Bufo Bill

Plants can survive with roaches in the short to medium term, provided you keep your roaches well fed at all times. I have kept ficus quercifolia with some rainforest species for a year, but the Vivarium eventually got taken over by hissers and they dug it up and chewed the fresh shoot tips.

Cheers from Bill.

Hi, roaches will probably eat small quantities of tea, but regular black tea has lots of tannins so it may be too distasteful for some species. If you're using tea from tea bags, I would remove the tea from the bag. But you could probably experiment with that if you wish.

Cheers from Bill. 

Hi, I have Buffalo worms in some of my colonies, they are an overlooked custodian species, but they keep themselves to themselves, and help keep the cages clean. Very small though so not really handling material. 

Regards from Bill 

I saw these online once before. Gorgeous, but they look like master escapolagists and fast and flighty. Am I wrong? 'Cause I'm smitten lol. 

All the best from Bill.

I would be more worried about how to store 50lbs of food without it spoiling before it got used, but if you mixed your own roach chow it would make a great base to add too. Not a complete food on it's own.

All the best from Bill.

Hi, I can't recommend a solution to your vivarium query, but I use silicone oil that you can buy for anything from cooking to running machine lubricant. This is all but invisible, and as long as it is reapplied regularly contains my P.nivea and my Schultesia lampyridiformes and Phoetalia pallida colonies, both of the latter I used to refer to as "Viv hoppers" due to the small size of the nymphs. All now contained successfully. 

Regards from Bill.

Great news. What a beautiful species too. 

Congrats from Bill.

As with all living creatures, a varied diet is healthiest. 

Stay away from Layer's mash (for Poultry birds) as there is such a high level of calcium it can cause moulting difficulty due to the shell being overdeveloped. 

All the best from Bill.

Hi, firstly Euphorbia plants are the ones to avoid and anything with milky sap. 

The idea of leaving the plants in the pots so that they can be swapped every few days is to be recommended. 

I have used small Thyme bushes in some of my set ups but they may just be eaten by larger roaches. Experiment is key, remember to keep away from white milky sap with succulents though. I find if the roaches are fed plenty of salad crops, fruit  and leaves they just leave the plants apart from the odd nibble, no need to fuss. 

All the best from Bill.

I would go for excavator clay as above, but again this set up may not be suitable for Dominoes. I have also built burrows using this system of peep holes and found it to work well for burrowing spiders and scorpions, it's well worth a go. 

All the best  from Bill.

Love these guys! The nymphs have similar colouration to quail eggs  I see why the adults are called ghost roaches too!

All the best from Bill. 

Hi, thanks for the input, that means a lot.  

I use LEDs myself, I find the dawn/dusk/variable light very convenient.  I use a TMC brand Ultima 1500 Growbeam Tile, along with one of their controllers. They are designed for aquariums, but the light is so convenient I bought one for this little display vivarium. 

I would love to see some of your set ups, perhaps in another thread as we are a little way from the OP's question. 

Thanks again from Bill.

Hi, this is a wonderful idea, I love it. 

If you can set the thermostat that heats your home, you can operate a timer for your lighting no trouble. 

Also, online alpine plant nurseries can provide very useful miniature plants that will flower for you under T5 lighting. 

Heres a couple of different layouts where I have used Alpines. This Vivarium houses Loboptera decipiens cockroaches and measures 8 inches X 8 inches X 8inches. 

Hope this helps. 

All the best from Bill

The "Montenegro" appellation is just the location that the stock was originally taken from. The fact that werneri is used may mean this is a local variant of A. werneri, while the stock known simply as A "Montenegro" haven't been identified to species level yet. This often means that they are undescribed species or species never found in that locality before. This happens a lot with inverts. 

Mall the best from Bill. 

Could Calcium be an issue? I think I remember reading something on this species elsewhere, and that idea came up. 

Hope this helps. Bill. 

Daniel, I have just started feeding my Isopods a mix of brown rice flour, Spirulina powder and Brewers yeast. All should be available from an online health food store, although this is not a low cost option here in the UK, if you are Stateside it may be a little cheaper. The ISO's seem to enjoy this diet so far, and it is also going down well with my Springtails. 

Regards from Bill. 

Can't say for the box elder but I don't think maple and mulberry are toxic. 

Hi, I have had luck with most of my colonies as far as feeding leaves goes, but the wood needs to be very well rotted if roaches are to feed on it. Not all species need it but those that do will benefit from rotting fallen leaves added to the substrate, not fresh or dried leaves plucked from a living tree in springtime. Apologies if this is not what you were asking, it may help myself and other posters to know what species you want the leaves and wood for. 

All the best from Bill. 

50% with occasional spraying and fruit or veg on offer permanently. The larger ones in particular like to hang of branches during ecdysis like mantids. Cereal/grain products help too. Hope this helps    

All the best from Bill.

Thanks for clearing that up. 

All the best from Bill.

How are you rearing them now 'Dude? Never done well long term with these myself.

All the best from Bill.

I had some of these a few years back. Bomb-proof is the word I went from 6 to 100+ in a single generation. They do well with twigs to climb too. 

Mall the best from Bill.

Little cuties!?

Heh heh . . . You buy a few roaches one day, then three months down the line your house is full of deli tubs, zip lock boxes etc . . . Every trip to the woods you see what's there to procure for those Polyphaga nymphs. Welcome to the club. 

All the best from Bill.

Thinking about it a bit more, I have had inverts that require regular clean outs or freshening up. They just seemed to have a lower tolerance, whether towards pathogens or nitrates I never really determined. Never had that bother with roaches before though.

Maybe they don't like stagnant air? A few more vents may be an idea?

Just putting a couple of ideas out there, use your own discretion, obviously.  

Regards from Bill.