Gsc

I get some gnats (I need to take Orin's advice and only offer fruit/veggies twice a month) as well as some mites in my hissers (My falt again from probably overfeeding/leaving too much food in the cage)... They don't seem to bother anything. I'm gone for two weeks at a time so I tend to overfeed when I'm home... the colonies do dry out a bit while I'm gone so that helps to control them a bit also...

Hello Everyone, The new board is really turning out nice. I have picked up so many tips, as well as meeting back up with old friends. It is so nice to have such a great collection of roach hobbyists all coming together here. If at all possible, SPREAD the word about this board... I have emailed all my invert friends trying to egt a few new members over here...the more the merrier... If anyone has any ideas on drawing more people over, please post you ideas. ORIN's offer of free roaches for reaching 60 well written posts (ending in Oct) was VERY generous... that was a wonderful idea.... The only other idea I have had is to start posting GREAT Roach photos on other sites and mentioning this board.... People get excited about roaches when they see how beautiful they are...and we all know, once you buy one species- you end up with many others...very addicting... I have posted a link to this board in my "signature" line of arachnoboards... they are a great site for ALL inverts BUt this board is dedicated to us roach hobbyists... I may have to take it off if I get complaints from people...hopefully not... Thanks for your time, Graham

Crazy Matt- You have all sorts of critters you're working with...

Hey Chris- Nice to see ya here... My glowspots aren't adults yet...But they do not glow...just bright spots on the males.... nonetheless, still amazing looking roaches...one of my favorites!

Thanks everyone- sounds like I just keep them as I do most of my other species...I will get a group from Orin on my next roach order...they are really cool looking critters. Graham

Awesome... nice picture. They are an interesting species....

I have a small group of these guys but I haven't gotten any offspring yet. Last time I kept the species it took some time before my colony got established. Next time I order some roaches from Orin I'm going to grab some fresh ones to "spice up" my group.... These have always been a very cool roach in my opinion!

Once again- Nice...You really don't see this species offered for sale that often.... great picture.

Great pic man. I've had a few black ones pop up in past colonies but never kept an entire group. Do they breed true or do you have to cull the non-black offspring? Once I get some more bucket cages made up I may have to bug you for a few to start a colony with...

Your freakin' killing me Matt..again- great species...thanks for sharing the pictures... Graham

Awesome Matt- you have quite a collection going. I believe I may have a subadult pair of these guys tracked down... Wish i could get more than a 1.1 pr, BUT it'll have to do for now.... hopefully everythign will work out and I'll be able to egt them in.... How many do you currently have in your collection Matt?

Recently I've considered starting a colony of Polyphaga sp. roaches. Anyone here keep them or have experience with them? I've read that they prefer it drier than most species.... 1) What should I use for substrate? Would a mixture of washed play sand, rotten wood, coco fiber & leaves work? If so, any ideas on ratios? 2) Special food requirements? 3) How dry should the cage be kept? Thanks in advance for the advice everyone....

Wow, they sound pretty challenging. I am gone for 2 weeks at a time for work so my colonies have to survive without any attention during this time. I usually get away with it because I keep a deep substrate (coc fibre, rotten wood & leaves).... It'll be moist at the bottom and drier towards the surface. They probably wouldn't do that well for me... Glad you are having good success with them... Keep up the great work.

Nice Orin, I have seen this idea used a few times...it provides a huge surface area with limited cage space... I have always considered using it with larger colonies of feeder roach species... a great tip! Tahnks for sharing.

Oh ya- as far as screen sizes go, I normally just use regular metal window screening on my buckets..2 layers..one on the inside and one on the outside. For smaller species with tiny nymphs I go with large pipe screens (very tight mesh)...you can get them from any "smoking" store very cheap...they usually have a variety of sizes.... normally 12 for around $1.... They will even hold in panchlora nymphs without problems....

I used to use barriers but they just got messy, melted, or got all over my arm everytime I messed with a colony. I haven't used them latly...of course I just keep a few collector species and utilize the Bucket Method... I may have a different opinion if I kept large colonies of climbing feeder species....

hmmmm... haven't heard of the olive oil yet, but I have heard about the oranges helping speed up/improve breeding.... pretty neat stuff...I need to experiment some I guess...

Agreed Matt- 10 sounds like a fair number... enough to get things going once they mature and you get a brood or two....

Just a question I have been wondering.... How many roaches do y'all normally strat your colonies with. I know "the more the better"...but sometimes these rare roaches are too expensive/ to hard to get to start out with 50 or so. Every species I keep are "pets".... I usually begin these "collector colonies" with a minimum of 12.... I perfer 18-24 if possible..... I really neeed to make up a half dozen bucket cages so I can get some new species..... Do y'all agree that roaches tend to do better starting out if there are more in the colony...or is it just that the more you have the more females are in the colony so they grow quicker...it seems that species like hissers like it alittle overcrowded... Thanks, Graham

Nice...I had a few of the "gold" morphs some time ago but the colony never really took off. Someone had sent me a free 6 with another order. I usually try to start off with a minimum of 12 for a collector's colony....

Nice Matt... pretty nice looking species... how easy are they to culture?

I keep them for many reasons (like many posted above).... They are low maintenance...many beautiful species to choose from...fun to collect and track down certain species... usually somewhat quick reproductive rate (compared to the reptiles I keep)... and just plain fun to have around...

Nice Daniel... I used to keep a colony of the African Giant Millipedes... They have always been a favorite of mine. They are great to use for school invert presentations... kids love 'em!

I've been planning on adding babyfood into the diet of my roach colonies maybe twice a month as a treat!

Yep, Once we get breeding them here in the US, I don't see 6 month old nymphs going for much less than $60-$80 for the first few years.... I wish I could find them at that price right now-lol.... Graham