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Why do you keep roaches?


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I know there are many different reasons to keep roaches, for me it started as a way to reduce my feeding bill for my other insectivorious pets. It turned into pure fascination in a matter of months. I enjoy them, I check on them every time I have a chance and it never ceases to amaze me how easy they are to care for, and I love to watch the numbers increase. I'd be interested in seeing what other peoples reasons for keeping these awesome animals are.

Chris

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I think the main reason people like to keep roaches is they're easy to care for. It doesn't mean a person can't wipe out colonies and lose them but the care and time requirements are minimal. Many people collect colonies like baseball cards (many other types of insects limit the number of cultures you can keep due to time requirements or it's difficult to maintain continuous generations, esp. butterflies, moths, mantids, beetles).

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I've always liked bugs and roaches are becoming my favorite. Here are a few reasons I keep roaches:

1. It doesn't take much effort to raise them and keep colonies going.

2. They are fun to collect and don't require a lot of space (I have 12 species on one shelf in my bug room and can still fit a few more).

3. They're easy to find. There are many roach sellers in my state with lots of interesting species. Almost all the roaches I want to collect are available right here in the US. (I say almost because I would love to have some of those beautiful Australian species one day!)

4. They make great food for my other pets (tarantulas, salamanders & turtles).

4. Raising roaches is a really fun, interesting hobby. Even if all your friends think you're weird. :lol:

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Besides the obvious (easy to care for, interesting) I think my boys show a lot of personality for insects. Plus they can be used to educate people, especially children, about the good of animals that aren't so cute and fuzzy.

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It came with my job. Although the breeding part of it did not, I would like to see a sizable colony. I love my job. I have fun doing this. I also get to raise fish and plants. That is what is so awesome about being a Lab Supervisor at a small University. Oh, I do also have other responsibilities but these I consider more of a hobby. :D

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I can't explain it. I have always enjoyed culturing things, be it bugs, fish, jellyfish, shrimp, orchids, algae, mushrooms (gourmet, not psychodelic!), frogs, etc. I like roaches enough to have a room dedicated to them alone. They take more effort than the snakes I used to keep, but are still relatively easy. Facinating the behavioral differences between the species. (i.e. nothing like watering a cactus and having a Gyna lurida pop up from the soil for a drink. Very mischevious!)

Roach addiction.

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One of the reasons i keep them, is because its a very small initial investment.

I mean it does'nt take much to get them to breed.

I think they are a great first bug for people, because most of them are easy to breed with not much care.

People want to see their critters breed, populate, because it gives you certain satisfaction, knowing they bred and had,

baby's because of your involvement and care.

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I've always been fascinated by insects and arthropods in general. as far back as i remember i'd be putting ants or isopods in jars and trying to keep them as pets. My folks at home never got a cat or a dog so i substitutedit with hermit crabs, african clawed frogs and newts, and when i saw a millipede at the local Pet land, i had to have it. From that point on i was very interested in getting some kind of exotic insect, and when i saw websites selling them, i started looking into it. People find it odd/interesting or gross but who cares?! It's about my own interest in them, and what they do for me and i enjoy just sitting back and watching them interact, eat, and grow. I hope i can continue dealing with them for as long as i've got the capabilities, but i plan on eventually leaving the country and settling in South America and i might have to give them up if that happens.

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Bricktop-

Are you kidding? If you go to South America, you can find local bugs to keep/culture. I would not be suprised if you even found something few if anyone had seen.... It would be fantastic to have unlimited time to root around in a foreign forest (or any area) looking for unfamiliar roaches/bugs.... :blink:

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Bricktop-

Are you kidding? If you go to South America, you can find local bugs to keep/culture. I would not be suprised if you even found something few if anyone had seen.... It would be fantastic to have unlimited time to root around in a foreign forest (or any area) looking for unfamiliar roaches/bugs.... :blink:

True but I'm talking about giving up my current colonies. There are plenty of roaches to catch, but they won't be "my" roaches i suppose. Plus I don't know how lavish I will be once there, there probably won't be the resources or space for large roach colonies in my home.

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:( Too bad. I know how it is to 'start over'. It's not like you can look in on them and realize you cultured every single one for a while. Though I would look forward to any pics you post from there when the day comes....

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I keep them for many reasons (like many posted above).... They are low maintenance...many beautiful species to choose from...fun to collect and track down certain species... usually somewhat quick reproductive rate (compared to the reptiles I keep)... and just plain fun to have around...

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  • 3 weeks later...

My then 5 year old was a self-proclaimed "bug expert". The house was full of jars with dying bugs in them (he was supposed to let them go, but often forgot), he rescued worms, one day he came in with a cup full of maggots that he picked off a dead squirrel ("awwww, awwww, look at the baby worms!") :o , and he desperately wanted a pet of his own.

At the time I got them, we had 3 dogs who weren't particularly fond of children. So, no room in the family for another kid-friendly dog. Pocket pets (hamsters, etc...) were just a little too fragile for a 5 year old and a 1 1/2 year old. Fish can't be held. So, I found him a pet that fit his interest and that he could actually hold and play with.

He _LOVES_ his hissers! They were the absolute perfect first pet for him. He can play with them, and it's not a huge deal if they get dropped - although we would not tolerate purposeful cruelty, not that he's ever tried it.

So that's why I have a 20 gallon tank of hissers in my family room. ;)

We do have a rule that he's only allowed to play with the boys outside of the tank. They are a neat pet, but I don't particularly want a colony of them in my walls. My son has the attention span of your average gnat, and I have found hissers around the house. :blink:

We've had them about a year now. He still loves them and plays with them regularly. They are an awesome first pet!

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We've had them about a year now. He still loves them and plays with them regularly. They are an awesome first pet!

It would be neat if this testimony could find its way onto a flier posted in every pet-related retail store in America. No telling how many bug enthusiasts could spring up !!

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Raising roaches first began as a means to feed my huge colony of Rhacodactylus and Nephrurus sp geckos and tarantulas. I started with B. dubia and B. lateralis. As time passed I found the quite fascinating and wanted to collect more!

I've always been a 'bug person'...my favorites being mantids and beetles, but the availability and ability to raise multiple generations with ease is limited. So raising roaches has become just another facet of my hobby/business.

Nicole

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I like keeping insects as pets, they are one of the most misunderstood creatures, yet they always seem to amaze me! I have liked them since I was a little kid and im not grossed out by them like most people. I tried to make a big club as a kid and only one person joined, a girl, we used to collect caterpillars at school and bring them home and raise them to moths, turns out they were gypsy moths, but we didnt care they were like pets to us and we didnt know the damage they cause.

I have kept a variety of insects, and besides silkworms, roaches are by far the easiest and longest living insect pets i've had.

I enjoy seeing them molt and seeing if I get any "odd" or "extra large" roaches, you never know what those small nymphs you get could mature into!

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