Zephyr Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 This week's RotW (chosen by myself) is the Egyptian sand roach. I'll have some pics up within the next few hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 This week's RotW (chosen by myself) is the Egyptian sand roach. I'll have some pics up within the next few hours. Few days have gone by and still no pic..... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Sorry. Had a few things come up. Male Female Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OBJ Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Is Zephyr the only contributor of pics? any pics with male & female together? So 'Allpet Roaches' by Orin says: 24-33 mm (1 - 1½"), males the much smaller gender... Males are with full length wings, but normal sized hind legs, whereas: Females have no wings, but long back legs used for flipping her over as a 'play dead' protective measure...? They do not climb glass, but are the they diurnal or nocturnal? Who will continue with feeding .... or breeding.... BR/ Ole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddylee79 Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Well...I wish I could contribute this week but I currently do not have this species. I am hoping for some good info though, knowing I will in the future....If Zepher is the only "contestant" I wonder what next weeks will be..... Few days have gone by and still no pic..... ? Matt, surely you have them...How about a little input, and maybe some pics. buddylee79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Somewhere I sent an incredibly detailed report about what I've found to be the "best" P. aegyptiaca setup. Let me track it down... *Found it! I've been keeping P. aegyptiaca for 3 years now; they're a very hardy species and easy to setup.Buy a $1 Sterilite storage container (depending on the size of your colony you may want a different container; however you want it to have some depth) from Target, a dollar store, etc. Drill holes 1 inch from the top of the container along the rim with about 8 holes on the long sides and 5 on the short sides. No holes drilled on the top. For substrate, I do a mix of everything. However, the key is keeping the moisture just right. So you'll need a mix of about 35% top soil, 35% vermiculite (coarse or fine works,) 10% peat moss, and 20% coconut fiber. Allow this mix to "air out" til it looks visually dry. Mix in some strands of wet moss (sphagnum moss works well.) To your container, add enough to fill 35-60% of the container. Put an inch of well-crushed, dried, dead, oak leaves on top of this and mix it into the substrate a little. For temperatures, anything in the 70's will produce more than you'll ever need. For food, they'll eat the oak leaves; however I add a small piece of carrot or fruit every week, with some occasional dog/fish/cat/parrot food. The most crucial part of caring for them is the weekly moisture check. The surface of your mix should look dry. Mark one side of the container "wet" and the other side "dry." Every week when you add treat foods, pull back the "wet" side of the enclosure so there's only an inch of substrate on the bottom visible. Mist this until it's thoroughly moist. Push the top layer of the substrate back over this and do the same with the other side, except mist only enough to make it appear damp (do not mist NEARLY as much as the other side!) Pull the substrate back over and mist the top of the substrate well. This provides the perfect humidity gradient for all stages of life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Is Zephyr the only contributor of pics? any pics with male & female together? So 'Allpet Roaches' by Orin says: 24-33 mm (1 - 1½"), males the much smaller gender... Males are with full length wings, but normal sized hind legs, whereas: Females have no wings, but long back legs used for flipping her over as a 'play dead' protective measure...? They do not climb glass, but are the they diurnal or nocturnal? Who will continue with feeding .... or breeding.... BR/ Ole I find males and females to be equally sized, but that's counting the male's wings. The males also have pretty long hind legs (compared to their body size) but nearly as long as the female's. I've found females and nymphs "playing dead" but not as well as, say, B. dubia. They are as nocturnal as any roach will be; in fact when I do enclosure checks the only time I ever see them eating anything is at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimix Posted October 25, 2009 Share Posted October 25, 2009 Here's some of the nymphs I just received from Zephyr, they are about a 1/4" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Wow, I never even noticed the hair on them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Alright; I think this'll be a bi-monthly thing. That makes it a lot easier. The polls will close on Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Kimix, your photos are a really nice quality. Think you could borrow a couple adults from somebody? Woah, they are hairy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimix Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Kimix, your photos are a really nice quality. Think you could borrow a couple adults from somebody? Woah, they are hairy! Unfortunately no one near me keeps these roaches. Its supposed to be 4-6 months to adulthood, I'm not sure how old mine are now, but soon as they turn adult I'd be happy to take photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibiscusmile Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I would like them to, but it appears to much work for me to keep them right, I have to go with easy guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 I would like them to, but it appears to much work for me to keep them right, I have to go with easy guys! Easiest roach species there is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 Alright! We have a winner! Kimix! