# Roach questions



## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

Hi I have a colony of giant hissing roaches and was wandering if my beardie and nosy be panther chameleon will be big enough to eat them when they are fully grown!?

And

I have a pair of day geckos (only one pair at the moment :lol2 and I want a feeder I can breed easily (like roaches) that will not get too big for them, They feed on small crickets (one size up from pinheads) So Im looking for the smallest roach species!?


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## Whosthedaddy (Nov 29, 2009)

No the hissers will be too big when grown and why not just feed small juvie roaches and leave the larger ones to breed or to feed to the Beardie?


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## spatte88 (Jun 29, 2009)

The small dubias should be fine as well! for your day geckos!


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## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

I had a look at domino roaches do you know what these are like to breed?


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## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

can custodial inverts live in a tank with cockroaches ie could I put springtails and woodlice in the tank with roaches to help clean a bit!?


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## imginy (Jun 14, 2009)

mooshu said:


> I have a pair of day geckos (only one pair at the moment :lol2 and I want a feeder I can breed easily (like roaches) that will not get too big for them, They feed on small crickets (one size up from pinheads) So Im looking for the smallest roach species!?


Turks would be your best choice you would always have a constant supply of one up from pinhead size roaches



mooshu said:


> I had a look at domino roaches do you know what these are like to breed?


Domino roaches don't breed very well at all I think they take over a year to start having babies a colony would not get any bigger.



mooshu said:


> can custodial inverts live in a tank with cockroaches ie could I put springtails and woodlice in the tank with roaches to help clean a bit!?


I know dubia and turks do a very good job of keeping them selves clean but you can add buffalo worms to keep them free of mites.


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## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

I was thinking of getting some domino just to see what they are like. I read that they do better in a few inches of soil so I thought I could keep them in a viv with a few plants and some springtails and woodlice for recycling and maybe some buffalo worms to get rid of their shed skins!?

I have looked into turks, They breed the quickest so they would be a good idea for my phelsumas, do they fly? If they do I might have a problem, I hate flying insects! :blush: 

Months are the devils children :devil:


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## kez30 (Jun 15, 2008)

I think dominos are the sort of roach you'd keep as a pet rather than breed as a feeder. Looking at prices on Ebay they're not cheap and you get a few rather than a colony. You can get adults from Rick's Livefood for £1.45 each.

Small turkistans, dubia or lobsters would all be fine though. None of them fly although winged adults can flutter a bit and obviously lobsters can climb smooth surfaces.


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## imginy (Jun 14, 2009)

mooshu said:


> I was thinking of getting some domino just to see what they are like. I read that they do better in a few inches of soil so I thought I could keep them in a viv with a few plants and some springtails and woodlice for recycling and maybe some buffalo worms to get rid of their shed skins!?
> 
> I have looked into turks, They breed the quickest so they would be a good idea for my phelsumas, do they fly? If they do I might have a problem, I hate flying insects! :blush:
> 
> Months are the devils children :devil:


I have kept turks for around 2 years and I have never seen them fly but they do run really really fast, for example you can put your hand in to feed them and they run straight up your arm and escape. Also although they can't climb clean smooth surfaces like glass or plastic they are really good at climbing any thing else. 
You can slow them down for feeding by putting them in the fridge for a little while before putting them in with your lizards


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## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

I think Im going to stick to just the three cockroaches sp, Iv got dubai on the way and Ive got a colony of giant hissers (breeding :2thumb and I might have ordered some dominos oops!? :lol2: Ive ordered two tubs from virgiancheeseman and a few from ebay!

I need more self control or Im going to live in a tent with a load of reps and bugs! :lol2:


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## kez30 (Jun 15, 2008)

What are hissers like to keep? I'm wondering if they're worth having as feeders, do they breed quick enough?


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## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

I've not had them that long but They are definitely breeding! And quite fast I think, The only problem is that they are HUGE! Too big for my beardie and chameleon, With a bit of lucky my reps will grow into them but at the moment the roaches are way too big! And the hissing is horrible :lol2:


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## Whosthedaddy (Nov 29, 2009)

mooshu said:


> I've not had them that long but They are definitely breeding! And quite fast I think, The only problem is that they are HUGE! Too big for my beardie and chameleon, With a bit of lucky my reps will grow into them but at the moment the roaches are way too big! And the hissing is horrible :lol2:


The hiss freaked my Bosc out and was then scared to eat one.


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## mooshu (Mar 24, 2010)

Whosthedaddy said:


> The hiss freaked my Bosc out and was then scared to eat one.


The hiss freaked me out and I couldn't touch them for a week :lol2:


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