hundefrau

I'll keep that in mind, thank you How can I deduce if she's defecating properly? Are there any signs to watch out for?

I've got another update on her and good news (I think?) The bubble is gone completely and her abdominal opening looks like before too, nothing stuck in there (the other female had visible...residue stuck in her opening). The bubble started to shrink down after a few days. She is active and eats well! So I am optimistic!

I have a sad update to make. I think the prolapse has gotten bigger and maybe even ruptured? I did find a little "puddle" of yellow-ish secrete at one point of the box (where she likes to hang out). So... I think I might be losing her soon

Thank you for your very quick reply I'll have to see how she is faring in a few days. Her bubble looks still intact, the prolapse of the other roach was rather big and seemed "leaky". I guess I can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And yes, I do have other females in my colony. Both adults and nymphs So we'll all be fine if she's out of baby-business.

Thank you in advance

Hi guys I am coming to you with a sad suspicion. I think one of my females has a prolapse. It looks like a little yellow-ish bubble sticking out of the end of her abdomen. One of my other roach ladies had the same problem and died rather soon after. So... I just want to be prepared I guess. I'll post some pics too, so maybe you more experienced roach owners can confirm or deny?

Ok, so when I came home from uni, I saw Rosie and my other male sitting butt-to-butt (ergo they just mated). She seems to fancy him a lot more. So her disdain was really directed specifically towards my original male. Maybe he was *too* eager in the beginning

Thank you for your reply, Betta132 I'll give the branches a good scrubbing, I think!

I'm not sure if that's the answer, as my two males are not chasing each other. Ever since the newer male molted into adulthood he hides away in the substrate most of the time. There never really was much chasing going on (Rosie was still a sub-adult nymph at that time) Yeah, she has plenty of egg flats and other hiding places to keep away from Otto. Most of the time she is hidden in the substrate, anyway.

Thank you for your replies I thought about her just not being ready to mate yet, too. But I observed something interesting today when checking in with them after uni. My "main" male, Otto, now seems to resent her as well. He jumps on her back when she is in his vicinity, maybe to "beat" her into submission or maybe he suddenly just doesn't fancy her anymore, and runs around the box in a hurry. He usually only does this to Ulrich, my other male in the box. Now, I checked Rosie's abdominal segments several times and compared them to the other ladies' segments, they look identical - one bigger segment at the end. She's a lady alright. That being said, Rosie is a massive specimen in comparison to all my other roaches, maybe Otto is... intimidated by her? Anyway..I guess all three of us have to make do with the current situation till the new box is ready and they can keep away from each other.

Good evening I noticed an interesting, different behaviour in a recently molted adult female ("Rosie" is her name). She seems to be less than thrilled about my original male's advances. She gets very defensive whenever he tries to make a move on her and I think Rosie even attacks him (if she is not fleeing in a hurry) Have you ever observed such defensive behaviour in a female? The other females just sit still and ignore him till he goes away. Thanks in advance

Hey guys, long time no see Ok, so I went out and have found oak branches that I deem suitable in size for my roach bins. They have these algae-esque growth on their bark, though. Some are covered completely Should I thus pull off the bark before putting it in? Or is one good scrubbing with hot water enough to get rid of the algae? Thanks in advance

Ok, thank you guys You helped me a lot!

Thank you for your suggestions, stanislas The pet store has corkbark in different sizes as well, but I read somewhere that corkbark can have harmful/lethal effects on insects, so I did stay clear of it till now. But if it's non-harming I think I will try that as well

Thanks for your reply, Hisserdude Oh dear, I don't wanna stress out my poor babies...Springtails it is then! I'll see if I can get them somewhere. Do you have a specific kind of springtail in mind (and maybe the scientific name)? As for how the mites look. Well, they are tiny but can be seen without any gear. There are tinier ones that are white and bigger ones that lean towards an off-white, sometimes nude-ish color.

Good evening I am in the process of setting up a new box for my Archimandritas and... I am quite embarrassed to say... noticed that I apparently got mites in their current box. The mites are mostly in their food bowl, sitting in the dry food. This angers me, as I tried a lot of tricks to keep the mites away (Only little meals for both wet food and dry food, clean the food out quickly, keep the food away from the corner I spray, etc.). It sucks :/ I read the lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) is a good help against mites. Does anybody know how they like their substrate? I spray a single corner of my Archimandritas' box every so often but if the lesser mealworm needs super wet or really dry substrate, it wouldn't really work out. Also, what to do with the beetles I don't need (I have no animal I can feed them to)? Another question regarding mites. I read in an archived German forum that one can carefully 'wash' their roaches before setting them over, as to not bring the mites with them into the new box. Is this a useful procedure? I imagine it would stress the poor darlings quite a bit. Thanks in advance (and sorry for the stupid questions)

Adding up on the topic of woods in the bins... I was at the animal supply store today and checked out if and what kind of wood they had. They had these bridges of hazel sticks (for rodents) as well as pieces of mangrove and something calles "Fingerwood". Do you think these are suitable for Archimandritas? Or do they harbor any poisonous substances I should know of and stay away from?

No worries They are in a 12 gallon bin, it's 56 x 39 x 28 (cm) in size, so I have room to build up in their new bin (which is the same size). I actually noticed that even my adults like to hide in the substrate a lot, while they do have several climbing spots available (as of right now it's large flower pots, but I want to switch to/ add stones and maybe branches... depending on if I find any suitable ones). You helped a lot, thanks

Hey you guys (Sorry for so many newbie questions) I am in the process of setting up a new enclosure for my A. tesselatas, as their old box needs cleaning. I read in seceral places that some people go out and just grab a bag full of leafs and some wood (oak was recommended) from parks or forests). That sounds like a neat idea! My question: How would you handle the wood and leafs to kill off possible pests? I read of bathing the stuff in hot water or putting it into the oven (how much temp. and how long?). Thanks in advance

First of all thank you for your replies, you two @lovebugfarm I am more trying to keep the males from inconveniencing each other so much they cannot get around properly anymore (i.e. biting off each others legs). My colony is not that big yet (plus I had two fatalities in the female department), I still have more females than males but nowhere near your proportions I didn't know males matured faster... but it makes sense. You learn something new every day I hope my near-adult females pull through and take out the tension a bit. Plus, I guess general rivalry is normal, I just hope it won't be non-stop fighting. @Allpet Roaches That is good to know and hopefully something I can look foward to in the future. Maybe I am also blowing things out of proportion, since I am still a newbie concering keeping roaches as pets Once again, thank you~

That's good to hear I hope he makes it till then, he had a bit of trouble getting around and to the food bowl (I might have to help him and feed him baby food).

Good evening Today after coming home from uni, I found that one nymph has apparently taken quite the beating. He had lost his left front foot shortly after his last molt already and now lost the tibia and tarsus of another leg on his left side. My question: Can roaches regenerate limbs with a new molt? If so, can they do it for several limbs at once? Thanks for your help

I am afraid so I have to check again when he's hardened and not so super skittish anymore. I hope I can put him in with the other 'newer' male without any fighting going on (there's no female in my other box).

Good day One of my nymph of A. tesselata just molted into adulthood. The thing is, I thought all my almost-adult nymphs were female, but the shed skin heavily implies it was actually a male that molted. I had to separate my other two males recently... so my question is: Would an all-male colony be peaceful? And are they only aggressive if females are part of a colony? It'd be great if that was possible, as I am running out of boxes to keep them all in separately. There'd be only two males in said colony for now Thanks for your help