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Well...I wish I could contribute this week but I currently do not have this species. I am hoping for some good info though, knowing I will in the future....If Zepher is the only "contestant" I wonder what next weeks will be..... Matt, surely you have them...How about a little input, and maybe some pics. buddylee79 I have a very large colony of them and have been feeding them to some of my lizards. I thought I posted pics a long time ago... but will look to see. Maybe I can take some pics for grins here in a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Clausen Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I really like the roach of the month/bimonthly idea, by the way. I have this species in culture and sorry I didn't get to taking photos. Polyphagids are my favorites. I just offered my P. aegyptiaca some beets. No surprise--not interested! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddylee79 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Hey Kimix.. What will the next roach be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Not to throw everything off trax, but here are my late submissions. I'll try to keep up with the times from now on.... Male: Female: Group (corner of the tub): What percentage of my substrate is ootheca? about 30% : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 I know the experience, Matt. I've only got about... 3, maybe 4 adult females, and I can't even grab a pinch of substrate without grabbing an ooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimix Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 WOW! I can't wait to get some adults! They are so neat looking The amount of ooths is crazy. Do you guys have an idea on the lifespan of the adult females? I would think they would have a shorter lifespan from producing so many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibiscusmile Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I ment on how to keep them, I would never remember.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt K Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 WOW! I can't wait to get some adults! They are so neat looking The amount of ooths is crazy. Do you guys have an idea on the lifespan of the adult females? I would think they would have a shorter lifespan from producing so many. When you have several hundred (like I do) and you maintain that group for quite a few years (like I have) this is how it is over time, even after partial substrate changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 WOW! I can't wait to get some adults! They are so neat looking The amount of ooths is crazy. Do you guys have an idea on the lifespan of the adult females? I would think they would have a shorter lifespan from producing so many. Not so. I have females going after 2 years of production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted November 3, 2009 Author Share Posted November 3, 2009 I ment on how to keep them, I would never remember.... I've been keeping P. aegyptiaca for 3 years now; they're a very hardy species and easy to setup.Buy a $1 Sterilite storage container (depending on the size of your colony you may want a different container; however you want it to have some depth) from Target, a dollar store, etc. Drill holes 1 inch from the top of the container along the rim with about 8 holes on the long sides and 5 on the short sides. No holes drilled on the top. For substrate, I do a mix of everything. However, the key is keeping the moisture just right. So you'll need a mix of about 35% top soil, 35% vermiculite (coarse or fine works,) 10% peat moss, and 20% coconut fiber. Allow this mix to "air out" til it looks visually dry. Mix in some strands of wet moss (sphagnum moss works well.) To your container, add enough to fill 35-60% of the container. Put an inch of well-crushed, dried, dead, oak leaves on top of this and mix it into the substrate a little. For temperatures, anything in the 70's will produce more than you'll ever need. For food, they'll eat the oak leaves; however I add a small piece of carrot or fruit every week, with some occasional dog/fish/cat/parrot food. The most crucial part of caring for them is the weekly moisture check. The surface of your mix should look dry. Mark one side of the container "wet" and the other side "dry." Every week when you add treat foods, pull back the "wet" side of the enclosure so there's only an inch of substrate on the bottom visible. Mist this until it's thoroughly moist. Push the top layer of the substrate back over this and do the same with the other side, except mist only enough to make it appear damp (do not mist NEARLY as much as the other side!) Pull the substrate back over and mist the top of the substrate well. This provides the perfect humidity gradient for all stages of life. 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.