do I need to add nutrients?

H

hissterical

First Instar
My youngest hisser just molted--the first time one of my roaches has done so! I was terrified when I looked in the tank walking by. Not expecting a giant pulsing ghost roach to be sitting on top of the log in the middle of the day.

Anyway, I was excited to get the old skin and pin it up, but he spun around and ate it in under five minutes, the whole thing except his old face. (I agree with him that that would be super creepy.)

is this a sign that I need to add calcium or something to their options? I have an old cuttlebone around here somewhere, and also have egg shells regularly that I could throw in. Right now they get varied fruit/veg (heavy on carrots/apples/bananas with occasional other stuff), cat kibble, cricket cubes, and crushed up dog biscuits.

 
hissterical said:
My youngest hisser just molted--the first time one of my roaches has done so! I was terrified when I looked in the tank walking by. Not expecting a giant pulsing ghost roach to be sitting on top of the log in the middle of the day.

Anyway, I was excited to get the old skin and pin it up, but he spun around and ate it in under five minutes, the whole thing except his old face. (I agree with him that that would be super creepy.)

is this a sign that I need to add calcium or something to their options? I have an old cuttlebone around here somewhere, and also have egg shells regularly that I could throw in. Right now they get varied fruit/veg (heavy on carrots/apples/bananas with occasional other stuff), cat kibble, cricket cubes, and crushed up dog biscuits.
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Nah, that is normal for most roaches. I'm not sure about the reasoning behind it besides just acquiring some additional nutrition. The diet you are providing them is also fine. :)  

 
My middle boy molted overnight--he's now the largest, by far--and again, didn't eat his old face (but everything else). So weird. For reasons I do not understand, the face scares me more than the entire hissing (he's the loud one) bug. Gives me the creeps.

 
I kinda like roach heads. From above it's an oval with a big blunt pronotum at the front, but from other angles - look! There's a likkle face tucked away under there...

Though I can see how the disembodied ghostly crust of one might seem a little... accusatory.

How big are are your hissers now?

 
Hi WarrenB,

I like their faces when they are part of the whole roach, but the empty shells? Skeeve me.

They aren't so big compared to what I see online--I specifically picked juveniles when I got them so I could see them grow. Just big enough to sex, really.

My biggest one (since his recent molt) is about 2.5 inches. Here's a recent pic of him:


 
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