windward Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Does (has) anyone keep them? While roach hunting recently I came across a “small” colony of them; mom, dad (likely), and their army of progeny. I presume they're a Ceuthophilus sp. I’m considering scooping up the adults and putting them in a spare bin. The only downside I can think of is that they are crickets – do they smell as much as house crickets? General relative humidity they're living and reproducing at outside is between 20-45%, temps are between 60F (nighttime) to 100F or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesavageprojects Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 Only had a few. Never noticed a smell but that could be due to the small number. Pretty easy to keep. I find them very attractive for crickets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted July 6, 2013 Share Posted July 6, 2013 I've had them for a couple generations. Entertaining and hardy, just make sure they have space and enough food because they can be terribly cannibalistic. Not smelly at all in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windward Posted July 7, 2013 Author Share Posted July 7, 2013 Thanks! I kind of figured they could get cannibalistic. I've put out a little cat food and then some roach food to encourage them to hang around... they all devour it quickly. I think I'll just grab the adult pair for now since they're easier to contain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windward Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 I went out to collect them and found only males... the females I found the next day eating my tomatoes. One male and two females, only one female (dark individual) is in the picture. Male is ~1 1/2", females are slightly smaller. They don't settle well for photographs. Very nervous and easily spooked. If the male is aggravated enough it appears that he stamps his feet, I don't know if I'm seeing things or if this is actually what he is doing due to lack of information on camel cricket behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCrackerpants Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Cool. I had huge numbers of these in my garage when I lived in your neck of the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesavageprojects Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Much darker than the ones I collected here in AZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCrackerpants Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Yes, mine were a bit lighter than this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windward Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 The color can actually be a bit darker, too. The female not pictured is darker. I'm sure it's just species difference or even some regional color variation. The nymphs are lighter, too, a light tan/buff color with slightly darker stripes. I do not know how old the adults are that I captured, only that another mature male (left outside) was smaller and lighter orange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesavageprojects Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Found an old shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCrackerpants Posted July 12, 2013 Share Posted July 12, 2013 Found an old shot. This is more like the ones I had in my garage. I would see many in the fall. Are they able to bite? I never picked them up. The desert crickets we have were I am now can bite where it hurts or slightly breaks the skin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windward Posted July 13, 2013 Author Share Posted July 13, 2013 Mine crunch on whole pieces of cat food. Very audible bites that take decent sized chunks out at a time (for something cricket sized). Large bites taken out of other vegetables and watching one eat with it's head upside down (good view of the mandibles in action) leave me with no inclination to personally find out how a bite from one of them feels... They are also able to kick their leg spines into you and more likely to try that when picked up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCrackerpants Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Mine crunch on whole pieces of cat food. Very audible bites that take decent sized chunks out at a time (for something cricket sized). Large bites taken out of other vegetables and watching one eat with it's head upside down (good view of the mandibles in action) leave me with no inclination to personally find out how a bite from one of them feels... They are also able to kick their leg spines into you and more likely to try that when picked up. Yes, good points. Those leg spikes can get ya! : ) Thanks for sharing. Super cool bugs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirotorin Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I tried to start a colony of these, but I could never find them in enough numbers. Of course when I wasn't looking for them I'd flip over boards with thousands underneath. Little jerks.lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windward Posted August 1, 2013 Author Share Posted August 1, 2013 Well, I only have the three. Nymphs take a while to grow and I'd rather grow out from eggs for a "cleaner" population. I don't have any nymphs, yet. I have them on a soil peat mixture and I wonder if it may not be suitable to oviposition into. If you can't find them, or native roaches, you can create a place in your yard to attract them to. Dig a very shallow hole, cover with some thin old wood and throw some leaves on top. Water every few days, if it gets dry over the summer. If you want some wood roaches to show up, layer more old wood atop or add some old cut wood. Keep an eye out for termites and preferably do not do this against the side of a home. You can also "bait" after you have this set up for a week or so and moist. A few pieces of cat or dog food will attract all sorts of insects. Be on the look out for pest roaches if you put food out. Cave and camel crickets will also get trapped in the water main holes - where the shut off between home and the city waterline is. Roaches will hang out in these, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
satchellwk Posted August 3, 2013 Share Posted August 3, 2013 For the record, I had a couple in my G. portentosa enclosure and thy readily bred and the next generation are now pretty happily co-inhabiting with the hissers and growing quite rapidly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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