Do not center food in one zone

[RaZias]

Yesterday I have re-organized the vivarium and I putted a central "food zone".

A male didn´t stop hissing around...he was pushing all the other males from his territory...the "food zone".

Today I have lost my mind (I had a hard day) and I picked him up and I trowed him to a garden...it was the best male (big and with nice colours...alpha males are territorial).

Now the others can eat...(until one day another will do the same...)

Conclusion:

1- if you want to trow a hisser away (because you are tired) just put it in a small box...

So when you will be more calm you re-think better in what to do.

2- Don´t put food on only one zone.

[Keith]

I would never throw my roaches, why didnt you retrieve the male from your garden?

[RaZias]

I would never throw my roaches, why didnt you retrieve the male from your garden?

I putted it there at night, today I am still looking around.

He will survive since here it has mediterranean weather...don´t know about the food...but I lost a nice hisser.

The thing is that I have lost a lot of time to re-organize the 3 vivariums, in the end that work activated an ancient pain in my back and I was still stressed with a work colleague.

Plus I am temperamental (familiy genetics...).

Somehow before the re-organization of the vivarium there wasn´t that problem...any one could go there and eat...

I had to choose: kill my back again for territorial hisser // let the entire colony with a feeding problem // remove the hisser.

Next time I will buy a small box just in case to put a hisser temporarialy.

[Keith]

Here are some ideas that might help, I don't know what your setup looks like so correct me if you already have this.

Provide more hiding spaces, like hideouts similar to logs they can go in if being bullied. If you have rotten tree bark that could work, or from a pet store if you have, near the reptile section.

Space food out, not just one location. I slice fruit up and put pieces in various locations so no matter where a roach is they encounter food.

I don't know how many males you have, but if you have around 5 or 6 or more nobody will be bullied bad enough to get hurt or not eat they will wait their turn to eat the male won't guard the food forever. It's normal for some males to be more pushy than others but in a colony nobody is picked on bad enough to worry.

What do you feed? I suggest apples, bananas, papaya, mango, fresh spinach, romaine lettuce, dog/cat food, and white bread misted with water. I don't know what trees you have but my hissers readily eat decaying Oak leaves. The more favorite foods you feed and space them out the better everyone will eat and not fight over food.

For older hissers they even eat fruit baby food meant for people, they love flavors with banana, apple, or tropical fruit, like pineapple and mango.

I hope this helped and if you want post a photo of your setup so I can offer any more help.

[pierre72]

Giving them fresh fruit and vegetables is an attractive idea since I'm sure it's healthier for the roaches than dog food, flakes, etc. However when I tried giving my Blabberous Disorderous fresh fruit, etc. I got invaders such as fruit flies and ants.

When I had crickets, a pet shop boy recommended tropical fish flakes had everything the crickets needed for nutrition. So since roaches and crickets are closely related, I give my German roaches the fish flakes as their main diet. And occasionally wheat or whole grain bread. They seem to do pretty well. For water, most pet shops have Fluker's Cricket Quencher Water Gell. They do really well with that and it's a lot easier than keeping a cotton ball wet, less messy. And you don't have to worry about them drowning in a dish. When the gell changes color, it means the water is gone out of it.

Now with all the different species of roaches, I don't mean to say that the flakes will be all ANY species needs. So I suggest each person do some research for their own species' needs before taking my word for it.

[Briene]

You released one of your roaches into the wilderness...big no no lol

[tecrecycling]

Yeah, here in the US invasives are a big problem. heck, the hobby is practically dead in Florda.