Huntsman Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Last night I finally gave up on my colony of Harlequins... I've had no growth in months, and mortalities have occurred despite my adding a substrate, and since info on this species is scarcer than ham at a barmitzva, I now give up! Here's something interesting: In cleaning out the Rubbermaid and dumping the substrate, I got to wondering about the small colony of R. pallida, which has somehow found its way into the container. Perhaps these had contributed somehow to the demise of the Harlequins?? I have no evidence at all to support this theory, but it is possible that they are involved, either by dominating the food source or by eating the young. Anyway, the R. pallida are present in several of my colonies, and I have just picked them all out of my R. maderae goldi colony, just in case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maarten.. Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 Last night I finally gave up on my colony of Harlequins... I've had no growth in months, and mortalities have occurred despite my adding a substrate, and since info on this species is scarcer than ham at a barmitzva, I now give up! Here's something interesting: In cleaning out the Rubbermaid and dumping the substrate, I got to wondering about the small colony of R. pallida, which has somehow found its way into the container. Perhaps these had contributed somehow to the demise of the Harlequins?? I have no evidence at all to support this theory, but it is possible that they are involved, either by dominating the food source or by eating the young. Anyway, the R. pallida are present in several of my colonies, and I have just picked them all out of my R. maderae goldi colony, just in case... Do you give a constant supply of water? I've had a roach colony (E. Posticus) which was going downhill until I gave them a supply of water. Since then they do all right. Those pallid roaches can be a pain in the @$$ sometimes. They're really neat looking but the little ones are really really small. I always prevent that they build up in numbers in my other colonies. Now I've got them in a plastic jar which is 100% escape proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntsman Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Hi Maarten Yep, regular source of moisture viz water crystals, and also the carrots added weekly, but I was obviously missing something... Ha! Those Pallida are indeed a pain in the &^*%! lol. Babies are perfect for even the smallest tarantula, however, so they are definitely worth keeping, but I reckon I will have to clean the R. pallida species out of my other nine-or-so colonies at least bi-annually! Problem with a 100% secure environment is that there will be zero airflow and mould can become a problem, because as you have noted, the tiny ones get out of the smallest holes...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takumaku Posted April 26, 2008 Share Posted April 26, 2008 I'm relieved to find out someone else has given up on these roaches too. I am down to a single female and nymph after starting with 30+ mixed size. Once these two die, I'm going to start a colony of P. nivea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senses-Tingling Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 I keep colonies of about 17 species of roaches and harlequins are the only ones that I haven't been able to keep the colony going. I have bought a dozen of them, twice. I am always leary about escapees anyways, so I think I am done with this species too for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recluse Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 Yeah I got a colony of these guys and lost them literally by the next night. The only thing I could attribute it to was that it was winter and my bug room is kept at 68 dgs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted May 20, 2008 Share Posted May 20, 2008 I can actually report somewhat decent culturing with these guys. I've seen females lay ooths and etc, and I find that keeping them in a damp, heated, enclosed environ does the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.