Female hisser have birth, but I only have 2 females?

[Eva]

I’ve been keeping two female hissing cockroaches as pets for about a month now. I bought them from a breeder, and received two adult females. I’ve sexed them and the appear to both be girls, but earlier today I noticed what looked like an egg sack in the enclosure. I’m so confused as to how one of my roaches became pregnant in the first place?? My current theory is that she was pregnant when I got her but I’m still not sure. I also don’t want babies at all (why I only got two females) so I’m worried about future pregnancies even though they are both girls.

[kadupul]

This is what an ootheca or egg sac looks like.

If it's sitting in the enclosure floor, something has gone wrong and it will not hatch. The female will stick the ootheca out the back end and then rotate it before it then goes back into her abdomen to be gestated. When buying females, they'll almost always be pregnant. I'm not sure whether they'll produce ootheca or not if they've not been fertilized, but you might baby-proof your enclosure for at least a few months.

[Eva]

Thank you so much! I found them on the floor of the enclosure and removed them. I keep them in a large critter keeper, does anyone have tips on how to baby proof it? Are there any behavioral or physical changes that might indicate a pregnant hisser?

Edited January 3, 2023 by Eva

[kadupul]

Quickest fix would be to add a line of petroleum jelly around the rim. Unfortunately, nymphs are real scamps and can chew through very thin plastics or tape so something made of metal or thick plastic is needed to keep them contained. Something like window screen works well.

Hopefully someone will chime in because I haven't dealt with nymphs for years and when I was it was unintentional. 😅