How to keep Panesthia?
- Thread starter Hornet
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Gsc
Fifth Instar
I only have a few nymphs so my experience is limited. Keep them in a cage with a deep rotten wood/leaf substrate (~5"-6" would be great). Depending on the species you can supplement thier rotten wood diet with some dog food kibble and fresh fruit (they usually don't pay much attention to it though). Keep somewhat moist...the deep substrate will allow a natural moisture gradient. Nymphs may take a few years to reach adulthood. Adults can live 3-5 years I believe.
Very cool species... you are really lucky to be able to find them.
Good luck,
Graham
Very cool species... you are really lucky to be able to find them.
Good luck,
Graham
Matt K
Eurycotis
There are lots of roaches that live 3 years. Macropanesthia rhinoceros lives over 10 years.
As far as finding what you are pretty sure are Panesthia sp., what country are you in ??? In thye USA there are none that you can just find. They only exist in the wild in parts of Asia and Australia. Can you post a pic? ?
The problem is there might not be anyone out there with long term success with this genus who feels they can give you a qualified answer. Some species may be quite easy to keep but they are slow growing, accept little abuse and are rather difficult to acquire in the West. I had a few nymphs of P. angustipennis angustipennis a very long time ago that lived to adulthood but they were both males. They fed on dog food and fruit just like any other roach but they were never allowed to go without moisture. Also about a decade ago I was given six tiny P.angustipennis spadica and fed them primarily rotten wood. They molted a few times, never reached adulthood and lived from six to twelve months.
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Habibi18
Second Instar
Great! Looking forward to seeing the pics! *Wonders how many species of Panesthia there are*
The wood must be soft and rotten but not necessarily soft enough to be easily broken by hand. Since you will have the collection information make sure you find out the type of rotten wood they are eating. If you use the wrong tree (say a cottonwood instead of oak) that may prevent them from doing well. Termite frass probably has little nutrition left in it.
Matt K
Eurycotis
Hey Habibi18, I have a few suggestions and dont want to seem rude about it
1. An internet search finds all sorts of pics you are asking for and info about them on the internet, provided number 2 does not prove helpful.
2. Search this forum you will find pics of the above mentioned species..... look in the section called "Photos".
3. Read through differnt sections of this forum and you can find all sorts of related information that is great.
You do bring up a good point: native roaches of the genus Cryptocercus are very similar to termites in many ways. You may be interested in looking them up. "Members of the genus Cryptocercus are xylophagous, wingless, subsocial cockroaches that inhabit decaying logs in temperate forests."
Just pointing out some helpful info.
***Side note: I looked at your profile and see that you keep Hermit crabs. Very Cool! There are some really serious crab keepers out there with some interesting varieties....
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Habibi18
Second Instar
Thanks alot for the info! I will definitely look all of these up. And I have heard of some gorgeous species of hermit crabs that I hope I can get my hands on sooner or later. And about the Cryptocerus sp. I will definitely look those up.Hey Habibi18, I have a few suggestions and dont want to seem rude about it
2. Search this forum you will find pics of the above mentioned species..... look in the section called "Photos".
3. Read through differnt sections of this forum and you can find all sorts of related information that is great.
You do bring up a good point: native roaches of the genus Cryptocercus are very similar to termites in many ways. You may be interested in looking them up. "Members of the genus Cryptocercus are xylophagous, wingless, subsocial cockroaches that inhabit decaying logs in temperate forests."
Just pointing out some helpful info.
***Side note: I looked at your profile and see that you keep Hermit crabs. Very Cool! There are some really serious crab keepers out there with some interesting varieties....
Thanks for all info. YAY! :lol:
Unless wood rots at an astronomical speed in Australia, no. They might do just fine on dog food and fruit even if you don't locate decent rotten wood.
If it's soft enough for them to chew into it should be fine (as mentioned they may only do well on wood from specific tree genera). In the northern US it takes at least a few years for a fresh piece of wood to rot enough for a Panesthia to bite into. I'd guess the gum tree wood was already rotten when chopped up or that wood is soft like a reed (hard to believe the second is possible but we have staghorn sumac here that has very soft wood).
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