Unfortunately, I thought they'd do better in a larger cage and I've been on the verge of losing them ever since (quite possibly unrelated).
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Well that's a shame, maybe you should downsize their cage? :wacko:

 
Cheers all for input.

Good points made by all.

Am i right then that they wont hiss much because i see them (feeding cleaning) each day etc.

Could i just ask here also, ive noticed several females with the ootheca partly hanging out of them,

is this normal behaviour?

http://www.roachforu...p?showtopic=474

Ahh found my answer above, well detailed post , cheers.

 
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happy1892 said:
Sounds like an experiment is at hand. In colony conditions I have this impression that the roaches do not do as well than when kept alone in good conditions, but some species like Lobster roaches seem to not vary health wise and personality when kept in crowded colonies (not certain though, just got the feeling that is how it is...).
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Ill take one or two babies and put them in their own enclosure and see what size they grow to.

 
I can't help but wonder if: High Temp=Rapid Growth=Smaller Ultimate Size. What do you think??

 
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