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Bufo Bill

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Everything posted by Bufo Bill

  1. Sorry to hear that. I can't offer specific advice, but when things are looking bad, a good clean out or rehousing is the best way to start. You get a good look at the roaches and if you are lucky find out things that could not be noticed simply by eyeing the container. So you did the right thing, anyway. Hope things improve, you're a great keeper, you'll get it sorted soon I am sure. All the best from Bill.
  2. Me likey likey! Are you getting anywhere with stabilising the morph? All the best from Bill.
  3. What little jewels! Pics are good enough for me to make my "Curses! I want some!" Face. Regards from Bill.
  4. Hi, these guys do climb, and they are out in the day time and active as adult specimens (the young burrow except at food time). I have kept these guys with plants such as ferns, and they do browse on the leaves, but if you keep them well-fed on fruit and veggies the damage is not to obvious, but to keep the plants in good condition the feeding routine must be constant and adhered to religiously. Planted Vivaria are rarely low maintenance, and probably never low maintenance when the inhabitants are roaches. Hope this helps, from Bill.
  5. Hey there Lanny, I'm no discoid roach expert, but generally some plastic container with a tight fitting lid will be fine; the size needs to allow a large adult to shed its skin without touching the sides or bottom of the container, as this causes serious or fatal deformities. I would go for something like a 12 Inch Cube or bigger, depending on how much space you have, as this gives them room to keep out of each others way at moulting or egg laying time.
  6. I finally seem to be breeding Schultesia lampyridiformes with some regularity. I had been having trouble trying to breed these for a year or more. I found some info on a German website where they said they needed a certain sized substrate granule, but I couldn't find out what it was. Anyway, by trial and error I found out really fine grade wood chips worked but they weren't good to dig through, and if an area got spoiled it was difficult to remove. I have found that granulated cork bark works perfectly; easy to clean and the roaches love to dig through it. Just thought I'd recommend this substrate to anyone having similar troubles. All the best from Bill.
  7. Wow, I didn't believe that guys that small could recover from an infection like that. Proved my theory wrong and dodged a mould shaped bullet, all in one go. That's some good husbandry! All the best from Bill.
  8. Is that a male? Big fellas aren't they? All the best from Bill.
  9. I use coconut shells; they are durable, stackable, mold resistant and look suitably tropical. Plus they are cheap. And you get to eat the tasty stuff inside. :-) All the best from Bill.
  10. Cool! Is there a scientifically established relationship between these and the ants, or is it just taking advantage of favourable climate and food supply, like infestations in human homes? All the best from Bill.
  11. Hmm, not sure now that you say . . . definitely seen diadema at the British Tarantula Society show . . . But maybe the varigata name rings a bell? All the best from Bill.
  12. I love these guys, you clearly get a better range of species offered in the states. We just have the Damon diadema offered here in the UK. Would love to have a free range one but having 3 cats and a confirmed arachnophobe in the house rather puts paid to that. All the best from Bill.
  13. I don't keep dubia roaches but I powder everything in my dry mix, including alfalfa, and have no problems. I also find mixing a little water with the day's food works well for picky eaters. You add a few drops of water at a time and mix until you get a mixture that holds its shape. Hope this helps from Bill.
  14. Beautiful! Not bad pictures at all, these guys are tiny as babies, I believe. All the best from Bill.
  15. Bummer. I had a ground beetle larvae that had some sort of bacterial infection, and I tried to dry the body out to mount it. Bad idea. The smell haunted me for a week. All the best from Bill.
  16. It's very inspiring to read these blogs, it's great to see younger members establish themselves in the community and to read of your enthusiasm! All the best from Bill.
  17. A tip I have on raising Mantids is to give them a perch at least 3 times the height of the mantis from the floor of the container. This helps because when Mantids shed their skin, they hang upside down from the old skin to expand their new exoskeleton. If they don't have enough room for this they will often die a few days after ecdysis. I lost a few Mantids this way when I first kept bugs. Hope this helps from Bill.
  18. A good way I have found to tackle fungus gnats and fruit fly is to add Collembola to the Vivarium. I used Seira species, which are available to buy as small colonies from breeders of Dart Frogs, but any species will do. I add several hundred individuals to a large roach Vivarium, and the same again a couple of weeks later. The collembola out compete the flies in most situations, but if possible add them to the Vivarium before the problem reaches plague proportions. Hope this helps from Bill.
  19. I went a wondering on the Shropshire hills last week, and collected a group of Orchesella cincta from the very humid detritus under the Heather bushes on the moorland. These should be great for adult Ranitromeya spp. and Oophaga spp. dart frogs, and they can obviously deal with warm humid conditions; it was like a sauna in those bushes! These are really common practically the whole world over, they have been found in the U.S. too. Not having much luck with photography ATM, am thinking of corralling one or two in a Petri dish. All the best from Bill.
  20. Wow, I'd never even heard of these before, very cool. Are they US natives or are they introduced? Gorgeous creatures! All the best from Bill.
  21. Let's talk about Collembola. Do any of you keep colonies of Collembola? Do any of you collect them in the wild? What is available commercially or traded keeper to keeper in your part of the world? Where I live, in the UK, we only have Seira species and Folsomia candida regularly available. You used to see the odd colony of Tomocerus species but I haven't seen any of the latter in the hobby for several years. I currently have Seira sp. and some I collected from a rotting tree stump. These are tentatively identified as Pogonognathellus flavescens. I have no adults left but I found young hatchlings today. These are tiny compared to the 4mm long adults. All the best from Bill.
  22. Hi again, did the cardboard technique work for you? I laid some traps like you suggested, I thought it was a great idea. I laced the undersides of the cardboard with brewers yeast, but I put the traps down in the hottest few days of June, and they just curled up and blew away. Hopefully you've had more success? Would love to hear how your experiment went. All the best from Bill.
  23. Lovely little things, some of these Parcoblatta species have fabulous orangey reds I am noticing. Anymore thoughts on taxonomy for these guys? All the best from Bill.
  24. I feed dandelions, ice plant(Sedum spectabile), Garden herbs (Origano, lovage, coriander), any spoiled fruit from my fruiting bushes and trees. All from my own garden, so I know exactly what has been used in their culturing. Growing your own food is a great idea. Also as regards animal protein, a little does no lasting harm, and always remember when feeding an animal or oneself that a varied diet of fresh healthy nutritious food is the key to a healthy life. He says as he reaches for the pizza delivery menu. All the best from Bill.
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