Peppered roach dying

[macbrush]

When I first got them, they molted fine, never had a single issue. But recently, the remaining nymphs started their final molt, but the mortality rate is quite high, I would say around 50%, and among 35 nymphs I have had, maybe 30% of them died after final molt. At first, I thought it was lack of plant materials, so I added more dried leaves for them to chew on (they always have some wood in there), but didn't help much. The weather has became a little cooler recently, but I try to keep their bin at at least 24C.

Is this species prone to this problem? I have a bin of Giant Cave Roach right next to them, and they don't have this issue at all. I feed them oat meal, cat food, fruit and veggies, as well as have plenty of plant materials inside the bin for them. The bin is full of molting platform, and they don't have molting problem at all, only die a few days afterwards.

Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

[Allpet Roaches]

That species is usually very sturdy. I can't guess what the problem is.

[Hibiscusmile]

I agree, usually really hardy, where did u get the dried leaves? maybe some insectiside on them?

[macbrush]

I fed them the same leaves as I used for my Rhino Roaches, admittedly I didn't wash the leaves as thoroughly as I should've for peppered's. However, I have neglected offering them dried leaves for a few weeks, but they still dies, actually, it mainly happened during that period.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. I think I will do the usual drill, keep them warmer, clean their water dish more often, clean their food more thoroughly... etc. and see if those help.

[Peter Clausen]

When are they dying? Is it before or after their wings dry and darken?

Tell us about the humidity in your cage. My adults seem pretty intolerant of dry conditions. I recently moved them into a new container with too much ventilation and 75% of my older adults died within a week (I didn't have that many).

Were there any signs of the other roaches biting them while the freshly molting ones were still soft?

[macbrush]

They died about a two or three days after their final molt, roughly when they are just about completely darken, sometimes still a little bit pale. But sometimes its hard to tell if it is a normal looking adult, whether its recently molted or not. I have lower the humidity for 2 weeks to combat mites last month, but not to a point that's completely dry, I've already increased the humidity last week, and hopefully it would help (but one thing for certain, mites are already back!).

[Hibiscusmile]

I have moved mine when molting, as everyone pesters them, hope it gets better for you, they are a great species.

[macbrush]

After taking notes of what I have been feeding them for 2 weeks, I think it has something to do with the apples I have been feeding them. I have fed my roaches apple 3 times, each time I had 1 or 2 peppered died a day or 2 afterwards, I also had a few hissers died at the same time. Could GM apples be bad for roaches? I can't be sure if they're GM, but if they're cheap and didn't say organic on the package, I would assume its GM.

[Ralph]

I think you'd better take the safe route and lay off the apples for a while. It could easily be a coincidence, but there are plenty of other fruits that they eat even more and any potential lead is a good thing.