how do they find food?

[fangsalot]

i was wondering..my hisser colony is small at the moment (16) and im assuming thats why i dont get the "swarm"to the food bowl like i see on youtube but i was wondering, how do they know food is available in a small feeding dish on the other side of there enclosure?do they smell it?do they accidentally run into it and when the others "hear" the lucky one they come arunnin.does it go back to the others and give info of where the food is?ive never seen more than one at a time in the bowl.with 16,i would think there would be atleast 1 in the bowl at all times,or atleast half of the time..but i always see the same two smallest ones,taking turns.do the others know the food is there but dont eat?i have oak leaves on the bottom of there enclosure,is it possable there eating that and dont know theres juicy oranges and bananas in a bowl just a few inches away from where their hiding?dont get me wrong im not really worried,my roaches look great,just very curious.thanks

[Psydeus565]

Don't worry too much about them finding food, the adults are much better at it than the babies and will seek out food as opposed to shelter. I started with roughly the same amount and they seem to prefer to hang out together in a few areas. The few times I see them feeding is at night and usually only one or two at a time. They're fairly hearty and will fill up with only the amount of food that they need and then I'll usually not spot them around the food dish until a few days or a week later. The babies are the only ones who seem inept at finding food, at least the ones I have. They will stay in the same little hiding nook until they die sometimes. It would seem that the adults actually remember where to go for food or at least can "smell" it and will make a straight line to it when wanted. There's also some times when they just don't want to eat, I've seen orange slices untouched for days. One other thing... the videos on the internet are also more likely to be colonies that only get fed once a week or so.

Side note: I've just had a population explosion with around 50 babies, I'll be monitoring how many survive the first couple molts and their feeding habits.

[fangsalot]

Don't worry too much about them finding food, the adults are much better at it than the babies and will seek out food as opposed to shelter. I started with roughly the same amount and they seem to prefer to hang out together in a few areas. The few times I see them feeding is at night and usually only one or two at a time. They're fairly hearty and will fill up with only the amount of food that they need and then I'll usually not spot them around the food dish until a few days or a week later. The babies are the only ones who seem inept at finding food, at least the ones I have. They will stay in the same little hiding nook until they die sometimes. It would seem that the adults actually remember where to go for food or at least can "smell" it and will make a straight line to it when wanted. There's also some times when they just don't want to eat, I've seen orange slices untouched for days. One other thing... the videos on the internet are also more likely to be colonies that only get fed once a week or so.

Side note: I've just had a population explosion with around 50 babies, I'll be monitoring how many survive the first couple molts and their feeding habits.

awesome! thank you for this explanation.i know i said i wasnt worried,but honestly,i was a little bit.now do you think it would be easier for them(especially the babies) if i took out most of the roughly inch of leaves off the floor of their enclosure?seems like its harder work for them walking through that stuff.i would imagine it would be like us walking around in a ball pit to get to a sandwich lol.under the leaves i have cocofiber.i think im thinking too much lol

[fangsalot]

sorry.i JUST realized this should of gone under the food and feeding section.sorry mods