Hisserdude

Yeah I saw that, didn't think much of it though since those two species seemed quite different and I have yet to see anyone else report hybridization...

Well first off, unless the soil is incredibly stable, I'd make it far more shallow, these roaches live in deep, almost cavernous burrows in stable soil in the wild, and thus never have to molt covered with substrate like "substrate swimming" burrowers do... If they have substrate covering them in captivity while they molt, this often leads to fatal mismolts, thus a lot of people recommend only using a CM or so of substrate for nymphs, basically making the enclosure mimic one of their burrow chambers. Secondly, these roaches aren't all that active normally, and given the fact their growth slows down as they get older, I'd say the behavior you're seeing is normal.

Eh might be a teeny bit edited, but the patterning scheme is what's important, I believe the Roachcrossing picture is more accurate in terms of what they look like in person color wise.

Also, little disclaimer, while back in 2017 CCR's stock appeared to be pure, they've evidently since added new blood to their colony, (purposefully to help the colony breed better, or by accident, I'm not sure), as I know someone who bought from them very recently, and not only did the small nymphs they bought have a 100% survival rate, (kinda unusual, but not impossible for pure stock I suppose), but some matured to be a chocolate brown color, others lacked any yellow abdominal margins... So I'd say they're hybrids now.

Well keep us posted, will be interesting to see what they turn into!

Well Kyle's pure stock, (which he got directly from DoubleD's), never has the kinds of variations that we see in other stock, which leads me to believe most other stocks that have such variations were hybridized at some point or another. Variability can be a natural feature in wild hissers, but in captivity it's the first sign of hybridization, and not only that, but pure stocks have likely been inadvertently line bred for their colorations over multiple generations... So when there is variability in those stocks nowadays, it's almost certainly a sign of them being mixed with something else. I found someone who has individuals descended from Kyle's stock, who appears to have kept them pure this whole time, coloration appears consistent and they have been pretty finicky compared to his other hissers. I'll be getting some this week, hopefully they are indeed pure and I can measure the consistencies and any normal, subtle variations in pure stock of this species myself. If they are indeed pure I'd be happy to send you some later on when my colony is established, (free of charge), so you can compare to your current stock.

Oh no not another hybridization epidemic, you know how many people are keeping isopod species of the same genera with each other right now? 😂 I was hoping it was impossible for them to hybridize...

Exactly, so it's likely whoever sold them to you had them housed with something else at one point. As for Cody's weird black individual, he was also very careful about preventing hybridization, and that was one of the individuals that grew up from the nymphs he was sent, (those types of individuals never pop up in pure colonies). Peter Clausen's are also quite variable, definitely hybrids, and I think he said they're from your stock as well. Pure Princisia are supposed to always have the borders, it may be fainter on a few individuals, but every single individual has borders, without exception in pure stock. One of the easiest ways to tell pure stock from impure stock is by looking at how finicky they are, hybrid Princisia are very easy since they've been mixed with one of the easier to breed Gromphadorhina, whereas pure Princisia, (both the pure "Standard" line and the recently imported "Androhamana" strains) are quite finicky, with some young nymph die offs not being uncommon, and females giving birth sporadically to small broods. I believe this is why they've started fizzling out in the hobby, some people's colonies of pure stock don't do so well, and either die out, or they introduce new hybrid bloodlines to keep the colony going.

Yeah they definitely like things on the drier side for sure, I don't know why one of the nymphs would die, your setup sounds ideal and mortality rates are supposed to be quite low... There wouldn't happen to be a high amount of large springtails or any isopod species housed with them would there? (as those can stress them out).

Welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy it here!

Hmm, how humid are you keeping them?

More female pics, quite a few in the colony right now, hoping for some more litters to be born soon!

Unfortunately after talking with Orin directly in PMs, it seems as though his Princisia aren't pure, (probably hybridized before he even got them). The coloration of his individuals varies and the occasional large, really dark individuals pop up, not at all characteristic of pure bred Princisia. Only vendor I know of selling pure stock in the US is Cape Cod roaches, theirs came from Roachcrossing's pure stock and has extremely consistent coloration that matches what the original pure Princisia "Big/Standard" stock looks like. We should phase out hybrid Princisia in the US in favor of pure stock, even though pure stock is far more finicky than hybrid stock, (another good way to tell if stock is pure). This is what pure Princisia adults should look like, with little to no variation among adults: All adults should have consistent, thin yellowish abdominal borders, and no thick abdominal striping. The thoracic segments have large red spots on them. This is a male from a colony started with individuals from Orin's stock, note the very atypical dark coloration, no abdominal bordering and very small red spots on the thoracic pads. The horn structure is also rather weak for Princisia.

Also, be aware that most Princisia stocks in the US and Europe are hybrids, where did you get yours?

All of those species can and will hybridize with each other, except the Elliptorhina javanica, those can possibly be housed safely with the larger Gromphadorhina or Princisia. However, seeing as even Gromphadorhina and Aeluropoda can hybridize, I'm hesitant to recommend housing ANY combination of Gromphadorhini species communally anymore...