NERVOUS

The only way I've been able to positively sex N. cinerea is when I see an ootheca squish out of the abdomen while my Chameleon is eating one... Then I know that was a female.

Hmm, I definitely have some with shorter and some with longer wings... Is wing length a sexually dimorphic trait for N. cinerea?

Do roaches in general breed up to the capacity of their enclosure... Or do they just continue breeding regardless of how crowded it gets?

Okay, just give it to me straight... Am I facilitating a plague - of biblical proportions - by breeding N. Cinerea? These things appear to be reproducing at an absolutely scary rate. I'm starting to worry about them eventually overflowing the 18 gallon bin they're in!

Welcome!

Welcome!

Hey folks, New member here... Just wanted to share share a couple of interesting pictures I've taken in my brief time working with roaches. B. Dubia mating: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing B. Dubia ootheca: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing N. Cinerea molting: https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing https://drive.google...iew?usp=sharing

I think the screens are heavy enough to prevent a roach from pushing their way through, but I don't have much experience with them yet. I will say this much, based on my limited interactions with them thus far (i.e. harvesting them and feeding them to my Chameleon for the past ~7 days) I've found Lobsters to be much stronger than I would've thought. Their ability to 'cling' to anything is impressive to say the least. I use 12" tongs to feed them to my Chameleon. I usually grab them by a leg then hold them in-place near my Chameleon until he shoots them with his tongue. While doing this I can feel them fighting to get away... And their strength is impressive for such a small animal. In any case, I hope the seal created between the screen mesh material and the top edge of the bin (in conjunction with the Vaseline barrier) is secure enough to keep these bugs in their bins. ::fingers-crossed::

Very cool project!

I use non-luminous ceramic heat emitters (in addition to under tank heaters). Be careful though... Depending on the wattage of the bulb(s) you got, they can emit a lot of heat - Easily enough to melt plastic. Using under tank heaters and ceramic heat emitters, I keep my enclosures between 85-90 degrees.

Maybe some backyard chickens are in order... Fresh eggs would be nice!

I went back-and-forth on this quite a bit before making a decision to go with screen tops (instead of ventilation holes). Here's my logic... Please tell me if I'm crazy! I had concerns about the long-term viability of the glue and/or tape commonly used to secure screen material to these ventilation holes. Between changes in weather, constant heat source(s), extremely pliable plastic, bugs constantly scraping and gnawing to get out (and in), etc... I was concerned about the overall durability of these ventilation holes. Curious to hear others' thoughts on this approach. Continued from above... One thing that really bothered me about the lids these plastic bins come with is their pliability; especially when a constant heat source is introduced. I just didn't think they provided what could be considered a bug-proof 'seal' when used at room temperature, much less when sitting under a constant heat source. This concern is what initially set me down the path of looking for an alternative to cutting ventilation holes in the lids. Consider these points: - Each screen top is custom sized to fit the bin it will be covering... I built them myself using aluminum mesh and framing. - The weight of the screen itself creates a bug-proof 'seal' between the top edge of the bin and the screen material... No tiny gaps due to pliability, no heat warping, etc. - The screen material is slightly recessed on one side; which creates a lip that prevents the screen from inadvertently sliding off the bin. Very curious to hear additional feedback on this... Ahh, yes... I neglected to mention this in my initial post, but each bin has a 2" smear of Vaseline along the top inner edge of the bin.

Hmm, I have 1 Chameleon... And a very poor understanding of how much food these 3 colonies would eventually produce - Laugh!

Thanks, that's comforting to hear... I'll be sure to share your post with my wife, who thinks I'm nuts for doing this!

Hello all, I'm new to roaches... Looking for feedback from more experienced keepers than myself. I'm currently keeping colonies of: - Blaptica Dubia - Nauphoeta Cinerea - Panchlora Nivea I'm not able to attach pictures directly to my post (due to size limits), so here are URLs instead: Bug farm - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_yNy39A-ExvOGI2NWJDWlRnNms B. Dubia bin - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_yNy39A-ExvMHlyelVzdnJVNVU N. Cinerea - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_yNy39A-Exvck9HMWFIS1VndVE P. Nivea (before adding roaches) - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_yNy39A-ExvaDRrbVNtZjQ3NXM Here's some general high-level detail on the bins. Each one has a heating element underneath with a non-luminous ceramic heat emitter suspended from above. Each bin has a dedicated thermostat to control both heating elements. I keep these bins in my garage on top of a folding table. Here's some bin-soecific detail on each of the bins: - B. Dubia bin is filled with vertically stacked egg crates with a single layer horizontal egg crates on top to support food trays on each side. Temperature is set to 85-95 degrees. - N. Cinerea bin is setup the same way as the B. Dubia bin except it's much smaller in size. Temperature is set to 85-95 degrees. - P. Nivea bin has coconut fiber substrate with cork rounds and flats on top. Temperature is set to 85 degrees (underneath the cork). I'm interested in hearing any/all feedback re: these enclosures. Thank you in advance.