Axolotl

Not sure how much space or time you have, but I create yearly leaf piles that I can pull from in later years. I have several "vintages" and I can find leaves at any decomp state needed just by sorting through the strata. Are you seeding the leaves with any bioactives? I've found the leaves break down quickerr if I cycle them for awhile. For my Hercules, I combine the fresher leaves with small amounts of sterilized organic compost and softened wood pellets. Then I seed the whole thing with grub castings and/or well-used roach substrate. It takes a few weeks for things to start meshing, but within 2 months I have perfect bedding that I use for the grubs and my leaf-loving roaches. I don't know that it's entirely necessary, though. Even my O. deusta and R. formosana that eat leaves almost exclusively have no trouble with recently dead/dry leaves. I can pull dead brown oak leaves from the branches and they still gobble right through them.

I've noticed this too, not as much with my hissers, but with my B. giganteus. Adults won't touch the roach chow, but the nymphs go nuts for it. I gave them a small bowl of oatmeal the other day and the same thing happened: nymphs finished it off in mere minutes, but the adults didn't have any interest. Kind of makes sense though... more protein for growing healthy stronger bodies.

I'll have to keep this in mind for my B. giganteus. They love their protein... They usually tend to any dead dubia or hissers in good time.

Have you tried freezing these for longer shelf life? I usually spend a month or two traveling each year, during which time my SO has to care for all my bugs. I've been looking for an inexpensive yet healthy food that will save for a month or longer.

He now has Platymeris for sale as a feeder ... Maybe you can start listing your slings now. ?

Any theories on the reason for that behavior? Does it somehow help the eggs?

Blaberus giganteus.

I've been keeping E. arcanum and they are great fun. The females make rather large breeding chambers against the glass, so you can see everything as she moves and grooms the eggs. My first clutch just hatched and it's been so intriguing to watch her caring for the tiny nymphs. The nymphs are only 3-4 mm and white — they look like giant temperate springtails. Milkweed bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus) are another newcomer. Not sure if they're really popular in the hobby, but they've been used in educational settings for some time now. They are rather easy to keep. I'll definitely be hunting for some this fall. Have you tried any of the dwarf species? Highly recommend Hapalopus sp. Columbia (Large). They are gorgeous and only get 3"-4". They're fairly active at night. I've got 5 little "pumpkin butts" right now, and they're definitely my favorite Ts. The slings are really entertaining.

I have hard water, too. To avoid the stains I use distilled water in my misting jugs and tap water for pour overs. Vinegar will help, but keep in mind that acetic acid can weaken invertebrate exoskeletons, so take care when applying and rinse well.

Little Kenyans eat some poop. I don't notice the frass build up with most species. I did replace my B. lateralis substrate recently after 2 years as it was no longer really substrate but more empty ooths and fine particles. I did a change on my dubia once as well. None of my other species have needed it yet, though I do add new substrate to the top if I notice it turning into finer particles. I think (not certain) the fine particles are the result of A. diaperinus breaking down food, dead roaches and poop.

I feel your pain! I had an immense outbreak last year. There were thousands and they started migrating out of the roach room into my houseplants. Collembola help as they out-compete the gnats, but to really get them under control I had to set up yellow sticky boards in my bug room. You can find them on Amazon or at hardware stores. It's a little weird, but here's how I tackled them: - Hung up sticky boards by light fixtures. - Stuck small pieces of sticky board on the underside of enclosure lids ONLY with non-climbing species. - Stuck a sticky board to the outside of a nightlight — so the light showed through the board — and let it attract gnats in the dark. This was surprisingly one of the most effective ways to lure them to the boards. - Collembola in all of my damp roach enclosures. - No roach chow or moist foods in the damp enclosures - just carrots. - Let everything dry out as much as possible without jeopardizing the roaches. - Smashed all of them that I came across (RIP little fellers). - Be patient. It took a good 3 months of vigilance to eradicate them in my bug room. And now that it's summer, I'm starting to see a few again. I think it's inevitable. But they are cleaning up fungus in the enclosures, so they're not all bad. Hope this helps!

I keep mine bone dry and about 85-90 degrees. They get water crystals, but only occasionally do I mist them. I keep them on a mix of coco fiber and shaved aspen (snake bedding) with A. diaperinus for clean up.

