Toirtis

Very nice. I am envious...where I live, such cages would be usable only 2 months out of the year...something like that would be fantastic for my red tegus.

First bit is incorrect (there is a reason many of us 'usually say' such things), but you are spot on about humidity for hatchlings....of course, this is not news, particularly. Nice G. sulcata, by the by.

Very different here. The bug laws are in place by our Agricultural ministry (and federal statutes are very difficult to change)...and their main concern is protecting our vast agri-industry. What needs doing are studies on various species showing them to be a non-threat....the framework is in place, but the studies take time and money, and the CFIA has far more pressing and important matters to spend their resources on. Now, a private citizen could fund such a study, but finding someone to pony up a few grand so that a relatively small number of people can culture roaches, is a hard sell. We have PIJAC up here, which is somewhat similar to USARK, but this is not only outside their purview, but of zero interest to them. Fortunately, we may see some review before long...recently, the CFIA argued that they have no mandate to issue permits to allow certain potential agricultural pests into the country under the category of 'pet food'...when current permits expire, there will be no new ones for the import of superworms, waxworms, butterworms, or hornworms into the country. This has raised some considerable concern amongst businesses who have a large percentage of revenue coming from the importation of these feeders.

It is a bit extreme, but it is also understandable....the government is strict on all potential plant pests...we have a lot of agriculture, forestry, etc, and erring on the side of caution seems a good way to avoid an epidemic like the pine beetle. Where they fail is in not doing the needed testing to eliminate species as non-threats, as 90%+ of roach species would be. Now although it would seem obvious what species are 'safe', it is not....here in Canada, we have a very wide range of climates (tundra to desert, rainforest to montane), with some areas barely dropping below freezing during parts of winter (we are far from the land of snow and ice that most of our southern neighbours assume). We have native scorpions, rattlesnakes and cacti....as well as some surprising introductions of exotic species.

Yes...should Ghanns and/or Armstrong go down, it would be disastrous. Sadly, since roaches are illegal here in Canada, any persons growing and distributing roaches here must do so underground and very quietly.

Certainly....careful breeding, using only uncommonly large specimens should, in theory, produce a number of larger than typical offspring...do this for a few generations, and a bloodline that is almost all atypically large individuals should result. No idea, but if I could get my hands on a decent colony of G. portentosa here, I would be working on it right now.

You speak too soon...the virus has been devastating producers across North America, and far from licked....it could well still take out the 3 big producers, and if that happens, the shortages will be extreme and all over.

Really? Wow...OK, I want those, then. Heh, I love massive bugs...now for a 'giant morph' of oblonganata...I would kill for a 6" hisser!

Thanks for the photos...those are some impressive roaches....sadly, we are unlikely to ever see any of those giants up here.

Those are pretty impressive looking...thanks.

Thanks...do you have any good close-ups of some very large adults with something standard (like an iphone, dollar bill, etc) for comparison? I am interested in seeing just how big these guys get...I have a thing for really big, bulky bugs, particularly beetles and beetle-like.

Thanks for the information...does anyone have any good photos of mature specimens of the giant strain? My curiosity is very piqued.

I recently saw an advert for 'giant' hissing roaches. A number of years ago, I worked with hissers, but had never heard of 'giant' hissers...has someone bred a giant bloodline, or is there a giant subspecies, or is this just one person's way of describing hissers as being big roaches?

This is mainly because, technically, all roach species, save the German roach, are illegal across Canada (as per the CFIA), so any roach keepers tend to maintain a very low profile.

Just joined, I live in Alberta, Canada, and all the discussion of roaches on the tarantula boards has led me here in search of more knowledge.