Dead/drunk roaches

V

vounti

First Instar
Hello everyone,

2 days ago I gave my cockroaches some meal. This morning I opened the bin and noticed my roaches were on their back and not moving. I also noticed an alcohol odor which probably comes from fermentation. They are Pycnoscelus surinamensis. They don't have much ventilation to keep the substrate moist and also to prevent escapes since they climb everything. I removed some roaches and noticed they would wake up and run pretty fast. I isolated a few of them and opened the lid to allow ethanol to evaporate. I couldn't isolate more since I have an exam this morning

Do you guys think they'll die soon or is there a chance for them to survive? 

 
I'd increase ventilation while they're recovering, I've never had this issue personally, may have been due to the specific type of food you were using? 

 
Indeed, I made a mistake with the food. I gave them rice and they pulled it everywhere in the substrate. It was rotting. I realized that when I looked into the substrate and found it was very hot. Fermentation produces heat! 
 

Currently a bit of decaying food is left but the substrate is much colder than a few days ago. I guess there is less fermentation activity which is a good thing. I have a few dead roaches but the colony should be fine. I removed the closed lid to put some mesh lid on top to increase ventilation. Thanks for the reply Hisserdude ! 

 
No problem! I've also noticed that when Surinam roach colonies get overcrowded, they do produce a lot of heat, and many individuals often die due to the overcrowding and rot, so that could have been an issue as well, if you have hundreds of them in there. 

 
I don't think so. My colony just settled in. This is my first colony by the way. I have tons of tiny babies but not that much adults... and I ordered 500 of them since I did not know if they would survive and also since they're kind of endearing. The heat and fermentation problem seems solved. This morning it does not smell anymore and the substrate is at a normal temperature. I decreased ventilation and increased humidity. Thanks again for the piece of advice. Have a good one :)

 
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