Banana roach red leg? Ootheca?

[Omri]

I just got a starter colony of P. nivea yesterday and today when I inspected it I found a dead adult with one bright red leg (pic attached). Does anyone know what this is? I’m worried it’s a disease.



Also last night I saw one with what appeared to be an ootheca coming out of its backside, but this species gives live birth so I was confused. I put the roach in question in a separate container in case it’s a parasite or something but then whatever it is went back in (I guess because I bothered her). Does the live birth just look like an ootheca at first or is this something else?

 

[kadupul]

The pink thing was brought up in a post a while back.



I believe that banana roaches gestate the ootheca within themselves and maybe like hissers they have to reorient it? I've never owned any P. nivea.

 

[Omri]

The pink thing was brought up in a post a while back.

Thanks! That thread makes it seem like they just turn pink as they decompose. Although I just found another adult with a pink leg but that one was still alive so I separated it and now its leg fell off and it doesn’t look like it’s about to die so I’m not sure what’s up with that. Maybe the leg was rotting off for some reason?

 

[kadupul]

I'm not sure what to make of that either. I'd keep that one separated for a little while just to be sure it's not contagious. Is there some way they could get a foot caught and twisted?

 

[Hisserdude]

The pink is due to the bacteria genus Serratia, which feeds on dead roaches (and rarely can infect live ones, causing minor health issues and sometimes just going away on it's own). I've never seen any Serratia spp. go after live Panchlora, but oddly pretty much every dead Panchlora adult in every colony I've had has been colonized by the stuff, often turning the entire dead roach pink. So yeah, nothing to worry about.

As for the oothecae, Panchlora are live bearers but like most live bearers do have an internal ooth, which they'll extend outwards and rotate once before giving birth. They'll also extend the ooth out and abort, dropping it on the ground if stressed. So either that female was rotating her ooth, or aborting it.

 

[Allpet Roaches]

It's the same bacteria that can show up as pink slime in your sink or toilet.