Hissing Cockroaches

[Percy&Ivan]

that's interesting, I was told (cockroach forum) if I didn't want to breed them I was fine at anywhere from 64° to 85°.

 

[Percy&Ivan]

Yeah, it sounds like theyre great escape artists

 

[MandaExotics]

that's interesting, I was told (cockroach forum) if I didn't want to breed them I was fine at anywhere from 64° to 85°.

That sounds accurate I've always controlled my temps and humidity mostly for tropical roaches for breeding. I've never had a roach I didn't breed. In my experience extreme heat will kill many inverts quicker than cooler temperatures (barring some exceptions). I'm mainly thinking of various arachnids I've encountered in regards to temperature tolerances.

 

[theocnoob]

Not trying to lead you down any path just wanted to give some more info about mantises

Just curious- are there wild mantids in your area? You might want to try one as a pet. They do well in captivity and live much longer than they would in the wild. You can find them in fields that are healthy and have good biodiversity. They like to hang out in tall grass and similar plants. Walk through the field slowly, dragging your feet and brushing them forward through the grass gently from the bottom up (dont want to step on any mantises). They blend in well but they aren't that difficult to find. Feed them pet shop crickets and every morning give the enclosure a generous misting with a spray bottle (buy one for this dont reuse one that has been used for something else). They require these mistings to get enough water.

You don't need to provide any special heat or lighting for wild north american mantises. Just put them in a terrarium with a mesh top with lots of sticks and stuff for them to climb. Be generous with the room you give them. Don't keep more than one per enclosure. Same sex mantises will fight and a male/female pair will result in a dead and eaten male once mating occurs.

The females are easier to get a hold of in the wild as they tend not to fly even after they lay their eggs and are capable of flight. Males are very light bodied and will usually fly away.

These are the mantises you can find in my area (Southern Ontario/Canada).

There are also more exotic mantises you can get online such as this one

This mantis is from Africa. My co-worker at the petshop I worked at in my 20s had some of these and he had been breeding them for many generations.

 

[CallieCadmoor]

Oh I have missed you!!! I am glad you are back @Percy&Ivan

I love the mantis as a pet but I couldn't do the live food thing again after my sparrow The roaches sound absolutely fascinating though! That would be a wonderful thing to do

And @theocnoob , We have tons of that second Mantis in the garden. They are so pretty! There's this type that look like pale pink, frilly flowers! I do find them so so amazing, I can sit and watch them for ages.

 

[Harleyandme]

Do you do fish (actually amphibians)? I have axolotls and they're pretty fascinating creatures and quite low maintenance if you don't mind tanks and worms I know someone who had a mantis and they were cool too! What kind of pet do you fancy the most?

 

[theocnoob]

Oh I have missed you!!! I am glad you are back @Percy&Ivan

I love the mantis as a pet but I couldn't do the live food thing again after my sparrow The roaches sound absolutely fascinating though! That would be a wonderful thing to do

And @theocnoob , We have tons of that second Mantis in the garden. They are so pretty! There's this type that look like pale pink, frilly flowers! I do find them so so amazing, I can sit and watch them for ages.

That's so awesome. Your contient has much cooler wildlife than my continent, IMO

 

[Percy&Ivan]

Not trying to lead you down any path just wanted to give some more info about mantises

Just curious- are there wild mantids in your area? You might want to try one as a pet. They do well in captivity and live much longer than they would in the wild. You can find them in fields that are healthy and have good biodiversity. They like to hang out in tall grass and similar plants. Walk through the field slowly, dragging your feet and brushing them forward through the grass gently from the bottom up (dont want to step on any mantises). They blend in well but they aren't that difficult to find. Feed them pet shop crickets and every morning give the enclosure a generous misting with a spray bottle (buy one for this dont reuse one that has been used for something else). They require these mistings to get enough water.

