Care Sheets

[Roachman26]

Had an idea. Would it be possible and/or beneficial to have some of our senior members that have extensive experience and success with individual species, do a brief write up for each one? I envision this as sort of a "care sheet" for each species. They could be open for a bit of debate or differing opinions and then "pinned". I know some of you old timers don't want the lime-light or possible controversy, but I've got a list of another 17 species that I'm really interested in, but I really don't know much about them. "Allpet Roaches" is great, but it is meant to be a quick reference guide and doesn't go into too much detail about each individual species and their particular care requirements. For example, one of our most experienced members, recently PM'ed me about possibly using smaller containers for some species in some situations. It was very useful info for me, and something I might not have figured out on my own if I did this for ten years. Another example: Me and Kevin have both recently posted questions about Eurycotis decipiens. It seems like a really great species, but I've been having trouble finding out much about the real "nuts and bolts" of it. I've resorted to just buying some and seeing for myself. I'd love to have a reference for things like how much heat/humidity, how much/what kind of substrate, what size and type of container, do they like overcrowding or not?, etc... Of course we all pick up tid bits here and there, but I'd love to have a centralized area to look up a particular species.

I'll volunteer to do G. portentosa. Its the only one I have any real experience with.

[Matt K]

There are pros and cons with typing up caresheets. Just to play Devil's advocate:

What works well for on person in Arizona may not work so well for someone in an old home in Michigan or New York, or Washington State. Care will vary from one degree to another from one location to another. Example: "well ventilated" can mean different things to different people and may require a little experimentation on the keepers part.

As for E.decipiens, I keep as few as possible, as the population seems to explode with the slightest proper care for me. Conversely, I had a horrible time trying to get Rypharobia maderae to start up when I first got them.... and they are supposed to be pretty easy.

[Roachman26]

There are pros and cons with typing up caresheets. Just to play Devil's advocate:

What works well for on person in Arizona may not work so well for someone in an old home in Michigan or New York, or Washington State. Care will vary from one degree to another from one location to another. Example: "well ventilated" can mean different things to different people and may require a little experimentation on the keepers part.

As for E.decipiens, I keep as few as possible, as the population seems to explode with the slightest proper care for me. Conversely, I had a horrible time trying to get Rypharobia maderae to start up when I first got them.... and they are supposed to be pretty easy.

Only recently have I begun to understand what you are talking about. I'm still figuring out the balance between misting and dumping water into my enclosure to maintain enough humidity, but not have it too damp. My substrate actually dried out in one enclosure even though the misting droplets on the lid and sides weren't drying out. It takes a lot of experience to get that fine tuning down.

However, care sheets would make a good general starting point. I wouldn't have had 30 aborted ootheca in my craniifer bin, if I had known they needed substrate. BTW, no more of those since I put them on substrate and made a few other tweeks. I'm suggesting pretty basic husbandry tips, such as substrate or not, super humid or somewhat dry, keep your giganteus a little cooler( like on a bottom or lower shelf ). Maybe an emphasis on food for certain species, like go heavy on the fruit for dubia or heavy on the fish flakes for E. posticus. How about which species not only like, but really need oak leaves to chew on.

Try to remember how you felt before you knew all this stuff. You are so far from there, it might be hard to remember.

I rest my case, your honor.