How have cockroaches changed your life?
- Thread starter KitKatie329
- Start date
island reptiles
Third Instar
I have always loved reptiles growing up have tons of experience with many different species to start
we were breeding ball pythons tons of fun and very rewarding but we wanted to try something else so we traded a few snakes and got a few pairs
of bearded dragons.we instantly fell in love with these little dog like reptiles lol.from there we went up to about 20 adult dragons doing all the research we found that
the roaches were the best food for them and spending all that money on crickets and worms was getting a little much.
so we got out 1st colony of B.Dubia about 100 females and they produced well but not even close to enough so we invested alot more
to expand the colony to be able to feed all the dragons and the babies.
this is how things changed for me. Rich my business partner and cousin took care of all the reptiles and left me to keep then insects
the problem was Im allergic to adult Dubia but really like taking care of them and just playing around with them
from there we got G.proentensa and Eublaberus Posticus.
I very much enjoyed watching these colonies grow and as they grew so did my fascination (seems like obsession lol)
I started buying more species I picked up B.Laterlis,B.Craniifer,and A.tesselata.
still wanting more over the next few months spent countless hours researching,learning,and looking for new species
I made some big purchases adding E.SP Ivory,L.subcincta,e.floriana,N.Rhombifolia,E.decipiens,T.Olegrandjeani,B.giganteus,B.discoidlis
and Keith gave us 2 female G.Oblongonota
we now have 15 species of roaches,4 species of mantis,3 worms,and stick bugs and im happier then ever
if we had not moved into Roaches by now we would of been done breeding reptiles the amount of work and money it cost to raise them was just insane
it also changed our view with the business we decided to make prices reasonable for people to buy feeders and experience the roaches as pets
granted all of our prices are not low its generally based off of how much we paid and how large our stock is most of our feeder prices are much lower then other places and once the colonies of the pet roaches grow out more we will lower the prices the best we can.
sorry for the long story lol just one I actually love telling even when most people are like you breed roaches ewwwww
we were breeding ball pythons tons of fun and very rewarding but we wanted to try something else so we traded a few snakes and got a few pairs
of bearded dragons.we instantly fell in love with these little dog like reptiles lol.from there we went up to about 20 adult dragons doing all the research we found that
the roaches were the best food for them and spending all that money on crickets and worms was getting a little much.
so we got out 1st colony of B.Dubia about 100 females and they produced well but not even close to enough so we invested alot more
to expand the colony to be able to feed all the dragons and the babies.
this is how things changed for me. Rich my business partner and cousin took care of all the reptiles and left me to keep then insects
the problem was Im allergic to adult Dubia but really like taking care of them and just playing around with them
from there we got G.proentensa and Eublaberus Posticus.
I very much enjoyed watching these colonies grow and as they grew so did my fascination (seems like obsession lol)
I started buying more species I picked up B.Laterlis,B.Craniifer,and A.tesselata.
still wanting more over the next few months spent countless hours researching,learning,and looking for new species
I made some big purchases adding E.SP Ivory,L.subcincta,e.floriana,N.Rhombifolia,E.decipiens,T.Olegrandjeani,B.giganteus,B.discoidlis
and Keith gave us 2 female G.Oblongonota
we now have 15 species of roaches,4 species of mantis,3 worms,and stick bugs and im happier then ever
if we had not moved into Roaches by now we would of been done breeding reptiles the amount of work and money it cost to raise them was just insane
it also changed our view with the business we decided to make prices reasonable for people to buy feeders and experience the roaches as pets
granted all of our prices are not low its generally based off of how much we paid and how large our stock is most of our feeder prices are much lower then other places and once the colonies of the pet roaches grow out more we will lower the prices the best we can.
sorry for the long story lol just one I actually love telling even when most people are like you breed roaches ewwwww
Wolfie
Fourth Instar
Trying my best as we speak! I've got a few people I can speak to about it who might be able to take them for the summer and then deliver them to me in September when I move, so I can watch them until you can get them back.
But there you go, there's something else roaches have done, helped us find a bunch of friends here to help us out when we're in a spot of bother, whether it's a nymph with a bad shed, or a new home needed
Hooray! Relevant to the post!
Thomas
Fourth Instar
Surprised that this thread kinda died.
Roaches give me down time, another hobby in which I can invest my efforts and time, and hopefully a career in the future; they've opened up the door to entomology for me and I couldn't be more excited for the future now that I have an idea of what I want to be when I grow up.
