How to start up a colony

Not very likely people are wasteful and throw out fresh veggies all the time that maybe discolored or a lil moldy on one tiny spot. Its kinda a judgment call thing I wouldn't feed them just anything just the most choice trash lol 

I fed my dubia, orange head, and lateralis exclusively on trash for over a year and they did great.

 
I will tell you will probably enjoy the roaches more than the tarantulas. I have 7 t's and the roaches give me more entertainment. I personally prefer hissers for t feeders. They do not burrow and since they climb they are easier to catch as nymphs. As far as cost  of feeding roaches, I compare it to the cost of feeding fish. Hardly noticeable. I buy a 2$ container of old fashioned oats at Walmart. It lasts a couple months or so. And that's to feed a colony of dubia, Eublaberus serranus, and Elliptorhina javanica. Toss in your kitchen fruit and veggie waste and buy a citrus fruit every so often ( no rind).

 
The only thing I am worried about is getting sick from keeping them I had really bad asthma as a kid and allergies so yeah but I also weld as my career so hopefully it won't bother me

 
I can tell you that if you are getting them in mail, open them up and place them in the Ben outside. I have done 4 unboxings and when I did it inside we all had allergic fits for the day. Runny nose and sneezing for the remainder of the evening. But since then nothing.

 
Cleaning is more necessary in some species or circumstances than others, if you aren't keeping them on a substrate and have no cleaner crews, and they are not a species that eats their own dead, then you are gonna want to clean out any dead bodies that build up like once a month.

Now if you use a clean up crew, like springtails, isopods, or certain beetles, then they will usually do the work for you, but cleanup crew compatibility varies depending on what roaches you use them on, and what habitat you are planning on putting them in. Isopods and springtails for example only do well in enclosures that have a substrate and are kept moist, and large springtail species like Sinella curviseta can stress out and outcompete smaller roach species, like small Ectobiids for example.

For dubias and red runners I'd use lesser mealworm beetles, Alphitobius diaperinus, as a clean up crew, they do well in drier enclosures and do a decent job of eating dead roaches. Before you ask BTW, no, regular mealworms, Tenebrio molitor, will not work at all, only A.diaperinus. You do need to keep an eye out though, you should keep the numbers of the beetles from getting to high, when it looks like there are a ton of beetles in the enclosure, place some small, smooth sided deli cups in the enclosure, the beetles will fall in and be unable to climb out, you can then cull them out.
I've been working towards teaching bearded dragon owners keeping their roaches with substrate and cleaner crews to help with lessening the "allergic" reactions.   

For red runners I haven't started substrate yet, do have lesser mealworms on hand.   Do you leave the egg cases where they fall?   I have about 14 egg cases so far and have been putting them in a deli cup with substrate to keep their humidity better.   

 
I've been working towards teaching bearded dragon owners keeping their roaches with substrate and cleaner crews to help with lessening the "allergic" reactions.   

For red runners I haven't started substrate yet, do have lesser mealworms on hand.   Do you leave the egg cases where they fall?   I have about 14 egg cases so far and have been putting them in a deli cup with substrate to keep their humidity better.   
See, you probably wouldn't want to keep lesser mealworms with red runners, as I'm sure they'd eat their oothecae. Beetles and isopods should only be kept with live bearers, as both can eat roach oothecae occasionally, springtails are OK for egg layers though, however I'm having a lot of trouble with Sinella curviseta, in certain cages (namely those of slow breeding/growing roach species), they are stressing out even my larger roaches...  :unsure:

Yeah you are supposed to just leave the egg cases with the adult lats wherever they land, if they are well fed they shouldn't cannibalize the ooths.

 
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I've been working towards teaching bearded dragon owners keeping their roaches with substrate and cleaner crews to help with lessening the "allergic" reactions.   

For red runners I haven't started substrate yet, do have lesser mealworms on hand.   Do you leave the egg cases where they fall?   I have about 14 egg cases so far and have been putting them in a deli cup with substrate to keep their humidity better.   
The only thing I am worried about is getting sick from keeping them I had really bad asthma as a kid and allergies so yeah but I also weld as my career so hopefully it won't bother me

 
Sorry didn't want to quote it 

The only reason why I don't want substrate just to save money wise but we will see once I get a colony going

 
Sorry didn't want to quote it 

The only reason why I don't want substrate just to save money wise but we will see once I get a colony going
I am going to substrate for all due to the allergie issues that are being brought up a lot due to not keeping with cleaners and substrate

 
I've been working towards teaching bearded dragon owners keeping their roaches with substrate and cleaner crews to help with lessening the "allergic" reactions.   

For red runners I haven't started substrate yet, do have lesser mealworms on hand.   Do you leave the egg cases where they fall?   I have about 14 egg cases so far and have been putting them in a deli cup with substrate to keep their humidity better.   
The only thing I am worried about is getting sick from keeping them I had really bad asthma as a kid and allergies so yeah but I also weld as my career so hopefully it won't bother me

I'm just looking to save on cash but keep them healthy at the same time

 
Well bluntly speaking your honestly going to have to take the plunge and buy some, if you haven't already, since none of us know how your body is going to react and I doubt anyway wants to possibly risk telling you roaches are safe only to have you get sick, on that issue you need to use your judgement.

I don't know where people are getting its expensive to feed them I just use my dog's food and occasional fruit scraps, I haven't had to invest a cent directly into them. I suppose a large colony is a different story but you will have several months or longer before your roaches are numerous enough to require direct investment. But even then it's probably stll cheaper than buying crix once a week to feed your critters.

 
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