Blaberus giganteus as feeders

[Guest Mushroompizza]

While it may not be the wisest choice for feeders, I decided to breed Blaberus giganteus to use as ‘pets’/feeders. I know that there are better options out there, but this is a species that I’m quite fascinated by and I don’t have a big collection that demands a large amount of feeders. I also am not in any pressure to start using them as feeders.

It started last year when I acquired about 50 or so nymphs. I had a lot of fun growing them up and they started to put on some size, then I was presented with the opportunity to do a trade for something I really wanted. The colony shrunk to 4 nymphs with the brightest cherry red wingbuds. I am hoping that this is a trait that can be passed down to their offspring. After examining the abdomen segments I knew that there were at least a male and a female in there, so I was hopeful.

Two males matured out within a week of each other and they immediately fought until one of them was dead. I wasn’t entirely surprised though. I think I should have separated them as the slightly better looking one was the one that didn’t survive. I got a female next and what’s interesting is that the last remaining nymph did two consecutive moults within about 10 days and is now an adult female as well. I am noticing that they don’t really eat that much as adults, I raised them on fruits and kibble. They don’t seem to touch the kibble at all anymore and what’s being eaten is far less than when they were nymphs. 

1.2 may not be the best way to start a breeder colony but I’m excited to see how this turns out.

[Allpet Roaches]

They can do pretty well, just not enough to spare too many.

[minionsonice]

It’s been a long time since I started this thread under a guest name. I wanted to give an update. My group of 1.2 has turned into many x 100+ now… and I do use them as feeders. Having said that I don’t have a lot of animals I need feeders for. They are also noticeably slower in maturing and producing vs. other feeder roaches I have, so if I had a lot of animals in need I wouldn’t use them as the main source. I go through phases of using them as feeders and letting them repopulate every now and then. They are also kind of squirrely and that might be something to consider when using them as feeders. All in all very beautiful roaches and enjoyable to keep for how nice looking they are. I wouldn’t discourage anyone from doing this and it definitely can be done, but there is a reason or two as to why they are not exactly ideal feeder roaches. 

 

[WarrenB]

12 hours ago, minionsonice said:

My group of 1.2 has turned into many x 100+ now…

Haha, excellent! I hope I can have half as much success with my own giant roaches.

On 5/19/2019 at 11:19 AM, Guest Mushroompizza said:

I am noticing that they don’t really eat that much as adults, I raised them on fruits and kibble. They don’t seem to touch the kibble at all anymore and what’s being eaten is far less than when they were nymphs

Something I've noticed with A. tesselata. I even wonder how the nymphs manage to grow when they seem to subsist on a few nibbles every few days.

 

Do you have any photos of your giganteus colony? That's something I wouldn't mind seeing.

[minionsonice]

The number is a very rough estimate based on how many I can feed off and how many are probably left, etc but yeah they took a few years to grow to that number. I’ve never actually counted how many and it may not look like it from this pic but there are a lot.

Here’s how I keep them, nothing fancy. They are in a secure dark bin so they are only exposed to light whenever I open the bin. There’s a large cork tube, a ‘cave’ if you will haha. Most of them seem to hang out inside here or buried under the 3-4” coco coir substrate. Temperature is at upper 70’s year round. There are definitely casualties from fighting and I hear a commotion coming from the bin sometimes. But overall this seems to work for me so far. 

[Hisserdude]

On 2/25/2022 at 4:52 PM, minionsonice said:

The number is a very rough estimate based on how many I can feed off and how many are probably left, etc but yeah they took a few years to grow to that number. I’ve never actually counted how many and it may not look like it from this pic but there are a lot.

Here’s how I keep them, nothing fancy. They are in a secure dark bin so they are only exposed to light whenever I open the bin. There’s a large cork tube, a ‘cave’ if you will haha. Most of them seem to hang out inside here or buried under the 3-4” coco coir substrate. Temperature is at upper 70’s year round. There are definitely casualties from fighting and I hear a commotion coming from the bin sometimes. But overall this seems to work for me so far. 

What size bin would you say that is?

[minionsonice]

Hey hisserdude the bin is about 20 gallons. 

I was able to take a better photo of them during cleaning. I said I had a lot but then only showed like 5 so I had to lol

I ended up breaking the cave tube into halves. The bottom of the tube was collecting too much frass.

[dogpack]

I found this information.

 

Diet: Cave cockroaches are a type of scavenger called a detritivore. They eat a variety of dead insects, animals, decaying fruit, and guano (bat droppings). At the Zoo, the giant cave cockroaches eat yams, apples, and oranges with a little bit of dog food.