# roach colony



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

just set my own roach colony up ! to try save some cash in the future anyone had much luck with this :2thumb: any top tips apriciated


----------



## markn (Jul 29, 2010)

Nice and warm. Lots of vertical egg boxes. I use dog biscuits to feed them. And lots of apple , orange and carrots.


----------



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

markn said:


> Nice and warm. Lots of vertical egg boxes. I use dog biscuits to feed them. And lots of apple , orange and carrots.


think ive got that in check : victory:


----------



## sazzle (Jun 3, 2008)

if you're using a rub, scrap the lid - creates too much humidity, make sure the sides are dark and lots of egg carton etc, mine chomp mixed salad bags, absolutely love carrot and orange  x


----------



## stokesy (Mar 11, 2011)

some great articles and tips in the "feeder" section - been over there earlier looking at setting one up myself at some point


----------



## imitebmike (Jun 22, 2008)

dont let it get too damp/leave uneaten veg in for too long

it'll start to smell + attract uglies


----------



## stokesy (Mar 11, 2011)

imitebmike said:


> it'll start to smell + attract uglies


:lol2:ah no I thought starting a roach colony might keep away the inlaws


----------



## sazzle (Jun 3, 2008)

imitebmike said:


> dont let it get too damp/leave uneaten veg in for too long
> 
> it'll start to smell + attract uglies


and it bloody honks :devil: tis why i scrapped the lid, now i have mosquito mesh which i eventually secured down after filling a crix tub with adult males i found around the house :lol2: make sure you don't have too many adult males in your colony because they will try to 'up and leave' to find a new bunch of ladies to 'service', i've been told 1 male can 'service' up to 7 females x


----------



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

cheers for tips peeps oh im keeping them in a large thick polstyrene box to keep the heat up do you think they could nibble through this wouldnt want an outbreak ??


----------



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

sazzle said:


> and it bloody honks :devil: tis why i scrapped the lid, now i have mosquito mesh which i eventually secured down after filling a crix tub with adult males i found around the house :lol2: make sure you don't have too many adult males in your colony because they will try to 'up and leave' to find a new bunch of ladies to 'service', i've been told 1 male can 'service' up to 7 females x


wish i could service that many females :lol2:


----------



## stokesy (Mar 11, 2011)

Djlplastering said:


> wish i could service that many females :lol2:


LMAO - could u cope with that many kids all in the same room


----------



## sazzle (Jun 3, 2008)

Djlplastering said:


> wish i could service that many females :lol2:


dont we all :lol2:

not sure about polystyrene ... sure someone on here will know though  x


----------



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

stokesy said:


> LMAO - could u cope with that many kids all in the same room


no not at all mate :bash: !!


----------



## Barlow (Sep 23, 2010)

I've found the best way to keep them is in a plastic tub, not a RUB but a coloured one, with vertical egg crates and fed on whiskas cat biscuits, oranges, apples and carrot. The best and cheapest way to allow ventilation, stop nasties from entering and males from exiting is to stretch an old pair of tights over the top with the legs cut off and the stumps tied into knots. Add a heat mat underneath. Roaches optimumly reproduce at 40C so no need for a stat.


----------



## NicolasB (Jul 11, 2009)

Barlow said:


> I've found the best way to keep them is in a plastic tub, not a RUB but a coloured one, with vertical egg crates and fed on whiskas cat biscuits, oranges, apples and carrot. The best and cheapest way to allow ventilation, stop nasties from entering and males from exiting is to stretch an old pair of tights over the top with the legs cut off and the stumps tied into knots. Add a heat mat underneath. Roaches optimumly reproduce at 40C so no need for a stat.


The leggings is a cracking idea mate and i couldnt agree more, dont be shy with the heat, just ensure the humidity is right else they may die while "Shedding" i learnt that the hard way and lost quite a few.

Bug gel in a tub that they can get into to drink from too works great for humidty. I took a large dark red plastic container with a grey lid and heated up a stanley knife, cut a square out the lid and used duct tape to tape a section of plastic mesh over the hole for air.

Mould kills them and could destroy your coloney apparently :gasp: 

and the less you disturb them the better feed them and leave them, i normally take out what i need weekly and put them in a seperate tub so all i need to do is chuck food in without hassling them. and obviously the darker the better...


----------



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

cheers for the help and tips guys:2thumb:


----------



## kopstar (Nov 6, 2010)

Djlplastering said:


> cheers for tips peeps oh im keeping them in a large thick polstyrene box to keep the heat up do you think they could nibble through this wouldnt want an outbreak ??


The only problem I can see with polystyrene is that they may be able to climb the sides so harder to keep in. Smooth plastic they can't climb.


----------



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

kopstar said:


> The only problem I can see with polystyrene is that they may be able to climb the sides so harder to keep in. Smooth plastic they can't climb.


very true i found this out just b4 when i took the lid off an they were around the sides gonna swap for a rub tomoz as the mrs would shoot me if there was any escapies:devil:


----------



## kitschyduck (May 30, 2010)

It depends on the species of roach in all honesty. Some do better burrowing in soil with it very humid, other do better on vertical egg boxes with low humidity. What kind do you have?


----------



## NicolasB (Jul 11, 2009)

kitschyduck said:


> It depends on the species of roach in all honesty. Some do better burrowing in soil with it very humid, other do better on vertical egg boxes with low humidity. What kind do you have?


This is true! didnt think of that, i was assuming Dubia's :2thumb:


----------



## bmxben (May 23, 2010)

feed them oranges and cat biscits.... oranges are like viagra for roaches they will breed like mad...


----------



## McToons (May 7, 2011)

Setting up one right now, trying out a black plastic tub from poundland...funny enough it cost....wait for it.... £1. Hot stanley blade to remove most of the lid leaving just the edge to secure with and about an inch into the lid and then using some barbecue mesh type thing I found in the same pound shop, double layer it to reduce the holes and voilà, small colony hotel (in theory at least) for £2. :2thumb:


----------



## Djlplastering (May 17, 2010)

yeah its dubia roaches got about 11 females and two males !! lucky b******s:lol2:


----------



## Tetley (Feb 26, 2011)

kopstar said:


> The only problem I can see with polystyrene is that they may be able to climb the sides so harder to keep in. Smooth plastic they can't climb.


You say that, but I just got a few for my leo to try (and if he likes them I will set up a colony), and transferred them to a rub...they were climbing the sides pretty well tbh, nearly lost one :/


----------



## jonodrama (May 7, 2009)

i feed mine a mix of chicken layers mash and cat biscuits + the odd handful of cereal like multi grain cheerios.
then 2 or 3 times a week they get either orange carrot, apple or chopped up cabbage.
I dont bother with gel. 

a few people have said take out as many of the small nymphs as you can and this stimulates them to breed more- I've tried this and had a smaller 2nd colony in the airing cupboard with these nymphs and a few adults.

one thing i would say is many buy a few more roaches, look out on the feeder classifieds as some really good deals come up from time to time.

Good luck


----------



## The Roach Hut (Mar 29, 2008)

Djlplastering said:


> just set my own roach colony up ! to try save some cash in the future anyone had much luck with this :2thumb: any top tips apriciated


check out my site for all the info u will need to get ur colony thriving link below

tony


----------

