Hello!
Been doing a bit of research, which lead me to this forum so hoping to get some input. I have kept some Dubia roaches for 2 years due to my tarantula collection and I am now interested in getting some other roaches more specifically to keep as display/pet roaches.
After some reading it seems my first choices - three different species of Therea roaches (question marks, and both the white and orange domino roaches) may not be the best options because it seems they spend a lot of time under ground. That doesn't completely bother me, but after further reading it looks like the adults, who would be more out and about, only live for a couple of months - is that true? They are still oh so cute to me, so still leaning heavily on wanting to get each of these.
The place I am considering buying from has options for both smaller nymphs and medium nymphs. Would it be better for me to get a mix or is it ok to go with the smaller? (Price is the only determining factor here since the smaller guys are obviously cheaper. I realize the downside is that these guys can take a long time to mature, but keeping tarantulas has taught me plenty of patience in terms of waiting for things to mature...or do anything for that matter). I also wonder if buying smaller would up my chances of more nymphs maturing as female for breeding purposes.
As for care, it looks like they benefit from leaf litter. Wondering what you guys use? I saw some cypress mulch at Petco, and I see that Josh's frogs has some dried oak leaves by the bag.
I was thinking of starting out with these three Therea species and then moving on to other/more expensive species. I also really like the "Sexy Legs Roach" and I would really, really enjoy eventually breeding Simandoa conserfariam.
Thank you in advance for any replies, I deeply appreciate your thoughts/advice.
- Christina