Jacen

Let me expand a bit why i feel 60% is not high enough for humidity. I grow many true tropical plants and at 50-60% humidity their leaves dry on the edges. In many areas of the tropics most of the season humidity is well over 80% with just a very short dry season. Even during this time or even in the desert critters find areas with the correct humidity rather under deep pile of leaves or down in an animals burrow. When i used to keep spiders and breed several frogs and lizards in Colorado i used equal sized Tupperware (to the critters being kept) with entrance holes cut into the sides filled with a moisture holding substrate as humidity chambers that the critters could use at their discretion. Many of the spiders and scorpions would set in these for several days before molting about the same time they stopped eating.

DO you have a very moist area in your substrate? 60% is not that high for a tropical species of anything. Don't get me wrong as it is not low either. I had just after i got a shipment of roaches a few weeks ago a bad molt and figured it was due to dry a substrate, Since then i keep one corner very damp and spray the rest of it down once or twice a day. Hydration is critical during an insects shed and consistency in available moister and humidity. I have two tanks being put together to house this species and Blaberus giganteus with automatic temp and humidity controls with night time temp drop. I will post pics of it all once i have it all running. I have warm air sonic humidifiers to turn on when humidity drops below the % i set it at. I use them now every couple of days on my roaches in tanks and they love it.

Well it is an interesting learning tool if used properly. The problem is they are marketing it as a toy. Kids use toys all the time other ways than what they were intended for. How long before it was tried on other lifeforms? I do not think the company marketing it is thinking about anything other than making their money back invested in development and then a profit. Again in the right learning environment this can be a very useful tool and possibly lead to gains in neurological science. Problem is if the company marketed only to those sectors it would be a long time if ever they recouped their financial investment.

It is a common potted fern sold even in the grocery stores. It can be grow as an epiphyte as well. Some are to big for a 55 gallon tank but others even full grown would fit in nicely and still leave room for other plants. One thing i would worry about with leaving the plants potted and rotating them in and out of the tank is the nymphs escaping in the soil inside the pots every time you switched out.

I am just not a fan of using it , plus unless the roaches single it out it will prob outcompete the other two plants and smother them. When i think ivy I do not think of the tropics but of temperate woodlands or growing up the side of a house. How about using one of the forms of Asplenium nidus otherwise known as birds nest fern? They are pretty easy to grow and can be found in the hissers natural habitat? Plus the leaves should be strong enough for the roaches to climb up them.

Okay so what kind of roach was it? I do not know a lot about roaches but i am sure there are those on here that do and knowing the species and seeing a pic of the housing set up may shed light on this. I have read that you can get roaches in some species at least that are male on one side and female on the other. Is it possible in the species you have? If so is it possible that it was a oothecae and because it was half and half in sex did not have the brood pouch to draw it back up into? I had a female hisser years ago that layed an oothecae so long that it could not pull it into the pouch completely. For over a week she walked around with it sticking out before the external part drying up and finally getting broke off. She finally after what seemed like for ever had little ones around 30.

Some of them will and a few will climb into your lap if you let them. I keep my boars a little less tame as i do not want them climbing up my leg when in their pens.

Here are some pics of my other type of roaches.lol. They are called juliana pigs and when full grown mine weigh around 40 to 60 lbs at 2 to 3 yrs old. They will eat just about anything offered to them to eat though i try and keep all food offered to the healthy sorts.

Sounds cool though you may think about finding a sub for the ivy if you are talking true ivy with pothos and bromeliads. What kind of lighting are you planning for this setup? If you are going to have good light levels then you might try a creeping ficus with the bromeliads and pothos as they would all thrive with more tropical conditions.

Do you have any pics of this? Years ago i had a few roaches due to wedging themselves to tightly under stuff in the tank after feeding heavily and then bloating sort of prolapse in an effort to escape their hiding place. The person i knew back then advised me to cut back on feeds that swell when moisture is added. Rather this was the cause or it was just chance it stopped happening. Another time with a hisser it was sort of squished by a decoration shifting in the cage and prolapsed. I have had feeder mice fight and bite holes in the sides of tank mates causing a prolapse. Point is with a close inspection of the roach may provide clues to why it prolapsed.

Thanks for the welcome. I now have the rest of the week off so will be rearranging my critter/fish/plant room and waiting on my next roach order that should be here by Friday. As soon as I am finished and happy with the setup i will post some pics on the forum of my critters.

Hello my name is Jacen and i currently live in western Washington state. I have a small farm of sorts with chickens, ducks and mini pigs. So after an almost ten year brake from roaches and most other bugs i have found myself back in them. I have spent the last couple weeks thinking about setups for the ones i have acquired already and the ones i have on my wish list. I already have a grow/ fish room that is where i will house many of them as it tends to be warm and humid from the fish tanks and grow boxes for my tropical plants.