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B. lateralis feeding


crittergu

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Most dog food's provide enough nutrition for any roach, especially B. lateralis. Certainly adding some fruits like canteloupe, apple, and peach seems to help some species to reproduce better but primarily just live bearers that can hold in births. With B. lateralis it is important not to keep the cage too dry or the eggcases can desiccate, consider using a water dish with sponge.

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Thanks!

How do you offer the food? I'm guessing some kind of feeding dish would be best. Again, is there a way of insuring the veggies are safe? I'm not so much concerned for the roaches(haha!) as I am for the animals that will be eating them. Am I the only one here who thinks these roaches look disgusting btw? Other roaches I can take, but these kinds...erp. Ok, the nymphs are kind of cute...but it is more of a "Ok squirmy critter let me throw you in with my real pets so you can dissapear as quickly as possible!"

It seems a sponge would require changing often and get smelly, no? Maybe a waterdish filled with pea gravel would work? Only problem is that the nymphs would no be able to get to it...and if they could they'd drown of course. Another idea could be providing a smaller container with some kind of substrate that could be made wet every once in a while. Maybe even a plant to keep it fresh?

Also, is their any kind of plastic that they would appreciate for shelter? Something that can be removed and sanitized easily?

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I have a small colony of lats so I feed them only once or twice a week. I don't really buy organic veggies for them, I just make sure to wash them good before I put them in.

The lats look more like the pest species and what people think roaches are supposed to look like so they can be a little freaky to some people. :D

Get some water crystals to use for water. I make a batch and keep it in the fridge for when I feed my roaches. You can either have a bowl full of crystals or add them to the food. They really like it when you make them with fruit juice.

For shelter I use cut up egg crates. They don't get too dirty, but if they do, they can be replaced. You can get egg crates from a farm supply store (it's much cheaper than buying them online!). Or just use the old cartons from eggs you buy. Plastic probably wouldn't be good since they're not a climbing species. They wouldn't be able to hang on if the plastic was slippery. I've also used crumpled paper in my lateralis tanks. That works ok too.

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I use dog food for them, in a dish, I use water crystals for a water source, also in a dish. I also keep some water crystals mixed in with the substrate in their enclosure. For fruits and veggies, I just wash and slice them up small enough that I know they can consume it all in a day or 2 and put it in there, the roaches take care of the rest.

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I just lift the lid of thier tub and litterally toss in cat food and a handful or two of water crystals. No dish to clean. Occasionally I throw in a handful of some type of fruit or vegetable. Your colony will explode and have so many that they can eat a whole banana in an hour including most of the peel. These are the easiest roach to keep and most prolific I have kept. If you dont feed them for a couple of weeks and don't water them, many will die and get cannibalised and then you dont worry about the tremendous surplus you would otherwise wind up with. Also, keep a sharp eye out- they magically wind up in other colonies and terrariums....

:huh:

Matt

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