roachitis
First Instar
I'm a little worried my daily handling of one of my favorite pet cockroaches might be harmful to either me or him, so if anyone has any insight, let me know.
I love all my pet roaches, but Benjamin, my first madagascar hissing cockroach, is my favorite. I got him March, 2026. The second day I had him, I got him crawling on me with food. Hes hissed at me a total of three times. I loved handling him a lot, as all my other roaches hate it, so we got a little schedule. Everyday around 3:00, I'd let him explore (supervised) for an hour, whether crawling on me or in his playpen. He has a playpen full of branches and textures I put on my bed, so I can supervise him.
He's even let me pick him up overhand (I don't do this often, but I was trying to check him for injuries and realized he lets me do it without hissing. He doesn't even freeze up.) He hisses around all my friends and family, no matter how they've tried to tempt him with treats. He even gets more active in his enclosure before I take him out.
I'm worried handling him everyday might stress him somehow, or I could get allergic.
Also, he's kept by himself because he's missing a foot, blunt antenna, and no sticky pads, all the other roaches bully him. Is that bad? Should I try and introduce him again, and stop holding him? He is my favorite and most special pet, so i don't want to accidentally harm him.
I love all my pet roaches, but Benjamin, my first madagascar hissing cockroach, is my favorite. I got him March, 2026. The second day I had him, I got him crawling on me with food. Hes hissed at me a total of three times. I loved handling him a lot, as all my other roaches hate it, so we got a little schedule. Everyday around 3:00, I'd let him explore (supervised) for an hour, whether crawling on me or in his playpen. He has a playpen full of branches and textures I put on my bed, so I can supervise him.
He's even let me pick him up overhand (I don't do this often, but I was trying to check him for injuries and realized he lets me do it without hissing. He doesn't even freeze up.) He hisses around all my friends and family, no matter how they've tried to tempt him with treats. He even gets more active in his enclosure before I take him out.
I'm worried handling him everyday might stress him somehow, or I could get allergic.
Also, he's kept by himself because he's missing a foot, blunt antenna, and no sticky pads, all the other roaches bully him. Is that bad? Should I try and introduce him again, and stop holding him? He is my favorite and most special pet, so i don't want to accidentally harm him.