Xenoblatta

I think nearly any species will bite a bit those paper plates if you use them to serve their food.... depending on how big your colony is, the plates will disappear (or not). ...I can only tell you, I use a mixed Pycnoscelus spp. colony for blatti-composting, and they are crazy eaters 😄 I'm a little careless with them and occasionally throw used food napkins in and they just eat it all (slower than real food, but they still eat it...). Maybe you could grind these dishes with real food? I think that would accelerate their consumption, provide a lot of fiber and I guess wouldn't be toxic for them... 😉

Looking right now 😦 Thank you very much @varnon, it is a great contribution!! ...and a topic in which I'm particularly interested...

Hey! well... any organic substrate should be Ok (like coconut fiber) Do not use Buffalo Worms!... they will bite the ooths of Shelfordella lateralis, but springtails is completely fine if you plan to keep the substrate slightly moist. It depends on how much you use 🙂 2K nymphs would be a lot for myself (It depends on how much you need to use every time)... I mean... you could get a colony of thousands in a short time starting with 100 nymphs. They breed like crazy!!

@emmett They are too many colonies? Just to be sure... you should take them to another place while she do that ?

Hey @stanislas... Yes, they died shortly before this picture, and some hours after offering non-pealed fruits.... ?

Could they be seeds of something you fed them? Is not rare to find Drosophila worms in organic waste inside terrariums....

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Exactly! I use to prepare a lot and freeze them for a lot of time... Works perfectly for me ?

I have never had a colony with only males, but I have seen this kind of homosexual behaviour in colonies with both sexes... ?‍❤️‍? ?‍❤️‍?

I use to feed my roaches leaves and flowers of Hibiscus spp. They love it. ?

Wow... Thank you @Test Account I'm sorry I didn't read it before ? I get it... I hope he gets better and come back around here...

I'm not good with hissers... ? Maybe @Hisserdude can tell you?

Wow! I'm so sorry @Test Account I have lost insects for those horrible pesticides already... Maybe cleaning with vinegar + sodium bicarbonate diluted in some water? Is what I use to eliminate pesticides in the fruits before offer to my roaches... ?

Very good point... I have noticed the same in some cases. At least in large populations of B.dubia and N.cinerea I've seen is because they may increase the temperature of the colony just because their own activity... which may give them an additional impulse. ?

Those are pretty nice ? How it's been your experience of breeding H.reflexa? Do they breed well for you? ?

Well... I'm not sure species of Eublaberus could hibridize, but neither I'm sure they couldn't ? B.dubia + E.posticus + some other non-climbers like Shelfordella lateralis or Pycnoscelus femapterus (Only adult males are climbers) sounds good for a gutload container :-)

Ok... could you show us a picture of those climber females? Sounds like you have some visitors of the genus Periplaneta ?

Hello @Jimbobtom I don't recommend you to keep Eublaberus posticus and Eublaberus sp. "Ivory" together... It is better to avoid any possibility of hybridisation, even if you are going to use them as feeders, there is some risk in the practice... some of them accidentally could be putted back into the breeder container and contaminate the genetics of the others. I keep many of my colonies in community, some examples are: Lamproblatta albipalpus + Periplaneta australasiae Lamproblatta cf. gorgonis + Xestoblatta sp. Lamproblatta cf. ancistroides + Ischnoptera rufa Blaberus cf. discoidalis + Blaptica dubia Ischnoptera rufa (again) + Anaplecta parva Lanxoblatta cf. lata + Diploptera punctata Phortioeca phoraspoides + Elliptorhina chopardi ?

Well... I used to use barks in the enclosures of Pycnoscelus spp. but it happened the same... They barely use them if all in the substrate is going well (no overpopulation) ? Sometimes the barks even appeared completely buried in the substrate (I guess for the high activity of the roaches under it) At this moment I just keep them with a good layer of a light substrate (not less than 20 cm)... no food or water dishes, only substrate, and they are doing really well ?

Well @Test Account... To be honest I'm not sure if is Z.morio Haha (they looks and breed the same)... For sure Zophobas gen. ? I have to post pics in the beetle section, so you can give me your opinion... as well I have to make some pictures of them in the wild living with B.discoidalis (Or B.parabolicus? Hahaha... I'm a mess ? I have to really identify them, at the moment they are labelled as cf. morio and cf. discoidalis), wich is pretty cool!

They usually are a little crumbly... every time is a little different haha ?

Hello @Arthroverts ? Thanks for your comment! Actually yes ? I keep in several cages a third species.... usually as a cleaning crew, mostly isopods... But as well I keep in a big cage Blaptica dubia + Blaberus discoidalis + Zophobas morio (I usually see B.discoidalis & Z.morio living together in the wild). But if you mean more than two species of cockroaches together, for sure I did it before... but not in this moment :-) If I do it I will post pics ?

Hello friends, Cockroaches love sweet... I feed all of my colonies very often with homemade sweet croquette... and I really recommend it ? I try all the time with new ingredients, but the base of my recipe is: -Chicken feed // Cat food (I pass the cat food through the blender to get a powder ?) -Pollen -Soy Milk in powder -Honey (...A lot, but not enough to make the texture 'sticky') -Eggs (with the honey works very well as a binder) Mix it all while you cook over low heat until you get the texture you want. But be careful!!! Sticky texture is very dangerous for tiny cockroaches. Then I use to use an ice mold to prepare the portions and then keep it in the fridge (...let them reach room temperature before offering to your roaches ? ) I use to add something different every time to the mixture... like powder milk, dry grapes (or other dry fruits), meat (already cooked without seasoning)... etc. Tasty!! ?

Hello there friends! ? I use to mix different species (...that apparently could live together —similar environmental necessities, non-aggressive behaviour & the most important, no possibilities of hybridisation) This time was Phortioeca phoraspoides & Elliptorhina chopardi... and well, they couldn't be doing better. Actually, I would say that the group of P.phoraspoides living with E.chopardi are doing better than the group with their own cage. Which made me understand finally the better way to keep these very hardy flat-roache's species ? ...keep them dry, ventilated but with a good source of juicy veggies. That was a surprise... because they have some moisture around in their habitat. But wouldn't be the first time that one of my species do better in captivity when kept a little dryer than in their habitat. Cheers! ?

...I think exactly the same, if I can get a wild-caught breeding group (...much preferred to collect by myself) I feel much safer. It would be great if breeders start to name the cultures to avoid to mix them with others "of the same species" ...you know what I mean ? Great job!!