Hisserdude Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 One of my horseshoe crab roach nymphs matured yesterday, which I was pretty excited about. Now it is very sluggish and looks very much like it was dying. What happened? Why is it dying? The cage was a little warm, but probably not much above 78/80 F. None of the nymphs are showing similar behavior. Anything I can do to help my adult? I moved the cage down to the floor in case the heat was the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salmonsaladsandwich Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Feed it some honey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Thanks, trying that now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 My Horseshoes don't seem to mind high temperatures so long as I don't keep them above 90 degrees constantly. Was the enclosure dry? They really need moisture in my experience. Is your roach able to upright itself when turned on its back? My adults are relaxed compared to their nymphs but they're still quick if they're pestered too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCrackerpants Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Was the enclosure dry? They really need moisture in my experience. ^^^^This and do you have moist hardwood leaves in with them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 My Horseshoes don't seem to mind high temperatures so long as I don't keep them above 90 degrees constantly. Was the enclosure dry? They really need moisture in my experience. Is your roach able to upright itself when turned on its back? My adults are relaxed compared to their nymphs but they're still quick if they're pestered too much. No, they enclosure was quite moist. The poor guy can't really move much at all, let alone upright himself when turned upside down. I'm pretty sure he'll be dead within a few hours, I just wish I knew why so I can prevent it next time. ^^^^This and do you have moist hardwood leaves in with them? No leaves, I did not think they would need them. Could that be the problem? It seems weird that it would survive months without eating dead leaves, then turn into an adult and die the next day. I'm really kinda bummed out, this was my first adult horseshoe crab roach adult, and I somehow messed it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Another weird thing, I don't know if it has anything to do with what happened to my adult, but my nymphs (and the adult) are encrusted with coconut fiber, like it won't come off unless I rub it off with water, and then they get encrusted again later. It only happened with the larger individuals. It sounds like something that would happen in a drier cage, but their cage is moist. It's definitely coconut fiber, not mites BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 I'm really sorry to hear that. I've had some species where one or two adults just die right after molting for unknown reasons, only to have the rest live out long, healthy lives, breeding very prolifically. Maybe that's what's happening with yours? I rarely feed my H. tenebricosa leaves, although I do have aspen shavings in my enclosure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Another weird thing, I don't know if it has anything to do with what happened to my adult, but my nymphs (and the adult) are encrusted with coconut fiber, like it won't come off unless I rub it off with water, and then they get encrusted again later. It only happened with the larger individuals. It sounds like something that would happen in a drier cage, but their cage is moist. It's definitely coconut fiber, not mites BTW. I'm pretty sure that's normal. I would say most of mine are covered in substrate. Some of mine aren't, but I'm guessing they're just newly molted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCrackerpants Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 The temp and moisture is good. I am not sure about your adult. I only got reproduction out of this species when I added decaying hardwood leaves but that was just my experience. My colony chows down on the leaves...good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted June 25, 2015 Author Share Posted June 25, 2015 Thanks guys, I guess it might have been a fluke. I'll add some leaves to their enclosure asap, just in case. On a higher note, I just found another adult in the enclosure, it does not appear to be dying like the other one did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCrackerpants Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 Thanks guys, I guess it might have been a fluke. I'll add some leaves to their enclosure asap, just in case. On a higher note, I just found another adult in the enclosure, it does not appear to be dying like the other one did. Great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy1892 Posted June 25, 2015 Share Posted June 25, 2015 No, they enclosure was quite moist. I kept my Horseshoe Crab Roaches a tad bit on the dryer side and they molted to adult just fine. Maybe too much moisture is the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 I dunno, my other adult is doing just fine under the exact same conditions as the dead one. It must have been a fluke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Is your other adult still doing well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Yes, thankfully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Glad to hear that! I'm sure your first adult was, like you said, just a fluke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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