Clever little devils!

BlattaAnglicana

BlattaAnglicana

Fourth Instar
I know it's not good to anthropomorphise or ascribe intelligence to creatures when it hasn't been proven, but the behaviour of some of my hisser nymphs over the past few weeks has made me think they must have some sort of "intelligence" about them - and made me laugh too, in a frustrated-but-admiring sort of way  :D

I keep them in a medium sized Exo Terra terrarium with a polystyrene textured "background" that pushes into the back wall firmly. This piece of polystyrene has a vertical slot in the back where you can pass cables etc. down the back of the background and into the enclosure under the substrate for temperature sensors, etc. There is another small slot at the bottom to allow the cables under the polystyrene. I have about 3-5cm dry substrate in the bottom which I used to pack these slots fairly tight to stop the roaches sneaking under the polystyrene and up into the slot at the back where it is very difficult to extricate them from.... or so I thought!!  :o

Anyway... a week or so ago I noticed there weren't so many nymphs in the enclosure, and as I was worried some might have died off I started looking all over for them. And guess where I found them? Yep, in the slot behind the polystyrene!!! The clever little devils had "worked out" that they could burrow under the substrate and through the narrow slot at the bottom to find a nice, tight, dark little space to huddle in. At first it was only a few so I left them be, thinking they would come out when they were hungry. But a couple of days later almost ALL the nymphs were behind that polystyrene! Somehow the "word" must have got out because clearly the others had followed the first few "pioneers" in. Anyway I decided I would prefer them out in the enclosure so with some persuasion from a small artist's paint brush and a bright light I managed to make them all crawl back through the slot at the bottom into the enclosure. I then plugged up the gap in the polystyrene with a couple of bits of sponge to stop them getting back in.

Phew - problem solved!

NOT!  :P

What I had forgotten was there's a similar slot the other side, which I had never seen any of the roaches get themselves into, so I assumed (ha ha) they didn't "realise" it was there.

Guess what, this morning I was checking behind the polystyrene "just in case" and what did I spot, two little roaches merrily waving their antennae at me in the other slot! Aaaaagh!!!!  :D :angry: :P

How they managed to find it and work out that they could do the same as the other side, and burrow underneath to get there, I don't know. All I know is that I have to admire their "ingenuity" in managing to get into the most unlikely of places and causing me all sorts of angst (and mirth!) in the process!

Clever little devils!  ;)

 
I use those terrariums, too, because I love the front doors.  I've learned that for just about any invert, those backgrounds turn out to be problematic as they are.  I'm too lazy to plug all the holes with aquarium sealant, plus I don't want to make them even harder to take out when someone inevitably makes their way back there.. so I just toss them now.  For really neat backdrops for all your critter tanks, check this out.

 
I think in addition to individuals cleverly figuring out how to reach a nice spot, I think they are attracted to each other. If I don't check on my hissers for a while, and the vasoline barrier at the lid is old, some nymphs will escape. They end up under random things in my animal room. The interesting thing is, they are always together. I've found several under one object, but never individuals scattered around different objects.

 
CritterChick said:
I use those terrariums, too, because I love the front doors.  I've learned that for just about any invert, those backgrounds turn out to be problematic as they are.  I'm too lazy to plug all the holes with aquarium sealant, plus I don't want to make them even harder to take out when someone inevitably makes their way back there.. so I just toss them now.  For really neat backdrops for all your critter tanks, check this out.
Click to expand...
LOL well I've taken your advice and given up on the background!

There has been another recent litter of newborns and they are so tiny that they can get everywhere, and a couple of days ago I found a solitary, teeny little one behind the polystyrene. My strong feeling is that the little ones don't thrive if they are on their own (the four from the first litter I had all died and never really looked healthy in hindsight, but I have only lost two out of about thirty from the ones that were born to bigger litters in January and the others are now very healthy and active) and I didn't want to leave it there on its own, so the fact that it was going to be almost impossible to extricate this tiny little bug sealed the decision - the background is out! Their cage looks a lot barer and not so nice without it, but at least I won't be worried about how to get a teeny little nymph out from behind it any more  :P

I loved the backgrounds on your link but I'm UK based so I'm not sure I'll be able to order from there, though I'm sure I'll find similar places over here in Europe if I google a bit!

 
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