Urko2013 Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Ive had my hisser colony for about 2 years now and they are in a large RUB with vents 85 F and they breed well, however ive noticed since i had the original few i started with 2 years ago, most of the roaches end up as smaller adults the past few months, especially the males, the females still grow to a good size. Also im finding quite a few dead each day (while the main colony seem very healthy, they are not overcrowded) and the dead can be of varying age. They dont hiss that much but i guess thats because they are seen every day. Any thoughts on the above please. Also am i right in saying the protein they need doesnt have to be animal based ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varnon Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I got some roaches from a few feeder breeders, I can't say exactly what type of hisser they were, probably hybrids. The adults ranged anywhere from 4 to 8 grams. I had only 20 or so. The offspring of those roaches were huge, 8 to 14 g. It is just an enormous difference. I think when they are crowded, stressed, and have competition for food, they reach a smaller adult size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted November 26, 2015 Share Posted November 26, 2015 I currently have a 79.6 mm G. portentosa that was reared all by itself with a few millipedes in the cage next to the main colony (it is Perdue giant stock I picked up in 1996 so some have been very big over the years) but they rarely get anywhere near that big in the crowded colony. I am certain it would have been notably smaller in the colony but I wonder very much if it would have been one of my giants or one of my small males. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy1892 Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 I am certain it would have been notably smaller in the colony but I wonder very much if it would have been one of my giants or one of my small males. Sounds like an experiment is at hand. In colony conditions I have this impression that the roaches do not do as well than when kept alone in good conditions, but some species like Lobster roaches seem to not vary health wise and personality when kept in crowded colonies (not certain though, just got the feeling that is how it is...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Sounds like an experiment is at hand. In colony conditions I have this impression that the roaches do not do as well than when kept alone in good conditions, but some species like Lobster roaches seem to not vary health wise and personality when kept in crowded colonies (not certain though, just got the feeling that is how it is...). Actually when a few dozen lobsters got into a hisser cage they ended up 30-40% bigger than those in the more crowded lobster cage. There were quite a few hissers but the cage had a lot more surface area (10 gallon glass vs. 5 gallon bucket). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy1892 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 Hmm... interesting. My lobster roaches I think have been smaller when kept in poor conditions, like when kept too moist (disease or something hurts the colony some with that much moisture). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 For more than a decade I kept my Gyna bisannulata in a deli-cup and thought it was just a really tiny species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy1892 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 For more than a decade I kept my Gyna bisannulata in a deli-cup and thought it was just a really tiny species. That is really funny. I didn't even know Gyna bisannulata were around that long. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 In the 90s we called them Gyna henrardi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 For more than a decade I kept my Gyna bisannulata in a deli-cup and thought it was just a really tiny species. Hahah, priceless! How surprised were you when realized they were bigger than you first thought? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Hahah, priceless! How surprised were you when realized they were bigger than you first thought? I was impressed they got as big as G. lurida. Unfortunately, I thought they'd do better in a larger cage and I've been on the verge of losing them ever since (quite possibly unrelated). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 I was impressed they got as big as G. lurida. Unfortunately, I thought they'd do better in a larger cage and I've been on the verge of losing them ever since (quite possibly unrelated). Well that's a shame, maybe you should downsize their cage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urko2013 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Cheers all for input. Good points made by all. Am i right then that they wont hiss much because i see them (feeding cleaning) each day etc. Could i just ask here also, ive noticed several females with the ootheca partly hanging out of them, is this normal behaviour? http://www.roachforu...p?showtopic=474 Ahh found my answer above, well detailed post , cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urko2013 Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 Sounds like an experiment is at hand. In colony conditions I have this impression that the roaches do not do as well than when kept alone in good conditions, but some species like Lobster roaches seem to not vary health wise and personality when kept in crowded colonies (not certain though, just got the feeling that is how it is...). Ill take one or two babies and put them in their own enclosure and see what size they grow to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpf111054 Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I can't help but wonder if: High Temp=Rapid Growth=Smaller Ultimate Size. What do you think?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varnon Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I don't think so, but its worth testing. We could totally do some informal experiments here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanBuck Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 Heat will increase growth as long as they are being taken care of. If not, you'll just have weak roaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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