Smiley

I've never heard of home made jelly recipes. Does it get moldy if you give them enough to last 2-3 days?

Thanks for commenting Blatta. Are gnats something that really doesn't go away!? I've had a few thousand strong colonies for years in the past, and never a gnat. I do still offer carrots, and small pieces of apple. Large colonies of ravenous eaters are easy. I have a few small colonies that it's hard to gauge what they'll eat in a day or two though. These ones are still a gnat issue for fruits and veggies. I did find a few good research papers giving protein to carbohydrate ratios based on choice feeding vs peak breeding efficiency. Nothing more in depth though. I'm just an enthusiast, so I assume there is research out there that I can't find. I was looking to break it down further than protein to carbohydrate ratios. For many other animals there is information on essential amino acids, fatty acids, and vitamins needed to survive/thrive. I know I've read information in the past on different amino acids that roaches are able to create within their bodies that are essential to most other organisms. I can't seem to find anything down this avenue though.

Can anyone lead me in the direction of a research paper, or good information outlining essential nutrients for any type of cockroach? I fed too large of a squash before vacation and now have a gnat problem that still won't completely go away after 2 months. I want to mix my own all dry diet for the time being. If it works well, i'll probably still keep it as the main diet going forward. The goal is to have a course mix that allows choice based feeding, and covers all the bases. I understand all this isn't necessary for roaches to do fine, but I enjoy being thorough. Also please help save me from the wrath of my girlfriend! 😅

This is extremely interesting. I'll also probably never feed my lizard mealworms or superworms ever again 😄

Substrate seems to be mainly a difference of pets vs feeders. Standard feeder containers make maximum use of vertical space with egg crates to pack a lot of roaches into a bin. That's the only function of egg crates. Zero substrate, is very easy to clean the dry frass, dead, and molts while not spending much time on the maintenance. I think of this as how people feed insectivores with the least amount of space and effort spent. Extra moisture in a bin with only paper, frass, roaches, and food can quickly lead to bacteria, fungus, pest insects, etc. On the other hand naturalistic containers with substrate, bark, leaves, branches, etc are perfectly fine. You're just replicating nature. There are hundreds of pictures of similar setups in the forum here. It's how tons more people including myself have kept reptiles for years also. The big difference is that the feeder bin i described previously isn't bio active. A little extra moisture (for short periods) in a naturalistic bin is perfectly fine when roaches are low density, and in balance. If someone thinks dirt and moisture are what kill cockroaches, there isn't much point arguing with them lol.

I have seen a few comments on speckled being similar, but quicker breeding than Nivea. I didn't see speckled available the last time I looked. Everything i've read on the white leads me to believe they're more difficult to keep, and expensive to start a colony. Is this not still the case? Jimbobtom how dense was your bin at the time?

I'm about to buy one of the different types of banana roaches, but can't decide yet. It seems like there are 4 varieties in regular circulation. I've read all the information i can find, and am looking for some first hand info from people who keep them. Right now i'm leaning towards Panchlora nivea, or the yellow. Panchlora nivea Panchlora sp. “Costa Rica” Panchlora sp. “Costa Rica” Yellow Panchlora sp. “Giant” Is there anything better, or worse about each? Please feel free to add in any information you know. Differences in care, feeding? Harder, or easier to keep? Do each have a similar short adult lifespan? Faster, or slower breeders? Etc.

Plastic bins are very prone to cracking when you cut the holes. I've been heating up a 3/4" chisel to melt through, and make a large rectangle opening. Then using epoxy to glue a (larger) steel screen over the hole. It takes me about 30 minutes per bin to set up, and works very well. Here is the stainless screen I use. $10 US. You can cut into pieces and make 9-12 bins depending on the vent size you want. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088H3VWNV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

What type of roaches do you have? For non climbing varieties I've used 2" packing tape. It's much too slick for them to climb. You just need to be careful of where the tape ends. Small nymphs can sometimes climb this portion.

I ran across a feed analysis for Six spot roach (Eublaberus Distanti) showing they have very high levels of fat. This would make them a bad feeder candidate. This got me thinking about my Ackie monitor lizard who has eaten hundreds of Orange head roaches (Eublaberus Posticus), and seems to do very well on them. Would these two related species share similar protein/fat makeup? To complicate matters further, I went on a hunt for more information. I found nothing on Orange heads, but two other sources using Six spot roaches. One feed analysis agreed with the original. The third is a dog food study. This shows completely different results with a fairly good protein/fat makeup. In this study, the other insects tested have similar results to the first two also. Does anyone have thoughts, or more information on this? https://www.roachforum.com/topic/6930-nutritional-information/ http://moonvalleyreptiles.com/files/Feeder-Nutrition-Common-Reptile-Feeders-v1.0.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4473158/

If substrate is available they at least seem to try and leave them in the moist substrate. Laying all over still though.

Have you thought about transferring just the ooths to a new bin?

In my experience, they should be growing at least twice that fast. A cheap ($12-$15) seed starter mat works great to get high 80s. Does it really matter if your mat is larger than the bin they're in?

They geared their product to reptile keepers. This protein logic came about to stop lizards from dying from gout which is a much bigger business. Gout seems to be much more related to enclosure humidity (dehydration) than anything else though in reptiles. I keep both and was just wondering if anyone not being paid by this information came up with the same conclusion.

Is there any research on the protein thing that isn't directly from company marketing?

I'd try Insulating the bin or using less heat. I had the same problem and just lowered the tank heat a bit. Think of a cold glass on a summer day.

By teflon tape are you talking about this? http://www.amazon.com/CS-Hyde-Optically-Silicone-Adhesive/dp/B000REI90W/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&qid=1427040428&sr=8-33&keywords=teflon+tape

Do they make hard, slick teflon tape? I've only used the stretchy stuff for plumbing which doesn't seem like it would work well. I use packing tape for my rubbermade bins that dubias can climb. It would work. I can probably just glue it on to make it permanent. Does packing tape stop all the non climbing species? I'd like to get a Eublaberus next. Red Runners are terrible climbers so that's nice.

Would a type of varnish work? Is there a strip of something I could buy and glue down around the top? It doesn't need to contain the good climbing varieties but the more slippery the better. I'll probably start a climbing colony if it will though.

I was hoping for something perminant. How long would it last in a 95 degree environment? I don't use any for my roaches now.

I'm finishing a 4.5 foot tall lizard cage. It's going to have lots of natural dirt, logs, leaves etc. I'm going to have roaches and bugs living inside and don't want them to be able to climb up into the lighting or out lighting holes in the top. Is there any paint or something I could apply at the top that's slippery enough to keep them from climbing it? I can make it sealed with screen vents if needed, but would rather not.

For me very thin substrate made of mostly frass. I wet it every other day to keep the whole thing moist. Not sure if it's 100%, but they're doing very well the last 3 months or so.

He's still young and afraid of his shadow. Unless you're holding food anyways. Then he turns into a B movie super villain.

I posted on this a few months ago. At first I separated Ooths. Later I bought a bunch of apples and tangerines on sale randomly. Same food (layer pellets) but more fruits and water available. I haven't had a problem since.

Dubai is the largest I keep, but when researching this same topic Orange Heads were my choice. The other large species don't seem to reproduce as quickly.