Kaddock

Hi! My first thought would be what is the environment like? In my experience arthropods don't behave like that unless they are nearly dead. How is the humidity? What is their diet? Another factor would definitely be contaminates. Is there anything around (chemicals, etc) that may be drifting into your enclosure?

Thanks Zephyr, that's good info. EDIT- 4/11- Well, they seem to like generic veggie / lamb hard dog food from Costco. I'll stick with that and fruits / veggies for now! Thanks again.

Nobody? I guess I'll head to Mantid forum.

You had a mix made where? I could definitely make my own roach food... I guess maybe I'll just do that next time I make fly cultures, since several of the ingredients are going to be out anyway. My main concern would be making sure they get all their vitamins and such. I was trying to make less work for myself though! Hmmm... I think a recipe like this might work- Broccoli Kale Apple Flax Seed Carrot Nutritional Yeast Orange Tomato Potato (for consistency) Blend, press into small patties and freeze/refrig until needed. :-P Any suggestions? I think that covers a pretty good range of nutrients, yes? The last time a made a fly culture with Tomato, it kept for a loooong time. This is not to be confused with my fly culture recipe, which is a little more simple, but still bad***.

I've been successfully culturing Gromphadorhina portentosa for quite some time now on a diet of mixed fruits and veggies, and fluker's hi-cal cricket diet gut-load powder on the side. Now every store in town has stopped selling the powder, so I bought some fluker's orange cube diet. The equality of the nutritional content between these two feeds seems dubious, so I'd like some advice on what ya'll think. Are the orange cubes as nutritious? They say that they are a full range, vitamin packed diet. The hi-cal powder says it's specifically for gut-loading. They both are rather vague on what exactly they've got in them though... The fact that I am buying a jar of stinky, artificially colored gelatin for $8 is also not something I'm happy about! Sphagnum moss has been working fine for water, so the moisture in this food is redundant for my setup. This stuff better be worth it! I barely have the time to slice up the fresh produce for my animals anymore, and I'd hate to have them lacking in the other half of their diet to boot. I have my eye on the repashy bug burger diet as well. Comments? :-\ Examples of these items- Hi-Cal Orange Cube Burger

Well, the main substrate is already cocofiber, I am using moss for increased humidity and also watering the insects. I've been raising two kinds of isopods in every tank they'll survive in for a year or so now... I guess I'm doing what I can! I'll try the alcohol thing soon as well. Thanks!

It seems like every time I get anything moist I get these yellow mites! It's been happening for quite some time and I always just assumed they were grain mites. Almost identical mites swarm in all of my house plant pots with sphagnum moss though, so I'm led to believe they are all the same type and are originating in the sphagnum. I just cleaned my largest roach enclosure less than a month ago, and it's already re-infested. Is there any good way to control these mites? In my house plants, I've watched them drown in pesticide (all natural or nasty chemical), then stand up and walk away when the liquid dries. They are mighty and resilient! If I microwaved or froze the sphagnum before using it, could it help this problem? I've got this issue in pretty much all of my humid enclosures and potted plants. They are not damaging the plants or exhibiting any sort of destructive behavior. I've had the pest expert at the plant nursery look at them, and he wasn't of much help. I guess they kind of look like this like grain mites from the pictures I've found... I've tried predator mites them at great expense and no effect!

Well... I got a healthy crop babies from the hisser ooths. Sweet. I'd never really looked into sexing my roaches, so thanks for the information. I do not think that sexing is limited to this method, however. For example, it's much easier to tell my G. portentosa apart by their more obvious features: the males have horns, hairy antennae, and a different look to them. I was just wondering if there were any features that were more obvious for the B. giganteus. Surely someone here raises them?! I'll go ask on Mantid forum.

Hello! I haven't been on in a while... But, I now have two questions that I was hoping someone knows the answer to: 1: How do I sex Blaberus giganteus? 2: I was under the impression that Gromphadorhina portentosa only eject their eggs to dry the case and then hold them until they hatch... True? I recently seperated about a third of my culture in hopes of seeing some nymphs, as they've reached their "cap" for this cage size it seems. I just gave them a water refill, and noticed two egg cases laying on top of the silk leaves in the enclosure. Are these eggs done for? I was hoping they would produce nymphs after the move, not abort them!

Well, for some reason I decided to put some of my pollen/honey blend in with the gutload my roaches dine on. It's all gone, and in less than a day. So they seem to dig it... But I spotted a half inch nymph on it's back in the dish, seemingly paralyzed, and reeking lightly of honey. He almost seems drunk, and keeps having hyper spasms. There is also bursts of energy when he will be able to use his legs, but then he goes back into paralysis mode. Weird. None of the other roaches are having problems. Anyone know what's up? He appears to be vomiting and I just noticed he has one dwarfed limb! Crazy time!

I would recommend floral foam. You can get it in the indoor plant section at most department stores. Make sure you get the "wet" kind, that actually absorbs water, because I think there is a kind that doesn't. It's usually green and sold in a block. Just cut up a few chunks and place them in a dish, then fill with water until they can't absorb anymore. Way cheaper than using the gel too I would guess.

OK. Yeah, I have been misting a lot more lately as I've seen a burst of nymphs, and I wanted to make sure they have water, I will cut back, and just stick with my humidity foam dish for their water, as I haven't noticed a problem around it. Thanks All!

Yes, precisely. Lower the humidity and they'll just die off? OK. I'll give it a shot.