Roaches give me down time, another hobby in which I can invest my efforts and time, and hopefully a career in the future; they've opened up the door to entomology for me and I couldn't be more excited for the future now that I have an idea of what I want to be when I grow up.
RomanBuck
Simandoa
someone i finally can relate to! haha. well my story is that when i was 11 i got really bored because all we had was a dog that was way to energetic for me. so i went on craigslist (which i now know wasnt right since my parents didnt know about it) and bought some dubias. i didnt want many but the guy that i got them from gave me 12. i only wanted 8. i was so scared because they were the biggest things id ever seen and i was afraid to touch them! eventually they all died off because i forgot about them. when i got my pacman frog the crickets that i fed him kept escaping. my mom and dad got sick of it so i thought about it and gave them an offer of dubias. i didnt call them roaches because they would have said no right away. so i called them beetles. we went to a reptile store that sold different species(twin cities reptiles for you guys in Minnesota!) and asked for a ratio of 1 male to 5 females.. they gave me 7 males and 5 females.. i was P.Oed but we went to a reptile show and i asked around and found a vendor. i asked how much i could get for $20. he said i could take as many as i wanted because it was the last day of the show. before i could even think about it he grabbed a XXL deli cup you use for selling large geckos or something like that, and he filled it as much as he could! i was sooo grateful for that guy! he gave me 5 males, 40 females, and 125 nymphs all randomly. i now have dubia, Madagascar hissers, and turkistan roaches. next week i am getting more hissers, lobster roaches, and blaberus craniifer all for FREE!!!! im so excited! im also grateful because i get to get to get out of school so i can educate elementary school students about the roach stigma and how its not all true!
Thomas
Fourth Instar
RomanBuck
Simandoa
gotta find the right people! just met her and she has a 75 gallon fish tank full of hissers, lobsters, and craniifer. shes sending (what she bought) a HUGE box full. i think the dimensions are 30 in long 10 in wide and 12 in high.. nearly as long as my dragons terrarium! i cant wait. she said she is shipping on monday!! ill start a new thread and hopefully when they start producing ill have some for sale!!Where are all these opportunities coming from? I'm jealous
I never saw a roach in person until I was 22, but saw them in some pictures and such and thought they were so beautiful. Then when I finally lived with German, the worst thing they did was foul my food and dishes a little. Big deal. They would crawl up my leg and tickle and it was so cute! Have you tried to get your parents to look at the cute, wavy antennae? I don't see how people can miss that and think they're repulsive looking! Also their pretty color varieties and usually gentle disposition. Stressing these factors should soften people up.
nirotorin
Second Instar
I started after animals before I could walk. Insects, spiders, toads, whatever a baby could grab. I moved to Hawaii when I was 4, and was able to catch geckos, anoles, and of course roaches. I got a male, and female roach in a kritter cage, and they had babies. I was quite fascinated, but I quickly realized they were kind of everywhere. So I stopped keeping them. At least until I needed something better than crickets in my late teens. So I started a dubia colony. I found them so interesting that they rekindled my love of roaches.
Cute names. Where did you get the names, may I ask? I named quite a few of my Germans. First there was Twictchy, Goldy, and Squiggly. Twitchy because of what they do with their antennae. Goldy was a little lighter brown. Squiggly slipped out of my hands a few times when I first caught him/her. Lucky I named as a counter to the hatred of the public toward them. Chrissy I caught just before Christmas. Tutti after a girl I know named Tutti Roche. Amber and Alice after bug girls I've known. I also owned 3 hissers. Takana was the girl. Naoshi and Monocco the boys. Their exotic species so I gave exotic names.
Nice story. Did you read mine above? What did you do with the roaches you stopped keeping? I've seen pictures of Dubia and they're beautiful. Have fun.
Did you get over your fear of touching them?
RomanBuck
Simandoa
I did I always hold them when feeding my dragon or if I see on that looks cool I just sit there with it.
nirotorin
Second Instar
Yeah, I read every post in this thread. I liked that you named german roaches, but I will never like that species. Well maybe never is too harsh. I lived in a house with a bad infestation for a while as a teen. I must have let the roaches I was keeping go free. I didn't have any chams at the time.
I like German as well as any roaches for their cute wavy antennae and German's lite brown color. Plus the fact that eveyone's after them. They can be a pest, but I feel it's worth it. I've also had Blaberus Discoid, but their were too many to name. I'm glad you let them go. Good for you. Are you still in Hawaii? What kind of species are there?
RoachyPissyHisser
Third Instar
Mine escaped a few weeks back. o.o They lurk always.....