Dirty Nymphs

[Roachman26]

Couldn't decide whether to put this post in Breeding and Nymphs or Enclosures and Barriers, so I put it here. I just set up my first enclosures with substrate and my B. giganteus nymphs are covered in "dirt". I used a mix of fine coco fiber(like bed-a-beast), coarse coco fiber(1/4 to 1/2 inch chunks), and plain garden soil. Is this normal? Could it hurt them somehow? I mean they are coated with dirt head to toe. It seems to be sticking to them. Substrate is slightly damp, but the egg flats sitting on it are dry, so its not too wet. Should I use something else or just not worry about it. I'm about to buy some more, so I want to make sure everything is squared away with their set-up before I do. I'll try to post pics later. Thanks.

 

[laughing dog]

Couldn't decide whether to put this post in Breeding and Nymphs or Enclosures and Barriers, so I put it here. I just set up my first enclosures with substrate and my B. giganteus nymphs are covered in "dirt". I used a mix of fine coco fiber(like bed-a-beast), coarse coco fiber(1/4 to 1/2 inch chunks), and plain garden soil. Is this normal? Could it hurt them somehow? I mean they are coated with dirt head to toe. It seems to be sticking to them. Substrate is slightly damp, but the egg flats sitting on it are dry, so its not too wet. Should I use something else or just not worry about it. I'm about to buy some more, so I want to make sure everything is squared away with their set-up before I do. I'll try to post pics later. Thanks.

i was wondering if i needed to set the gigantus up like that as well, but all i have now is big sand castle looking egg crate materials so they can molt out properly. do they need more than the average feeder roach food? ive seen and heard of needing coco fiber or something to be kept moist for them to be in as well as eat. is this true? i just have them on the regular diet, with some algea also. im just wondering why my gigantus and hissers seem to be doing so much better than my dubias, as i thought dubais were a much lower maintanance species than either or both of the other two?

 

[Zephyr]

That covering means you've got a good substrate.

Materials naturally cling to various Blaberus sp; probably as a form of camouflage. I find Archimandrita, Blaberus, and Hemiblabera nymphs covered like this all the time. It has no ill effects.

 

[Zephyr]

i was wondering if i needed to set the gigantus up like that as well, but all i have now is big sand castle looking egg crate materials so they can molt out properly. do they need more than the average feeder roach food? ive seen and heard of needing coco fiber or something to be kept moist for them to be in as well as eat. is this true? i just have them on the regular diet, with some algea also. im just wondering why my gigantus and hissers seem to be doing so much better than my dubias, as i thought dubais were a much lower maintanance species than either or both of the other two?

They definitely require more than your average feeder roach; A bare minimum of 3" of substrate (cypress mulch mixed with coco fiber/coir, topsoil, vermiculite with oak leaves on top) is needed to keep your nymphs hydrated, sheltered, and comfy. Subadults need at least a 6" x 8" surface at an 85 degree or more angle to drop their wings.

Some people get dubias that reproduce like mad, others get colonies that crash. It's just the luck of the draw.

 

[Matt K]

Couldn't decide whether to put this post in Breeding and Nymphs or Enclosures and Barriers, so I put it here. I just set up my first enclosures with substrate and my B. giganteus nymphs are covered in "dirt". I used a mix of fine coco fiber(like bed-a-beast), coarse coco fiber(1/4 to 1/2 inch chunks), and plain garden soil. Is this normal? Could it hurt them somehow? I mean they are coated with dirt head to toe. It seems to be sticking to them. Substrate is slightly damp, but the egg flats sitting on it are dry, so its not too wet. Should I use something else or just not worry about it. I'm about to buy some more, so I want to make sure everything is squared away with their set-up before I do. I'll try to post pics later. Thanks.

Mine live in 1.5 to 2 inches of cypress mulch, and may or may not get "dusty". this is normal for many roaches in the hobby.

 

[Roachman26]

Mine live in 1.5 to 2 inches of cypress mulch, and may or may not get "dusty". this is normal for many roaches in the hobby.

Thanks Matt K and Zephyr. I feel much better about it now. I just pulled an old, fallen Silver Dollar Aspen tree out of my beaver pond today. Its been soaking in there for 4 or 5 years. I figure that since its been submerged, it won't have any terrestrial critters in it. I'm going to cut the trunk in to 12 inch lengths, scrub it with hot water and then let it dry out in the sun for a couple of weeks. Then I'll mount it vertically on a plywood base with some lag bolts and bury the base in my giganteus substrate. I've got Mulberry and Oak too. Maybe I'll do three in a row and see if they prefer one "tree" over the other. I've got a few months to wait for them to reach adulthood anyway.

 

[Roachman26]

i was wondering if i needed to set the gigantus up like that as well, but all i have now is big sand castle looking egg crate materials so they can molt out properly. do they need more than the average feeder roach food? ive seen and heard of needing coco fiber or something to be kept moist for them to be in as well as eat. is this true? i just have them on the regular diet, with some algea also. im just wondering why my gigantus and hissers seem to be doing so much better than my dubias, as i thought dubais were a much lower maintanance species than either or both of the other two?

You are not alone with the mixed results. My craniifer are moving very slowly too. Babies and nymphs just don't seem to be growing or thriving. All of my other Blaberus and a few others, including some dubia, are just rockin' under the same conditions. I've kept hissers for many years and I can tell you, they are nearly indestructible. I don't have much experience with any of the others...yet. So I kind of feel like I'm fumbling around in the dark. A few of these guys here on the forum have great flashlights, though.

 

[Peter Clausen]

I have an inch or so of coconut fiber in the very bottom of my B. giganteus tank too (some egg crates stacked above). This substrate adheres to B. giganteus nymphs more than any other species. I believe they are covered with an extra thick layer of small "hairs". They really like to burrow for a big roach.

 

[Roachman26]

Here's the pics.

 

[Matt K]

Looks pretty clean and normal...

Since you are going to effort to "trick out" your home for them, I would suggest somehow making a 'hollow log' with a large cut-away opening to see whats inside. Then regularly mist the inside of that log and not so much the outside/surrounding area so as to get the inside to slightly rot and be mushy. You may be interested to see what happens.

 

[Roachman26]

Looks pretty clean and normal...Since you are going to effort to "trick out" your home for them, I would suggest somehow making a 'hollow log' with a large cut-away opening to see whats inside. Then regularly mist the inside of that log and not so much the outside/surrounding area so as to get the inside to slightly rot and be mushy. You may be interested to see what happens.

I'll do that. The trunk of my formerly sunken Aspen is long dead and about 7" in diameter. I can hollow it out with a big spade bit. But, what do you know that your not telling? What's going to happen that might be interesting. Very mysterious...

 

[laughing dog]

the place where i got my possible gigantus, had them on coco fiber with two or three small half log bark hides, as the only thing in there, besides the water crystal dish. they said once they got going after a long time, they took off really well. they were just in a maybe fifteen to twenty gallon tank at most, and the bottom was covered with them, so i figured they would do well, as they were also right inside a bright glass door, with no noticable heat source. they were bigger than the hissers, so was thinking they werent the false death heads as they were sold. im really psyched to have some adults molt out well. would it do well to find out what they were feeding or take some fras from the other roaches to put by them even they seem to be starting to make a fairly decent amount already?

 

[laughing dog]

i have some wood in mind to make a hanging spot, but any wood better or bad to use, as well as any pics of what would be best to do with setting it up(the one set up pic ive found just showed the top part of a log cut standing up)?