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I've heard reports of hissers on the forum digging, and some members said it was normal.

Welcome! I imagine that deleting some oothecae will help to keep the population down for many species.

Maybe it's a Gyna sp, or at least a close relative of that genus. Gyna roaches have a rather distinctive look, with wide wings and a diamond-shaped pronotum.

Well, isn't a portable oversized bug one of the most beloved fantasies of true insect enthusiasts?

It seems like the ability to survive being "dead" is a natural result of insect physiology, and not necessarily the result of "toughness". Even termite alates, which die in enormous numbers every time they swarm (and thus are pretty much disposable lottery tickets for the colony), are perfectly capable of walking around normally after being unconscious in the pool for a while if allowed to sit for several hours. Same thing with decapitation. "Those nasty roaches are so tough, they can live 10 days without a head!" Let's not forget that pretty much all insects can do this more or less, even butterflies.

Hm. If any sprouts do manage to pop up in my future coir cages, I expect the Coniontis to eat them, no big deal.

As much as I enjoy mocking unintelligent extermination companies, it's really just a defensive weapon for the poor misunderstood spiders/roaches and not much else. I was having trouble sleeping one night and started thinking about random stuff: How to wear a roach-hat I am often asked about how I managed to get a 6-inch Periplaneta to sit perpetually on my head. In all honesty, there isn't much to it. One of those film companies that churns out bad productions like ATTACK OF THE MEGAROACH! was shutting down, and they were getting rid of all the stuff. Somehow, their large snake got picked up by a prestigious institution as a specimen for "education and outreach" (read: was sent to a luxury snake hotel). Of course, those sorts of fancy institutions were still vertebrate supremacists, and the megaroach would've been dumped into the garbage can (not-alive) if I hadn't intervened. Sometimes I envy the reptile a lot. Anyways, the insect was a laboratory animal and thus unlikely to have been running around in the sewer, so I dragged it home in a puffy white bag. Now, I had been an insect enthusiast for years, and I was pretty sure what I was dealing with. Most of the typical Periplaneta spp. (americana, australasiae, etc.) can barely survive in clean houses due to their desiccation intolerance, and this one was no exception. I don't know how such a large specimen manages to exist, given that mega-insects are supposed to be biologically impossible, but it doesn't matter too much. The studio also had a rather sickly-looking 3-ft long ant alate, but the giant Periplaneta seems healthy enough. All I had to do was get a large escape-proofed aquarium, add some hides, and ensure that proper humidity/food was available, basically. Of course, things often don't turn out as planned, and I soon noticed my new captive's insistence on sitting on my head during the day. No sensible insect would do such a thing under normal circumstances, but they probably conditioned it a bit too much with food-signaling pheromones. It was probably easier to film the scene where the actor pretends to get his brain eaten, I guess. Still, being able to walk around all day with a roach-hat is quite pleasant. Surprisingly, I have been able to educate several roach haters with it.

Thanks for the advice, I feel better now. Are the twigs/seeds in the coir or the peat?

I have a strong feeling that I will be able to finally get some coco coir soon. Are there any things I should be particularly aware of before getting it? I have heard that it absorbs a ton of water and a little makes a lot. I do have the bad feeling that this means it may shrink on my tenebrionids, who only get water in the form of fruitegtables.

I like the appearance of adult discroach species so much. They somehow all look like caped vampires in an aesthetically pleasing way.

I have not much exp. with carnivorous plants, but I did remember reading that a Sarracenia can actually become injured and develop brown areas after catching too many insects. Also, fungus gnats are built for high mortality rates, like most insects, and (while I have never had such a problem, due to keeping aridity-tolerant tenebrionids) it seems that large swarms cannot be stopped just by killing adults unless you shoot the whole room with an x-ray gun.

Did you give them heat and moisture gradients so they could self-regulate, or was the entire cage hot and humid? Also, how did you provide heat?

I have almost zero experience with captive roaches. However, you may find the below of interest, even though beetles are not roaches. A while back, while I was traveling out of town, I captured a beetle that seemed to be some sort of cantharid. It likely flew in from surrounding rainforesty areas. I kept it in a small glass cup, and ventilation was mostly restricted to the everyday cup-cleaning session. A lump of melon was often with it overnight and all day, which may have created excessive humidity. After an estimated day or two into captivity, I noticed it was limping slightly and having slight trouble climbing the glass. One antenna also became curly and somewhat stiff/useless, although the beetle still had some muscular control over it. After an estimated few more days, it seemed to stop limping, though the antenna didn't recover. I assumed that the antenna may simply have been injured by rough handling and stopped working for the most part. After another estimated few days after the beetle seemed healthy, it started limping and having glass adhesion minor issues again. It seemed mostly fine when I put it away one night, but in the morning it was rapidly losing control over its movements. Since it was too weak to fly, I "glued" its mouth to a fruit piece and made its glass cup open-topped for ventilation. Didn't work. It started twitching like a moribund Periplaneta and was soon dead. A few more notes: Even though adult cantharids are presumably short-lived, the sudden death was awfully suspicious. Although at the time I was unaware that cantharid adults ate other insects, I kept a (non-predatory) tenebrionid beetle and a (predatory) coccinellid (Olla v-nigrum?) in the same poorly ventilated and mostly-meatless conditions temporarily and both are still alive. The tenebrionid is now in a large open-topped cage and seems mostly healthy, but the coccinellid (now in a large non-ventilated cage) is also showing slight difficulty in walking/climbing. Strangely, the coccinellid lives with another ladybeetle (likely Coccinella septempunctata) and that one is full of energy, although often prone to restlessly bonking its head at the walls.