I get mine from the local Big Boy restaurant. They go through dozens a day. I just called the manager and explained the situation. They were happy to save the empties for me. In 2 weeks I ended up with a stack about 8' high. That was well over a year ago and I still have plenty remaining. They're just trash to most restaurants, so just ask around.

I'd love to read the results from your studies as well. Maybe you could post links when you publish?

You can use cleaner crews to help keep the substrate free of mold, fungus, mites, gnats and odors. I use A. diaperinus in dry substrate and Collembola in damp substrate. I also use Blaberidae "Kenya" with larger "moist" species like A. insignis and B. giganteus. Aside from that, I just hand pick any food remnants, exuviae and dead roaches — maybe stir up the substrate every once in awhile. As long it remains odor-free I typically don't do much cleaning... I do however spend a lot of time fussing and maintaining the aesthetics of my natural enclosures... lots of moving bark, swapping out branches, mixing in new leaves ... you know, the fun stuff. ?

Gotcha. It's the first I've seen of him ... which is strange, because I tend to keep a pretty close eye on the ebay roach market. Must be his bad spelling and incorrect categories. And yeah, I've noticed a lot more people trying to pass off a range of things as "feeders." I guess everybody eventually gets eaten by someone. Thanks for the heads up!

Just curious... which policies? I'm not well-versed in eBay's guidelines. Probably should read up on that... I just assume eBay is like the wild west — anything goes. ?

Ah! That makes more sense. I just read it wrong. I thought that was a risky endeavor. ? My adult male beardie loves hissers, especially E. javanica adults, and my assassins take the nymphs as well... But then again, I think they'll eat just about anything that moves. I had a nymph catch an adult male dubia the other day and drag it up to the top of a perch. I was actually quite astonished.

So I thought this would be a fun thread. What unusual things have your roaches eaten? By this I mean things not on the typical menu. I'm forever trying new items and have had good success with: Dole dried fruit snacks (100% fruit) Hardboiled eggs (including the shell) Almonds & walnuts Canned haricot beans Acorns* Hibiscus flowers* Wild dandelion flowers & greens* Red clover, white clover & alsike clover (but not hop or trefoil clover)* Fresh maple leaves (hissers go nuts for these)* And finally... Nacho Cheese Doritos Loco Tacos (supreme) from Taco Bell. My lats got a whole taco last year for Christmas, and they went insane. Ate everything except the sour cream. Things they won't eat: dried cranberries, tomatoes and kefir grains. What interesting things have your roaches enjoyed? * Obligatory warning: These items are sourced from my property, which is pesticide-free, herbicide-free, fertilizer-free and large enough to avoid run off from neighbors. Use great caution and wash thoroughly before feeding any wild items to roaches.

Any luck on getting the beardie to eat assassin nymphs?

Late to the conversation, but there is a good amount of roach related jewelry on Etsy, including some really nice enamel pins and vintage jewelry.

Loved this video. Is that pollen on the palps or is that the natural color?

That is pretty mind blowing, at least for me. I have a whole new world to explore. I wonder if they need to be at a certain hunger level to catch live prey or if they're opportunistic and will grab any extra they can even when they have a steady food supply. I'm going to do a few experiments with my B giganteus. That's my only real meat eating species at the moment, but man do they go nuts for fresh cooked hamburger and canned cat food. Thanks for sharing the videos.

This is fascinating. I've seen my B. giganteus eat live (but dying) dubia, but I assumed they were just incredibly hungry and/or excited for the meat. I don't think they're hunters, but it's an intriguing idea. With the breadth of species, I wouldn't doubt that some have evolved to take advantage of hunting to survive. I'd love to hear more about this. Any chance you could catch the hunting on video?

I love that I'm not the only one naming my roaches. After awhile it's not feasible to name 1000s, but I still have my favorites — mostly aggressive male hissers I've had to pull from colonies, like Red the male A. insignis who just emerged and was about to receive the full wrath of Goldie, the reigning male. There's also Wickwicki the last surviving member of my P. vanwaerebecki hybrids and Fuzz, the last of my G. oblongonota hybrids who is currently battling a fungal infection. They all have such unique personalities... it's hard to not get attached.