# Roaches



## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

This summer, I've been thinking about trying a few different food sources for some of my larger anurans. I've heard that roaches would be a good source, and I've heard of lobsters, hissers, etc. Which one(s) would work out the best? I've got larger Phyllomedusas that these would be fed to. At the zoo where I volunteer, they have hissers, but they are enormous and the rear legs are very spiney, could this be a problem? Do nymphs have spiney legs? Also, any care information on them is great appreciated. I found some very tight fitting screen lids at the local pet store, I use thme for crickets and they work well. I often find crickets climbing upside down on the screen, meaning there's no escape route. For roaches, I've heard that vaseline is good to prevent them form climbing? Any and all input is appreciated.


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

*Try Lobsters Derek*

Try Lobsters Derek

They are soft bodied and not too crunchy for the Phyllomedusa's. Be advised. They can climb glass, and have the ability to fly but mine never seemed to want to. Feeding them is easy in that they eat just about anything. even newspaper. But table scraps are better.
Later,
Dave

p.s. Newly hatched nymphs can be fed to darts.


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## phyllomedusa (May 17, 2004)

Hi derek,
Lobster roaches are probably one of the best foods i have found. Only drawback is they can climb glass. They produce extremely quickly as long as they are fed well. There is a brush on non stick coating (i'll be carrying it later this year however i believe australianbeardies.com carries it still) that even the tiniest lobster roach nymph cant climb. The nymphs come out about 1/8th-3/16th inch so are perfect for most darts and the adults are 1inch to 1.25 inchesin length and are great for treefrogs and bearded dragons. I raise them in modified 5 gallon buckets (cut a large hole in the top and 2-3 large holes and hot glue screening to them but use a very fine screen). I keep bearded dragons and uromastyx also so i tend to have veggies to give to the roaches(they love zuccini and yellow squash). I also feed a high quality dog food. Feeding them to the frogs i put them in small plastic lids (like the type that seal up mailing tubes) that have straight sides and not graduated as the roach nymphs seem to run around for awhile before finding their way up and out of the dish. 

I used to culture hissers but found then only useable for the first or sencond instar before they became too chitinous for amphibs. I used to feed the adult hissers to a male nile monitor and he would love them but the hard chitinous head crest of the roaches would never be digested. I actually had to take a long pair of forceps and remove a roach that got stuck in his throat (it was an old large male hisser). I eventually became allergic to them.


Sean


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Tnanks for the information guys. Lobsters sound like the way to go. Where do I go about obtaining some? Feeding veggies is no problem, because I have a russian tortoise that eats a lot of that stuff as well. One question I have is how do you get thme out of their tank into the frog's tank? Like crickets, put a paper towel roll in there and tap them into your feeder cup? Would they fly out? Another question, can you supplement them? Or do you guys just use as the occasional treat? Thanks a lot.


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## phyllomedusa (May 17, 2004)

Hi derek and dave,
Lobsters don't fly. At least not in the traditional sense. They can flutter their wings and maybe clumsily fly a few inches but that is about it. They only get their full wings at full adult at by the time they breed the tips of the wings get beat up that they really dont even try to fly. I keep them on egg cartons(like crickets). I came up with an idea for getting the smaller size roaches that works perfectly. I take a piece of 1.5 inch or 2 inch pvc pipe and cut it to 5-6 inches and drill a bunch of holes(1/4 or 3/8 inch) on one third of a side and put an end cap on either end . Inside it you can put either dog food or veggies(a quarter of a zucchi works best) and just stick it inside the bucket of roaches. I usually keep 2 of these per bucket. Just tap them to one end and pop the other end off The small ones just crawl in for the food(and they like the darkness too). I feed these 2-3 times a week to my darts and treefrogs. The baby roaches can be dusted with vitamins(this actually hinders there ability to climb).


Sean


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## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

I recently got some lobsters and they produce extremely quickly, I got 25 adults and about a month later I have hundreds of babies, all my darts seem to like them, except the thumbs which I haven't bothered feeding them to. Vaseline keeps them in there tub, keep them warm and they will do great, I have mine over a heat pad set to 88 degrees. If you need small roaches you can gather some of the egg cases and put them in a small container and wait for them to hatch, then feed from that container.


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## phyllomedusa (May 17, 2004)

Uh jacob lobster roaches are live bearers .


Sean


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## geckguy (Mar 8, 2004)

That would explain my difficullty in finding egg cases, but I assumed that was because I was uisng coco fiber as a substrate and the cases were getting coated in it making them impossible to find, the local species of roach does this, so I separated some in to a container without cocofiber and found a cylindrical yellow object that came from a roach, it is about 3/8", I saw it come out. I am not doubting you on the live bearing fact, but what was this yellow thing?


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## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Thats the egg case, it is extracted back into the female.

For info on Lobster's check out this page:

http://www.progeckos.com/caresheets/lobster.htm

If i were you, I wouldn't use any substrate for the Lobster roaches at all, much easier to clean that way.


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## tikifrog (May 11, 2004)

*orange head roaches*

I have only kept orange head roaches for a short time. I acquired a small colony at Frog Day '04. They have been easy to breed. I feed them to Leptodactylus laticeps, Triprion petasatus and my daughters beardie.

The best thing about orange head roaches is that they don't climb glass.

John R.


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## phyllomedusa (May 17, 2004)

Hi john,
i've raised orange orange heads, deaths heads, hissers,green cubans,and lobsters and only lobsters seem to breed enough to be feasible for me.the lobsters out produce orange heads about 5 or 6 to 1.


Sean


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## tikifrog (May 11, 2004)

Hey Sean,

Luckily, I only need a few roaches a week to feed what eats them. They are not the only food item given. I have read that lobsters were much better producers. So if I had them, I would probably end up with too many!! :wink: Plus, I think the orange heads are better looking!! :lol: 

John R.


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Thanks for all of the information guys, it helps a lot. Is there any place that sells roaches?


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## mindcrash (Mar 3, 2004)

Derek,

I've purchased all of my roaches from Bruce Gaudet of "Bruces's Feeders", http://home.earthlink.net/~bruce1143/index.html. In fact I just purchased 200 for $22 shipped w/heatpack. This is my second order from him and I was very happy with the first. I need more because my geckos love these suckers!

There are others selling roaches on kingsnake as well, though they aren't as cheap.


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Aaron, 

thanks for that link, that sounds very reasonable. At the local pet store,t hey have hissers for $5 a piece, hah.


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