Hissers on perpetual Hunger strike?

lordalgol

lordalgol

Ootheca
Hello folks, I'm new here since I've just recently started my first roach colonies, a group of hissers (all black so far, the seller didn't seem to know what sort of hisser they were) and a large group of dubias. They both eat Friskies Naturals catfood (unground) and my leftover fresh fruits and veggies.

The dubias are voracious eaters and active and already having babies-saw them yesterday when I was giving the various bugs some salads. The hissers on the other hand don't hardly eat anything even fresh foods and are very lethargic. Both colonies are currently at 80*F (room temp) but will be moved to the top of my new vivarium shelf above the lamps where they will be 90*F. I keep watersorb crystals for the roaches drinking and humidity.

Is this normal level of non-activity for Hissers?

 
Yeah it's normal. This same issue concerned me when I first got my hissers. They are eating, they just don't eat all that much. They also reproduce way slower than dubias, so don't freak out that you don't have babies yet. Also, 90* may be pushing it on the warm side for them, I've always seen 80 to 85 recommended for both species.

 
Thanks for the reply. Well if 80*F is Ok then I'll just keep them where they are on the bottom shelf. I've seen all the online roach breeders &you tubers using heat mats and saying basically "warmer the better" when discussing breeding roaches. But then all the hype says to use heat mats for Tarantulas too and I don't bother, my second floor apartment stays warm pretty much year round.

I suppose this means they will also breed outside my tubs too if they should escape since they are breeding at room temp now... another myth BUSTED! :D

 
Yeah, warmer is better, but there is a point where it's too warm. Also, I wouldn't worry about them breeding outside the bins. While it may be warm enough, I doubt your apartment is humid enough or has enough stray food sources ti facilitate them establishing a population outside their bins

 
My hissers are voracious and eat way more than my dubias. One thing that I've learned in the last few months is that how much they SEEM to eat, depends on how many individuals are in the enclosure. My hisser bins are pretty crowded and they'll eat a handful of dog kibble in a couple of days. My dubia bin is less crowded and it takes them 5-6 days to eat that amount. I've got some bins with only a few individuals where one piece of kibble lasts a whole week.

My guess is that you bought a whole load of dubia and only a few black hissers. Am I right?

If your hissers really aren't eating you might try warming them up a little and see if anything changes.

 
Roachman26 said:
My hissers are voracious and eat way more than my dubias. One thing that I've learned in the last few months is that how much they SEEM to eat, depends on how many individuals are in the enclosure. My hisser bins are pretty crowded and they'll eat a handful of dog kibble in a couple of days. My dubia bin is less crowded and it takes them 5-6 days to eat that amount. I've got some bins with only a few individuals where one piece of kibble lasts a whole week.My guess is that you bought a whole load of dubia and only a few black hissers. Am I right?

If your hissers really aren't eating you might try warming them up a little and see if anything changes.
Click to expand...
my hissers will be super active, battling and breeding constantly at 90-110 degrees Fahrenheit and i used to have a heating pad under them, and they crowded the hot spots and never seemed injured from the heat that was uncomfortable to me even when the heater got bumped up from low (though at high in the plastic tubs, the plastic was warping and starting to melt), were when i kept them in the eighties were my dubia were comfy (at a hundred they croaked off), they didnt do hardly anything.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top