How do I breed Red Runners (Shelfordella lateralis)

Xenoblatta

Xenoblatta

Third Instar
Hello friends,

I wasn't sure about to start this thread, but maybe it could be useful for someone :-) 

I breed Red Runners using the same "cricket breeding model", and I've found that is a really organised way to breed this species.

I guess it begins with the harvesting of oothecae. Every some weeks I carefully take the most oothecae as possible away to the colonies tanks. Sometimes I do this at the same time of cleaning session in the colony, so I can replace the dirty substrate (free of oothecae) after that.



I use another bin with slightly moist substrate to put a layer of around one centimetre of Red Runner oothecae :-) 








At this point the growing tank should be ready for them to hatch and be free :-) I used to use crater pieces as ramps for them to get out of the incubator tupper by themselves; but mines use to be a little cowards and they takes their time to jump out of it. So I prefer to let the craters in and shake them out every some while











They are a lot, and in some weeks it will be necessary to divide the colonies into different tanks, I use to change the dirty substrate at this point again, is really easy when you don't have to be careful of discarting any oothecae :-)








And then they will have enough space to reach adulthood in a healthy way...








I use to do another complete cleaning of the tank before they start laying new oothecae... it makes such the work less chaotic ;-) 

And at this point I make "the purge" ... that means to take away the excess of males to reach a sex ratio of (in appearance) around 1 male for every 5 females... 








I use them all for the current tarantula´s feeding session...  :rolleyes:

I leave a satisfying video of some of them here... 




...And well, from here the process start again... This way I keep my Red Runner colonies clean, separated by sizes and always ready to use!

Bye!  :)

 
I tried to do a separation like this; I found it really difficult to separate eggs from frass, but I had let it go for a year.  Also, the frass had a lot of small roaches buried in it. so I put a dark pot in it and they climbed in.  For separating the males, I took the bin outside where it was about 3C / 37F (cold but not freezing).  The activity was so low, the males were easy to remove by hand.  

 
Any suggestions on what to put in a substate mix for these roaches? I'm getting 2k nymphs in the mail in a few days and plan to add cleaners (Springtails and Buffalo beetles) into the substate in order to keep the smell down and clean the bin less often (6-12months). Almost zero experience here, so I could be asking for too much from an already easy to culture feeder bug. 

 
Guest Zenvious said:
Any suggestions on what to put in a substate mix for these roaches? I'm getting 2k nymphs in the mail in a few days and plan to add cleaners (Springtails and Buffalo beetles) into the substate in order to keep the smell down and clean the bin less often (6-12months). Almost zero experience here, so I could be asking for too much from an already easy to culture feeder bug. 
Click to expand...
Hey! well... any organic substrate should be Ok (like coconut fiber)  

Do not use Buffalo Worms!... they will bite the ooths of Shelfordella lateralis, but springtails is completely fine if you plan to keep the substrate slightly moist. 

It depends on how much you use 🙂 2K nymphs would be a lot for myself (It depends on how much you need to use every time)... I mean... you could get a colony of thousands in a short time starting with 100 nymphs.  They breed like crazy!! 

 
Sorry, can I know the temperature and humidity that u use for keeping the oothecae? Also, is it safe to put the hatchlings with adults or they may eat them?

Can high humidity damage the oothecae?

 
I am thinking about setting some up in my attic. Can they handle temperatures in excess of 100 to 110-degrees Fahrenheit (those are estimates but likely pretty accurate)? 

 
Advice please. I have a small colony breeding readily. However I see lots of egg cases but no babies? 

 
Roaches that retain the ooths can cohabitate with buffalo beetles but those that lay ooths should not.  I'm waiting for my order to arrive.

 
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