@Axolotl Interesting note: Further evidence suggestive of the existence of human Terminix chatters include occasional minor grammatical and typing errors, like this: Also, when I asked the chatter specifically about Therea petiveriana (Domino cockroach, for those unfamiliar with its sci name), somehow it was figured out that it was indeed a roach. Too bad the poor corydiid was still mistaken for a pest nonetheless, although I did get a confession that no info was available on the species in their Pest Library.

Pretty impressive. I thought the green widow was the zenith of perfection for category Private Mockery, but this just takes it to a new level. Let’s plot our next move, shall we? I’m tempted to perform a public “execution” via whatsthatbug.com, though I am a bit concerned that such a stunt may backfire if if creates too much of a reaction and Terminix catches wind of it.

But I understand. Notice how “Trevor” (the name and pic are probably fake, cause Alex has the same photo as Trevor) uses the same phrase (“We are sorry you are having issues with roaches. We can definitely help to eradicate this pest!”) twice, both in the Parcoblatta and the hisser chat above. Something tells me, however, that a human might be behind the screen, even if forced to talk like an awkward corporate bot. Notice the attachment paperclip for sending images.

What self-respecting roach hobbyist wouldn't start giddily stuffing pockets full of you-know-whats on such a trip?

Dead leaves are part of their natural diet. According to Cockroaches: Ecology, Behavior, and Natural History, which researchgate gives out free online, they lack many chemical defenses found in green leaves and contain nutritious decomposing microorganisms.

The second YouTube vid’s description says “Mitaraka, French Guiana”.

To be fairer, I specifically made it clear that I was in the US (and thus not some tropical hisser-friendly area). To be even fairer, if hissers do manage to infest a tropical home, it’s probably the owner’s fault for allowing dead leaves and rotted wood in his house Also, the guy was probably too stupid to realize that hissers don’t spread disease and thus assumed that hisser germs are the same type spread by house-type roaches who have just finished eating decaying slops. Technically the statement is true; all roaches can spread disease, but only under the right conditions. If a hisser in a moldy cage was put into someone’s bed as a prank, of course it can spread germs this way. But his statement is only true under absurd conditions. If a human/butterfly from a moldy cage was released into a shopping mall, that human/butterfly would likely spread disease in the same way a hisser would. And yes, the customers must be very unintelligent people. The thing is, not all unintelligent people are equally easy to identify. The crazed fellow who thinks that 10-legged fanged ghosts follow people around and eat them for dinner? Obvious. The crazed fellow who thinks that 10-legged fanged spiders follow and bite people for dinner? Not so obvious to the insect-uneducated. To be honest, most of our population consists of senseless people like the latter. It is always easier to be ignorant and hateful than to not be. As for the “fun” part, it’s easy. Public humiliation (possibly a bit troublesome due to legal thingys like “By using this site, you agree not to hurt Raid Corp...” but worth it)! Increasingly absurd plots (pink widows)! Ridiculous in-jokes (like the fact that spiders do not have 10 legs)!

Roaches and other inverts like their dead leaves. The only catch: pesticides are designed for killing insects. Would plant matter that wild insects have been observed feeding on and walking over for very long periods be guaranteed safe for captives (assuming that the plant in question is a nontoxic and no specialized herbivores are involved)? Obviously, such plant matter cannot instantly kill them. But might very weak residues harm them over time? Perhaps the local population has evolved tolerance our pets have not?

Well, yes yes yes, we live in a dirty world, yes, correct. The thing is, bat-guano-filled roaches, unlike vegetables, cannot be washed very easily. I also have plans to keep Periplaneta and carrion-dwelling beetles, and would appreciate not having a mini biohazard zone in the bedroom. Yes, the former can be found in innocuous-looking backyards, but even in its least-nasty habitat (rotted tree) there can be some nasty things.

Well, not all bacterial flora are human-harmful. The average flower-eating katydid is not of much concern, but I wouldn’t trust the Simandoa and Blaberus a bit, considering what they are up to all day.

Heh, looks like not all dung beetles are insects...