NRoach Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Hey guys. After lurking around on this forum for a long time, I decided I really need your help. I have 3 female and 4 male P. fuliginosa that will mate but never produce viable ootheca. The females seem to begin making them but they often get eaten by the other roaches. They are given dog food, bits of boiled eggs, and various vegetables 24/7. If I separate the females when I see them just beginning to produce an ootheca, they deposit them on a surface, and the females cover them with debris. However, the ootheca have not fully hardened and always desiccate despite being put into very humid containers. I keep a few other species of roaches, but Blatta orientalis and Blatella germanica are the only other oviparous species I keep, but I've never had issues keeping and breeding those guys. If you guys have any suggestions, please let me know, and thank you guys so much for your time. It's very much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanBuck Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I had the very same problem with my Blatta lateralis last year. All I did was wait it out. I never had this problem with Periplaneta before. How big is the container you have them in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Well right now, they're in a Tupperware container that's a bit larger than a gallon. I guess I'll try to bother them as little as possible, and if I don't get any ootheca out of this bunch, I'll be happy to have had them as pets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 I never had an issue breeding P. americana in such a small container although my colony outgrew it rather quickly. I no longer have that colony, but I definitely need to get some and maybe some other Periplaneta spp. Also, I see it's your birthday. Happy birthday and thank you so much for your suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanBuck Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Thanks I would be more than happy to send you some Periplaneta spp. for cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted April 21, 2015 Share Posted April 21, 2015 Has anyone ever had the "all adult colony of roaches with minimal breeding issue?" The only remedy I have for that is to leave only 5 adult males. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted April 21, 2015 Author Share Posted April 21, 2015 Has anyone ever had the "all adult colony of roaches with minimal breeding issue?" The only remedy I have for that is to leave only 5 adult males. Hey Alex. Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I don't even have 5 males of P. fuliginosa. I keep several hundred Blatta orientalis adults along with nymphs a moult away from becoming mature. I have them on paper towel as a substrate with charcoal chunks for them to climb on. I'm able to easily and quickly collect ootheca weekly and hatch them out in separate containers. I'm not feeding anything at the moment so I'll probably just toss in newly hatched nymphs in with the adults as they come. No issues there whatsoever. Do you think I may be having issues with my P. fuliginosa because I don't have nymphs in with them? Thanks I would be more than happy to send you some Periplaneta spp. for cheap! I'll have to buy some from you the moment I get some money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 Hey guys, I thought I would let you know I finally got ONE healthy looking ootheca after week after week of getting unhardened or partially eaten ootheca! Interestingly, I added about 18 P. fuliginosa nymphs I hatched out from a wild collected ootheca the day before. I'm learning it's not such a great thing to jump to conclusions about cause and effect, but maybe the nymphs had something to do with my females finally making a fully formed, uneaten ootheca. I'm also thinking that P. fuliginosa needs more fruit in its diet compared to my others species since I've recently given them more fruits and less greens and dog kibble. Now I'm just hoping I can get this ootheca to hatch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanBuck Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Hatching ooths is easy when you have help from people that have experience with the genus If you want some help or advice on how to do things I can help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 I've hatched out wild-collected ooths before. I stick them over a layer of peat moss in a ventilated jar and I try my best to forget about them so I don't drive myself nuts just waiting. I tend to mist them every few days when I check on them. Do you have any other suggestions? Also, I have a P. americana ootheca from my lone female that I've had since she was a nymph. Is there any chance the ootheca will hatch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanBuck Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 If there was no male added with her, probably not. I dont think they are a partially parthenogenic species. What I did for my egg laying species (minus Parcoblatta spp.) was add moistened eco earth into a vial, set the ooth in the vial, poke a few holes in the lid and put everything somewhere were it is about 78-83 degrees. They should hatch in about a month kept at that temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRoach Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 Since you said probably not rather than definitely not, I'm going to try to hatch it out anyway haha. &Thanks so much for the suggestion! I'm sure I have some empty vials lying around here somewhere (: Just need to find the time to dig them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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