Nauphoeta cinerea as feeders

M

mantisfan101

Third Instar
After a certain number of roaches were deregulated, I decided to start a feeder roach colony and these caught my attention. I can't keep red runners since they're still not legal and look too much like normal pet roaches(we're from the city and I'm used to seeing massive American roaches scurrying in my garage) and dubias grow too slowly and are too big so I decided to settle on lobster roaches. What's care like for these guys? I'm considering setting up a small tupperware bin and fill it with some egg crates and feed them apples, oranges, fish food, dog food, and lettuce. I have a heat mat I can use to provide extra heat. I've heard that they breed like crazy but I haven't really had any luck with breeding any species, not even hissers. Any tips on care are well appreciated!

 
They're a very easy species. They bred well for me at a range of temperatures, but heat of course speeds reproduction up. They shouldn't be without moisture for too long, but can take some dryness. A substrate can help with retaining moisture and if at least a corner of the enclosure is kept moist at all times, they should do just fine. The diet you mentioned would work great for them. :)  

 
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mantisfan101 said:
After a certain number of roaches were deregulated, I decided to start a feeder roach colony and these caught my attention. I can't keep red runners since they're still not legal and look too much like normal pet roaches(we're from the city and I'm used to seeing massive American roaches scurrying in my garage) and dubias grow too slowly and are too big so I decided to settle on lobster roaches. What's care like for these guys? I'm considering setting up a small tupperware bin and fill it with some egg crates and feed them apples, oranges, fish food, dog food, and lettuce. I have a heat mat I can use to provide extra heat. I've heard that they breed like crazy but I haven't really had any luck with breeding any species, not even hissers. Any tips on care are well appreciated!
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Red runners are legal. The USDA list just has a different synonym for Blatta lateralis. They call it Paratropes lateralis. 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=36981

For lobsters, I would start with a small Sterilite gasket bin. I have found that Tupperware containers sometimes take a bit of force to open, and that is not something I like in a roach bin. I started with 30 from Josh’s Frogs (they have been legally selling them for at least a year), and I now have a ton. I agree with @All About Arthropods on substrate, and I personally use coconut fiber. Regardless, these things are virtually indestructible. 

 
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The Mantis Menagerie said:
Guess I will be bugging my USDA entomology contact again tomorrow. This is like the third time this week! 
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Well if that was a bit of a mistake on their part, I hope they don't undo it, because if we ever do get Paratropes lateralis in the hobby, it'd be cool to be able to say we can keep them legally... 😄

 
Hisserdude said:
Well if that was a bit of a mistake on their part, I hope they don't undo it, because if we ever do get Paratropes lateralis in the hobby, it'd be cool to be able to say we can keep them legally... 😄
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I did notice something weird on iNaturalist’s taxonomy. B. lateralis was mentioned within genus Paratropes. 

 
The Mantis Menagerie said:
I did notice something weird on iNaturalist’s taxonomy. B. lateralis was mentioned within genus Paratropes. 
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I've had to report several roach taxon for being in the wrong place on INat, or for being synonyms, (most of which the admins have fixed now), so I'd be wary of using INat as a definitive source of taxonomy info... Then again, the CSF is getting a little behind on some of the more recent papers, so it's not entirely accurate yet either. 

 
Hisserdude said:
I've had to report several roach taxon for being in the wrong place on INat, or for being synonyms, (most of which the admins have fixed now), so I'd be wary of using INat as a definitive source of taxonomy info... Then again, the CSF is getting a little behind on some of the more recent papers, so it's not entirely accurate yet either. 
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I had thought iNaturalist was reliable, at least with the basics. 

 
The Mantis Menagerie said:
I had thought iNaturalist was reliable, at least with the basics. 
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Maybe with other taxon they are, but the Blattodean section there is barely managed, and had become a cesspool of misidentifications, (which I've been trying to correct), since there are only one or two roach experts that are on semi-regularly... 😅

 
Hisserdude said:
Maybe with other taxon they are, but the Blattodean section there is barely managed, and had become a cesspool of misidentifications, (which I've been trying to correct), since there are only one or two roach experts that are on semi-regularly... 😅
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I don’t consider myself anywhere near a roach expert, but maybe I should help curate. I have already become top identifier in some random taxa. 

 
NIce, I was just going to ask why red runners weren't deregulated! Also, how big are hatchling red runners? Are they like 3-4 mm long?

 
The Mantis Menagerie said:
I just confirmed that Paratropes lateralis is synonymous with Blatta lateralis on the list. 
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Very odd that they'd use that synonym, but at least we know that red runners are legal! Which is weird though, because I thought I heard there were actually restrictions coming for that species, due to them outcompeting other pest roaches where they've been introduced... 

 
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