charzard Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 So..I figured I'd come here instead of talking to my housemate about this issue.. I had 9 roaches, but can only seem to locate 5 of them.. They seem to hide and then reappear and I can find them, but for the last few days I've only been able to count 5. Is it possible they might have somehow died and then the others ate them? Or perhaps they're hiding and I can't find them..even though I seem to have dug around a good amount. Hmm.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pannaking22 Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 What species of roaches are they? Some are more likely to eat each other if there's an issue (stress, not enough food/humidity/hiding places, vulnerability during molting, etc.), but it still ends up being fairly uncommon. Dead roaches tend to be fair game, but you should still be able to find legs or wings or something along that line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 They are g. portentosa. I'm missing 4 of the smaller nymphs I had.. I'm not sure if they escaped..but nothing has changed with their housing and they all seemed content. I'm really unsure. I don't see legs or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Is the lid on the enclosure airtight? Because small hissers are escape artists, so if there is even the smallest gap in between the rim of the enclosure and the lid, they'll squeeze out and escape, no matter how "content" they may seem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 41 minutes ago, Hisserdude said: Is the lid on the enclosure airtight? Because small hissers are escape artists, so if there is even the smallest gap in between the rim of the enclosure and the lid, they'll squeeze out and escape, no matter how "content" they may seem... I'm not sure how anyone finds actual air tight containers.. I've looked so many places but can't seem to find any that are good enough. I have a sterilite gasket one that I will move them to when I get back home from work.. If they did escape..I haven't found them. Only time will tell, I suppose.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All About Arthropods Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 38 minutes ago, charzard said: I'm not sure how anyone finds actual air tight containers.. I've looked so many places but can't seem to find any that are good enough. I have a sterilite gasket one that I will move them to when I get back home from work.. If they did escape..I haven't found them. Only time will tell, I suppose.. Looks like you've already found an airtight container. lol I use those Sterilite gasket box containers for all my climbing species, they're pretty much the most well-sealed containers you can come by and keep any species in. You pretty much only need to add a few ventilation holes(or a large one on the top/each side), hot glue or melt some metal mesh over them, and you're good to go! They likely did escape if the lid was anything less than airtight and you didn't apply an effective barrier around the inside of the container. The other possibility, cannibalism, would really only occur in the case that they were kept dry with no source of moisture. If they did manage to sneak out, I hope they turn up! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CritterChick Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 9 hours ago, charzard said: So..I figured I'd come here instead of talking to my housemate about this issue.. Good call on holding off on the "So... I might've misplaced several giant tropical cockroaches somewhere in our house" conversation! 2 hours ago, All About Insects said: If they did manage to sneak out, I hope they turn up! If they do, let's hope the roommate isn't the first person to spot them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 If they are those gasket containers then it should be escape proof, maybe they are just staying well hidden in their enclosure, or they got out sneakily when you had the lid off while checking up on them, (it's happened to me before). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 I FOUND THEM!! But I can't quite get to them.. They are inside the temperature guage.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 12 minutes ago, charzard said: I FOUND THEM!! But I can't quite get to them.. They are inside the temperature guage.. Oh jeez LMAO!! Well at least they haven't escaped, can they get out of the temperature gauge if they try? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 I am just so amused.. I'm not sure if they can get out..I would assume so if they got in.. But I'm not sure. I might have to just take it out then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 31 minutes ago, charzard said: I am just so amused.. I'm not sure if they can get out..I would assume so if they got in.. But I'm not sure. I might have to just take it out then. Lol, that is quite funny! Hopefully they can get out just fine, funny that they'd pick that over all the other hides in the enclosure! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 @Hisserdude I think they are stuck..I'm trying to get them out but have no idea how to do so without breaking it. I don't care to break it, but I'm afraid of crushing them. My poor little babes. I have to go to class so I will have to try when I get back to rescue them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Nevermind, I popped the front out and rescued all five of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 I feel so bad, though..one of them has the bottom of their legs all ripped off it looks.. It must have tried to get out or something. Or perhaps they chewed one another. It was alone in the humidity guage and then four in the temperature guage. They will regrow legs with next molt right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Glad you were able to get them out, sorry to hear about the one with the missing leg though. It should grow the leg back over a molt or two, so by the time it's mature it should have all six legs again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 25, 2017 Author Share Posted March 25, 2017 On 3/21/2017 at 4:04 PM, Hisserdude said: Glad you were able to get them out, sorry to hear about the one with the missing leg though. It should grow the leg back over a molt or two, so by the time it's mature it should have all six legs again. Is it possible that there would be difficulty molting with the one that lost the bottoms of it's legs? I feel it may die because it is struggling molting. I'm not really sure what I can do to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 2 minutes ago, charzard said: Is it possible that there would be difficulty molting with the one that lost the bottoms of it's legs? I feel it may die because it is struggling molting. I'm not really sure what I can do to help. It shouldn't have too much difficulty because of that specifically, I don't think. Sorry to hear it's having trouble molting, try misting it lightly, and whatever you do, don't try to physically help it out of it's skin unless only the tips of the feet are stuck, as usually you'll end up doing more harm than good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 On 3/21/2017 at 4:04 PM, Hisserdude said: 18 hours ago, Hisserdude said: It shouldn't have too much difficulty because of that specifically, I don't think. Sorry to hear it's having trouble molting, try misting it lightly, and whatever you do, don't try to physically help it out of it's skin unless only the tips of the feet are stuck, as usually you'll end up doing more harm than good. I feel like I should put it out of its misery.. It has been struggling for almost two days. I'm not sure if it's the tips of the feet that are stuck, but it certainly looks like that's where the problem lies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 26, 2017 Share Posted March 26, 2017 2 hours ago, charzard said: I feel like I should put it out of its misery.. It has been struggling for almost two days. I'm not sure if it's the tips of the feet that are stuck, but it certainly looks like that's where the problem lies. Oh, after two days, you gotta do something. Can you get some pictures of it so I can better understand it's situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 1 hour ago, charzard said: I'm sorry man, that nymph is way too stuck in it's shed to save, looks like even it's head is stuck in it's old skin. I'd freeze it if I were you, otherwise it's just gonna starve to death slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charzard Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 11 minutes ago, Hisserdude said: I'm sorry man, that nymph is way too stuck in it's shed to save, looks like even it's head is stuck in it's old skin. I'd freeze it if I were you, otherwise it's just gonna starve to death slowly. Well I appreciate your help. I'll do that. Thank you though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hisserdude Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 2 hours ago, charzard said: Well I appreciate your help. I'll do that. Thank you though. No problem, sorry about what happened to your little guy. Hopefully the rest will make it to adulthood with no problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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