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brand new roach owner


kdogmcgruff

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hi everybody, my name's karen and i've recently become the owner of what i think is a juvenile german cockroach.

my OH and i picked up some bogwood for our fishtanks from a chap in coventry that had been storing it in his garage, and we think this little chap might have come in on that (we've since put sticky traps down, and no sign of any others in our house so far) so we think he's a visitor, not a resident.

initially, i was a bit freaked out, but after watching him for an afternoon from the safety of a perti dish, i got quite fond of him, so he's now made the leap from pest to pet.(a bit like my OH, lol!)

anyway, he's now in a tank with sand as a substrate, some bogwood to hide in and his little bowl of food (apple and some home made bread) and damp cotton wool ball for water. he seems quite happy but i'm a total insect newbie and want to make sure this little guy's got the environment he needs, i googled about and found you guys and think you're probably the people i need to chat to to make this happen.

i've attached a link to a couple of pics of him, can someone let me know if i've id'd him right and if i'm doing anything wrong? i like 'lil george' and he's managed to survive living for a couple of weeks with 4 activly hunting cats and 2 staffie crosses with typical terrier traits, so i think he's deserved a chance!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladycarfax/sets/72157627474216165/

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thanks for the replys guys.

ozy - the chap we picked up the bogwood from deffo had fish, not sure if he had anything else though. he was up-grading to a bigger tank and had decided to sculpt a background instead, so the wood had been sitting in his garage for a bit, perhaps george got in then? the only things we've picked up recently from the pet store are river shrimps, they do sell live food but i don't think i've seen roaches, just the usual locusts and mealworms. i'll double check though, just in case they've got escapees. ;)

bugs - yeah, he's my little guy!. currently asleep under his apple slice, i think he's had a busy night judging by his little sand tracks everywhere :D

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Where are you located?

Might your roach be a local species?

Also, Lil' george would probably be happy to have some friends or family to live with if you can find more of its species.

I find that many of my roaches like to be near eachother. I have had 2 males that were usually together (when resting) when they were the only ones in the container. :)

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Hi kdogmcgruff and welcome to the forum!

Your roach looks like a B. Dubia nymph but I'm not yet sure.

You can Google for more pics of other roach specie and see if it has a match.

I think the apple is already sufficient for the humidity because it is only alone.

The damp cotton wool ball may harbor harmful bacteria so you might want to take it out in my opinion.

Happy roach keeping!smile.gif

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bugs - i'm located in birmingham,uk. i'm in one of the dodgier parts of the city where there's a lot of shady import/export going on. if he's hitchhiked in on something theres a strong possibility it's come from places such as asia/north africa/afghanistan/india etc.

the OH says i can have some friends for him, but as a total newbie, i'm not sure wether he'd like to like with his own species or can he mix with other types of roach?

mako - cotton ball has ben removed, just in case!

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bugs - i'm located in birmingham,uk. i'm in one of the dodgier parts of the city where there's a lot of shady import/export going on. if he's hitchhiked in on something theres a strong possibility it's come from places such as asia/north africa/afghanistan/india etc.

You are probably right that the roach is a hitchhiker, but given how you found it, you have a good chance of obtaining some roommates. :)

I can't be sure about mixing species because I have never done it myself, but others have done it without a problem. As long as there is plenty of food, moisture, and hiding places, things will probably be fine for the roaches.

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