A. tesselata HELP!

KitKatie329

KitKatie329

Sixth Instar
I got some A. tesselatas in the mail today and one of them is real beat up. It looks ok on visual inspection but it is struggling to get around. I put it alone in a "rehab" tank to see if it will bounce back but watching it move is just pitiful, I really don't want to put it out of its misery if I don't have to, but do you guys think it will probably die anyway? And is the freezer the most humane option here?

 
Aw man, nevermind. I just checked on it again and it is having twitch fits. I know its just an insect but it looks terrible, gonna go stick it in the freezer. :unsure: I really hate killing things. :(

 
Sorry about your loss. ):

Sometimes when they have "twitch fits" after shipping it's because of a failed molt during shipping.

 
I don't think it was a failed molt so much as it being stuck in the shipping container at a weird, tight angle. There wasn't a whole lot of movement room for them. But the seller did send a couple extra so I can't complain, I just have a tender heart and hate seeing things suffer.

 
:( Sorry to hear that. Well if you have to dispatch your roach the freezer works. My 3 main ways are 1:ethyl acetate in killing jars works as a gas for smaller species 2: ammonia injected with a hypodermic needle works really well for larger species also sterilizes the insides which is good incase you'd want to mount the specimen 3: good ol freezer. I save all the roaches that die in my colonies unless they're really beat up. You can put them in shadow boxes, heard of one person making roach molds for casting jewelry, have a periplaneta in a clear plastic resin ball very neat to look at. Well hopefully the rest of your babies grow old and have grandbabies. Good Luck!
 
Once a roach gets to that point I doubt it could recover. I lost all of mine except two sub-adults to failed molts so I feel your pain. Those two are in with my very humid american roach tank now in hopes they will molt properly. Good luck with the rest of them.

 
Well recently purchased a colony for the first time. Had them in one tank with coconut egg crates the basic setup. They weren't thriving so I switched them into a screen tank with coconut fiber mixed with cypress and oak leaves 30/30/30. This is a tall screen tank with lots of hanging plants spray them every 3 days or so. Had one die but they're thriving 84 degrees. Hope things get better for you'll, peppered roaches are very awesome!!!

vfox said:
Once a roach gets to that point I doubt it could recover. I lost all of mine except two sub-adults to failed molts so I feel your pain. Those two are in with my very humid american roach tank now in hopes they will molt properly. Good luck with the rest of them.
Click to expand...
 
Sad: I lost two more nymphs last night, but the rest of them all seem to be perky so I have high hopes.

Awesome: I think it is the cutest thing in the world when they are cleaning themselves and they have random little legs up in the air. They look like my cat... only, not.

 
Ugh. I lost another one. I wish I knew what was going on here! These were just to beef up the colony I already have had successfully for like half a year, so I know it isn't something I'm doing. Some species can be so frustrating. Even if I only get one breeding pair by the end of all this, it will still be worth it to me.

 
In the end I think I lost 4, but the rest are all doing well and I've had like 3 of them molt successfully, so my hopes are high!

 
OMG! One of my nymphs just molted out into an adult!!!!! I don't know if I'm just nuts, but I've been waiting FOREVER for this to happen and I'm super excited! Here's hoping it hardens up nicely! There will be pictures!

 
Aw, it doesn't look like its wings are going to expand correctly. :( I have the humidity around 50-75% which is hard as it is because of my local climate, is this not high enough? It's usually closer to 50ish. I'll still take a picture once it's finished hardening though, even dopey roaches need love.

 
Ugh, I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. I've had two nymphs molt out into adults, and neither one of them can expand their wings completely. They also don't color up. They seem to be getting around fine and they are eating. I have the humidity at 75%, and they have vertical surfaces to molt on, what am I doing wrong here?

This is the one that molted a few days ago:

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This is the one that molted last night:

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My room is approx 40% humidity with spraying every 3 days and my A. tesselata are molting fine. After moving them to a large screen tank, the roaches prefer to molt climbing the enclosure. There is nothing special here except fresh fruits and veggies.

 
There's a lot of wing in this species. I've noticed some molting issues with the wings too. I had them in a 30 gallon hexagonal with plants at one point. Adults loved to climb and would make it up very thin branches. I did keep a section of egg carton leaning up against the side of the tank to help with molting, but even then there were a couple imperfect molts. The roaches are pretty big. Maybe the recesses in the egg carton don't allow them to position themselves in the right position everytime, and like moths, mantises and other winged pets, they have trouble inflating their large wings if hanging/drying angles are a bit off.

 
Hmm, that makes sense. I switched them to a tub that will keep in humidity better, and I'll give them something not eggcrate to molt on.

 
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