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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/13/2017 in all areas

  1. You answered your own questions in what you said. You're feeding them high protein food, and they also have low protein plants to feed off of to balance out the amount of urates in their bodies. Anyway, I'm not here trying to start an argument, I was just sharing information that a professor that has been posting research papers on roaches for 50 years shared with me. I only have a few months of knowledge and there are so many posts and web sites acting like they are professionals and that their way is the best way, just because it works, and so much of their information is conflicting. Just because it works doesn't necessarily mean it is the best way, it is just another way that is acceptable...thus why I started e-mailing Professor Joe Kunkel, I wanted to get answers from someone that had done actual scientific research. A professor that has been working with a range of roaches over the past 50+ years probably knows a fair amount more than people that have been breeding and selling roaches for 10-20 years. Some people consider Allen Repashy a professional in the roach field, but Allen still goes to Joe for professional advice. Here is a list of research Joe has published over the past 50 years. It isn't in chronological order. http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/roachrefs.html
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  2. I'm sure you probably know this, but if the nymphs are dying during incomplete molts, at least with Dubia, it is typically due to the humidity being to low from what I've been told. Is there much chance you have mold in the bin in the substrate that may be causing problems? Of course, starting with such a small amount of breeding adults doesn't leave a lot of room for error. 25% of my adult Dubia died in the first couple of days (25 females and 10 males), but the nymphs did well and took up the slack. I'm not sure if it was stress or what, but the females gave birth (at least one or two females) the first week. Now that the large nymphs have grown I probably have 100-150 adults and I never open the bin when I don't see small nymphs running around. Maybe you just need a little larger breeding pool? I was teasing one of the guys I was trying to help with getting his bin set up because he was very OCD. He even put cabinet shelf knobs on his circles he cut out of the lid to make it easier to remove (shaking my head). I was teasing him that he needs to get an infrared security camera and put in his bin so he can watch them remotely. Maybe you could do something like this too so you can enjoy them without being right on top of them where your presence makes them skittish. :0) I need to find another way to watch the Dubia. Every time I open the bin to feed them, they scurry way like crazy. They don't really have a choice though...when moving air hits their body, it triggers a nerve response to make them run away from the moving air as a defense mechanism to avoid predators...it doesn't include any 'brain' use. Kind of cool, but makes it difficult to watch the little buggers!
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  3. That's a shame, was hoping that nymph would recuperate. I really don't know why that one female keeps aborting her oothecae, I mean you are feeding them fruit, they are being kept heated, I really don't know what you could be doing wrong, so perhaps she's just an old female? At least that one nymph is doing OK, really hope your new females will give you nice big litters! If only you were in the US, I'd offer to send you some of my excess hissers for free. Again, sounds to me like an old female, hopefully she passes the rest of the oothecae soon.
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  4. Heating cable is good to heat many cages as you can lay it out across a desk/shelf and use it to heat the cages. Roaches can be kept in a variety of cages but food storage ones work the best along with gasket boxes.
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  5. I'm really late to the show here, but actually roaches don't need much protein. I'm parroting information from a professor that has been posting his research on roaches since 1966, so I consider him a better authority than anybody else I've heard of. Below is an exact quote. The 4% protein diet should satisfy all stages (nymphs and adults). You can produce some happy medium with a minimum of work by allowing them to choose their own diet but forcing them to get some of their moisture from vegetables such as carrots and potatoes that provide more filler that is low in protein and provide a restricted amount of the ~20% protein from readily available dog/rat chow. So that should answer the question about roaches eating potatoes as well as protein requirements. I have a fairly new (about 2 months old) Dubia colony and between oranges and carrots, they will usually choose carrots. Although some days when I put both in they ignore the orange slices and devour the carrots, and other days I'll come back and the carrot will barely be touched and the orange slices are gutted to absolutely nothing. I also give apple cores, oats, about any fruit/veggie that is left over from dinner. My colony is too small to have to worry with DIY roach chow, so until my colony grows a bit I am feeding the Lugarti's Premium Dubia Diet and what remains of my Fluker Farms high calcium cricket food, and letting them decide which they need. Many roaches will avoid some foods and eat others when given a choice depending on their nutritional requirements, although as the professor said, roaches can eat a totally un-nutritious diet and still thrive!
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