invertabrat Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I have had tarantulas and scorpions for 15 years. Decided to get into hissing roaches. Grown males/females some juvenile . Had them about 3 weeks. Have only eaten 1 tangerine!? Rubbermaid 35 gallon . Temp 92 degrees. Water crystals, water bottle with holes drilled for humidity. I mist. Egg crates stacked horizontal. Ground dog, cat food, oatmeal, tetra fish food. While this is going on I'm getting shipment of Turkish roaches. I have done extensive research but can't find the secret remedy. I live in phoenix az. All ideas welcome. I have no pride? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blattodea313 Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 If you keep the dry food in with them at all times, that is probably what they are eating on. It also depends on how many you have. I once had about 200 hissers, and they would go through 2 apples in one night. I would come in the next morning and there would be 2 apple cores lying there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon's Bugs Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Does not sound unusual if they have access to other food and moisture sources. Also, they seem to prefer apples and bananas to citrus fruits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcbpolish Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 I left my roaches for a week while traveling for the holidays. Got back a few days ago and checked them. The dubia had cleaned up everything I left them- dry foods, 1 apple, and 1/2 an orange. The hissers had similar fare, but their 1/2 an orange was uneaten and rotting. Other than a heavy misting before I left, the fruit was the only moisture in the enclosure, and the hissers still chose to not eat the orange. I found that my hissers like cilantro leaves, oak leaves, and apple quite a bit. Other moist foods they will eat, but not devour, include citrus, carrots, sweet potato. I encourage mine to eat moist food by not offering water crystals- I mist them a couple of times a week, and on days I don't mist, I add fresh fruits/veggies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invertabrat Posted January 4, 2015 Author Share Posted January 4, 2015 I appreciate all the input but I guess I'm asking the wrong question? Is their metabolism slow like a tarantula or scorpion? Like I stated 1 tangerine in 3 weeks? I have 3 males and about 10 females. These are pets. I'm getting Turkish roaches as feeders for my "zoo" . Seems like everyone's roaches are eating but mine loll . Would it be wrong to bring them over for dinner lolll. Thanks so very much ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 How many do you have and what sizes? My Dubias eat 5x as much as the same number of Lateralis because they are that much bulkier. If you have 20, you might not notice much food missing. If you have a few hundred or more it's a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanBuck Posted January 4, 2015 Share Posted January 4, 2015 I feed 600-800 dubia about 2 1/2 apples until they finish which is usually in a couple of days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invertabrat Posted January 5, 2015 Author Share Posted January 5, 2015 uum. contacted a professional breeder and he said to get to my set up toot-sweet... I lost a female today. temp too hot even though humidity was correct. got them out into a tank temp 80 on a log. they are eating oatmeal/cat food.. but by two different breeders that cat food had too much protein. (they don't like dog food) im believing the temp was too high. not a good morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forcep Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 80 is okay. Mine are kept at 80 with only water source and dog food provided, can't care less about the humidity and everything else. As long as there're dog food, water and heat, they're unstoppable... I have thousands of them in a bin now which makes me headache lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiley Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Mine are at 90-92 and doing great. Humidity about 75-80% all the time. Much more active and a better apetite than 75-77 degrees i was keeping them at before. If it work, it works i guess... Trial and error will let you learn more than anyone here can tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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