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tina g

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Posts posted by tina g

  1. I have actually taken a supplement shake with spirulina in it. I thought it was good. It worked fairly well and didn't taste that bad. I have never tried it on the roaches. I don't know about Chlorella. I do have some Oscillitoria from the fish tank that I have here. I could try giving them some of that. Let you know how it goes.

    Tina

  2. Hi I am Tina!

    I work at OSU-ATI. Keeping a fewer hissers is part of my job. I really didn't know anything about them until I got here. Now they have become one of my hobbies! I currently have 3 adult hissers who recently had about 20 babies. I can't wait for the little ones to get big.

    Where is the best place to purchase a few more adult hissers. We need them for one of our classes. They put them in a maze and do some calculations based on where they wander.

    :D

  3. Hi Amelia,

    I too am into horses and all sorts of animals. I graduated from school with a dual bachelor's degrees in Biology and Chemistry with the expectation to go on to vet school. Never made it. But I love what I am doing now. I am a Lab Supervisor at Ohio State University- Agricultural Technical Institute. They have a lot of options open for careers. I can actually thinking of a couple you might be interested in.

    1. Entomology-- the study of all sorts of bugs, spiders, and the like.

    2. They have some really good 2 year programs here for horses, dairy, beef, swine, also lots of transfer programs to go to main campus OSU.

    3. Zoology-- study and care of animals in zoos (I believe this is their main responsibilites)

    4. Veterinarian

    I think the first one might be a really good fit for you. I was listening to NPR and heard them talking to a woman who does research on spider silks. Apparently every spider has more than one silk gland to make silk. They use several kinds of silk to build just one web. Also, their silk has great qualities (tensile strengths) than most of our currently man-made and natural products.

    I thought this was really cool!

    Tina

  4. I just use a dampened sponge. A large piece that is about 3" x 2" x 1" or so. I keep it wet as possible. Occasionally, I mist the substrate.

    I really like the "psuedo chicken-waterer" idea. That would be very handy on the weekends and holidays. Oh yeah, keeping the roaches is part of my job!

    Tina :D

  5. Hi Amelia,

    Good pick for a name! Since the roaches that I have in my care were at temps a little lower than 68F before I started caring for them, I can give you some idea of how they reacted.

    1. they were not very active at all.

    2. they did not breed very well. If they had little ones they aborted them before they could survive.

    3. other than that they seemed to be fine.

    Hope this is some what helpful.

    Tina

  6. My Hisser colony came with mite and I was wondering what is the safest way to get rid of them. They are light in color and visible to the naked eye. I have the Hissers on Vermiculite because i read it was safe and free from parasites but the roaches themselves ha these to start. thanks for your help,

    starflyre

    I don't know how feasible it is for you, but I use the "shake and bake" method. I put a small amount of flour in gallon plastic bag and the roaches I need to de-mite then shake them gentle, take them out of the bag and brush them off. I would suggest using the canned air though that would probably be faster and easier then brushing. Also, I see that someone else reccommended the air as a mite removing solution. I only had 4-5 hissers when I started doing this. The mites actually stick in the flour and fall off the hissers. It does not seem to hurt the hissers at all except the brushing which is why air is probably better. My hissers did usually end up having a little flour stuck on them after brushing. The method actually says to mist them off. I haven't been brave enough to do this yet.

    Godd luck,

    Tina :D

  7. i bought a doz adult hissers an put them a large sterlite storage box.used 1-2in of peatmoss fed them oatmeal an bran mixed.there were kept in a back room at room temp.about 2 months i had 100-200 babies.also the only water supply was water crystals an greens from time to time.

    I only have three roaches left right now. I have a feeling they are older. I do need to get a few more though. I think that would help. Any suggestions on heating? With my red lights the temp is only at 74-76 F. I am on a limited budget (aren't we all)! I have about a 1-2 inch layer of topsoil with leaf humus in the bottom. I periodically (1-2x per week) mist it to try to keep the humidity up. I put a tomato in their last Thursday and it took all weekend to dry it out. I also have a half of a regular sized sponge in there that I keep wet for moisture and water. I think I need to get them the crystals though.

    Any suggestions? :huh:

  8. For dog food try Beneful brand...some roaches like it all and others like select pieces of it. Or you could switch to a catfood. I also offer floating fish food sticks that they all seem to nibble or grab up like little thieves...

    That is actually the kind I have been feeding them. That is what I feed my dogs. I may try the float fish food sticks. :D

  9. I couldn't get mine to eat any tomatoes. Some one gave me some so thought I would try. In fact I don't think they like the dog food I am giving them either. Any suggestions for food? Also, I need to get a fewer more G. portensa(?) (hissing cockroaches) for the school I work at anyone have a few to sell?

    Thanks,

    Tina

  10. It came with my job. Although the breeding part of it did not, I would like to see a sizable colony. I love my job. I have fun doing this. I also get to raise fish and plants. That is what is so awesome about being a Lab Supervisor at a small University. Oh, I do also have other responsibilities but these I consider more of a hobby. :D

  11. Hi All!

    I was wondering if anyone could help me. I recently took over the care of some hissers. I am hoping to breed them. I currently have 3 females and one male. They are used for teaching. I have them in a 15 gallon glass fish tank with vaseline on the top 3" and a wire-mesh top. I have 2-20W red lights on the cage. It is about 26C in the cage. There is no substrate on the floor. I am feeding beneful dog food and supplementing with veggies. I have a dish with a sponge for water. Since I have taken over I have had one litter but they were all dead. I am hoping to breed regular litters for feeding reptiles. Any suggestions on what I may do to try to improve the breeding? Is my colony to small? Do I need better living quarters?

    Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!! :D

    Tina

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