What exactly will(or might) happen if the temperature in your enclosure drops below 68 degrees? It seems on all Hisser info sites I have read, that is almost always the first mention on temperature. I was just curious, what happens?

Also, are they like fish where dramatic temperature variations or changes can be harmful or stressful to thier health?

Thanks!
Amelia

Hi Amelia,

Good pick for a name! Since the roaches that I have in my care were at temps a little lower than 68F before I started caring for them, I can give you some idea of how they reacted.
1. they were not very active at all.
2. they did not breed very well. If they had little ones they aborted them before they could survive.
3. other than that they seemed to be fine.

Hope this is some what helpful.

Tina

Okay good. My seven had a day of sixty four degrees yesterday. I did everything I could think of. I put them in the warmest room(still a miserable sixty something), on a heat mat, and I even put some Hot Hands in a sock and put it in there. I went out and bought a Reptisun infrared bulb that afternoon, and it has kept it a snuggly, steady eighty four degrees. Meanwhile my dog and I are still freezing in our sheets. Mum won't let me turn my heat on yet.

I was very afraid of lasting effects of that one chilly afternoon. They are all alive though and doing well, as far as I can tell.

I keep my hisser colony in a 10g aquarium with a full hood. I taped the back down and use weights to secure the front end of the lid down. The light keeps the tank pretty warm and the hood keeps in the humidity very well.

My hissers were shipped in the dead of Michigan winter, and they reproduced fine.

Oh yeah,

I forgot to mention that they also recently had babies. Of course they are now at 74-80 degrees regularly.

Tina