Vulgaris Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Some new photos of them. There is still one adult female left (wow, she is living a long time!) and maybe around 100 nymphs or so. I can never get an accurate count I sure hope I can keep the colony going while at college! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 So cool! They're a really awesome species; I'm waiting on my ooths to hatch right now. You should be able to keep them happy at college very easily; in the wild they naturally go through a wintering season (obviously ) so if your dorm room's a bit cool they won't mind. I'm sure they can survive on the same things a starving college student can; ramen noodles, vitamin water, and discount chop suey. The only thing I'd recommend is a petroleum barrier; the adults can climb and fit through very tight spaces, and you wouldn't want a sneaky early-molted adult male to escape and freak your roomie out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 Hahaha thanks for the tips! Well actually, do you think it is a good idea to try to overwinter them instead? The dorm room is going to be just the opposite of cool from what I have heard. They crank the heaters up during the winter and the students can't control it, so they wind up opening the windows in the middle of winter. I have had plenty of lessons on how these things can escape, by the way I have lost lots of males in the past. The roomie is definitely not the kind of person who would take kindly to finding an escapee, so I will have to make sure it doesnt happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Hahaha thanks for the tips! Well actually, do you think it is a good idea to try to overwinter them instead? The dorm room is going to be just the opposite of cool from what I have heard. They crank the heaters up during the winter and the students can't control it, so they wind up opening the windows in the middle of winter. I have had plenty of lessons on how these things can escape, by the way I have lost lots of males in the past. The roomie is definitely not the kind of person who would take kindly to finding an escapee, so I will have to make sure it doesnt happen Heat would be fine too... They'll just continue to reproduce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Awesome all the way! The adult females are surprisingly long-lived for a small roach. I didn't overwinter mine and they did swimmingly, so yours should adjust just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted August 31, 2010 Author Share Posted August 31, 2010 More Updates The nymphs are on a growing spree! They are getting big. There are multiple broods now because I see nymphs that are maybe 1/4 the size of the first batch. They basically live in the back of my closet inside my dorm room. I water/feed whenever I can, and nobody knows about them. I dont really get to look at them very often, maybe once per day or once every other day, so that might be why they seem to so much bigger. There is room in the back of my closet for a bigger cage, so I am thinking about switching them into a bigger one when I go home for Christmas break. That would require cutting a new piece of plexi-glas as a lid and using the hole saw to install ventilation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted September 9, 2010 Author Share Posted September 9, 2010 Actually had a bit of free time, so I figured I would close my door and take a good look at my pets The first batch of babies is doing well. They are getting large, maybe 3rd instars now. I slipped them a bit of apple today Here is a callow that was sitting out The original female is still alive!!! I can't believe it! I have not seen her in a while. She looks a little... bloated.... maybe it's just because she ate too much apple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted November 23, 2010 Author Share Posted November 23, 2010 More updates! It is now late November, and I have moved the colony into a larger enclosure. I have to say I was pretty shocked when I saw how many roaches were living in that tiny cage! There was oodles of them. Big and small. None have reached adulthood quite yet, thank god. Or else it would have been hectic moving them into another cage Amazingly, Mama is still alive, but she looks very old and worn. She is about 5 months old now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vfox Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 More updates! It is now late November, and I have moved the colony into a larger enclosure. I have to say I was pretty shocked when I saw how many roaches were living in that tiny cage! There was oodles of them. Big and small. None have reached adulthood quite yet, thank god. Or else it would have been hectic moving them into another cage Amazingly, Mama is still alive, but she looks very old and worn. She is about 5 months old now Very cool. How long have you had them so far? I can't wait for some of mine to grow into adulthood. These are quickly becoming one of my favorite types of roaches. I actually went back into the woods today and pried open a rotting log. I found about 200 click beetles, 50 or so metallic sweat bees, loads of red and black carpenter ants, and...about 40-50 Parcoblatta nymphs from 1/16 an inch to 1/2 an inch. I am going to post a pic on my other thread in a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted November 24, 2010 Share Posted November 24, 2010 What species are these? Her wings are HUGE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulgaris Posted December 1, 2010 Author Share Posted December 1, 2010 I have had them for approximately 7 months. It started out when I captured a last instar male and female nymph in May I assume they are just pennsylvanica. The mama really is getting old and warn. I feel bad for her here are pics of the new enclosure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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