You don't need to provide any special heat or lighting for wild north american mantises. Just put them in a terrarium with a mesh top with lots of sticks and stuff for them to climb. Be generous with the room you give them. Don't keep more than one per enclosure. Same sex mantises will fight and a male/female pair will result in a dead and eaten male once mating occurs.

The females are easier to get a hold of in the wild as they tend not to fly even after they lay their eggs and are capable of flight. Males are very light bodied and will usually fly away.

These are the mantises you can find in my area (Southern Ontario/Canada).

There are also more exotic mantises you can get online such as this one

This mantis is from Africa. My co-worker at the petshop I worked at in my 20s had some of these and he had been breeding them for many generations.

That's pretty interesting, and I've seen a few but rarely. I'll have to try the foot thing and see did I can find any lol

 

[Percy&Ivan]

Do you do fish (actually amphibians)? I have axolotls and they're pretty fascinating creatures and quite low maintenance if you don't mind tanks and worms I know someone who had a mantis and they were cool too! What kind of pet do you fancy the most?

Really anything, I just like animals. It's not so much the cheapness or the ease of care, but I think they look pretty cool lol

 

[faislaq]

Well, hissers are definitely pretty cool, but the glowspot roaches @MandaExotics mentioned are striking, even if they don't glow in captivity. I wonder how big they are, if they are comfortably handleable size. I'm always afraid to hurt things that are too tiny or fragile.

 

[MandaExotics]

Well, hissers are definitely pretty cool, but the glowspot roaches @MandaExotics mentioned are striking, even if they don't glow in captivity. I wonder how big they are, if they are comfortably handleable size. I'm always afraid to hurt things that are too tiny or fragile.

I mentioned these guys because as adults they're fairly large and supposedly easier to handle than some of the faster species. They're slow breeders so they tend to be more expensive when you find them available. The adults apparently climb glass but not the nymphs.

 

[theocnoob]

It's too bad the mantises around here are still so tiny and nearly impossible to spot (the size of crickets right now) or I would make a video showing you how to find them. I know all the good spots around here. When August/September roll around and the mantises are full grown I'll go looking for some and post a video of it here. I don't keep them at home anymore but I do like videotaping them taking pictures. I saw one catch a dragonfly last year it was quite the encounter. Might even see a snake or two out there. The best field I know for them is right beside my uncle's house too so I can kill two birds with one stone. Wildlife excursion+family visit

 

[Harleyandme]

Really anything, I just like animals. It's not so much the cheapness or the ease of care, but I think they look pretty cool lol

Yeah, definitely. I'm thinking of getting bell frogs (in NZ theres only really one type of frog as a pet). They're cool too. I've seen people online with seahorses. There's those little snakes (I REALLY want one but you can't have snakes in NZ ). I think it would be cool to have a chinchilla or a hedgehog. Are you looking for creep crawlies specifically?

 

[MandaExotics]

Yeah, definitely. I'm thinking of getting bell frogs (in NZ theres only really one type of frog as a pet). They're cool too. I've seen people online with seahorses. There's those little snakes (I REALLY want one but you can't have snakes in NZ ). I think it would be cool to have a chinchilla or a hedgehog. Are you looking for creep crawlies specifically?

Seeing as my favorite animals are snakes, I'm glad snakes are native and allowed in my country. I thought about a hedgehog instead of a hamster when I got my last hamster but to be honest the poop kind of throws me off. Somewhat frequent aquarium cleaning throws me off of having an axolotl even though I think they're pretty cool as well. Praying mantises also don't live long enough for my liking usually. Every animal has their pros and cons and it's up to the person to decide which pet best fits their life. Animals native to the US that were fun to keep were the communal blue death feigning beetles and the dune scorpion together. My scorpion grew on the obese side as he ate the prey I dropped in and foraged on the food I gave my beetles as well.

 

[Percy&Ivan]

Yeah, definitely. I'm thinking of getting bell frogs (in NZ theres only really one type of frog as a pet). They're cool too. I've seen people online with seahorses. There's those little snakes (I REALLY want one but you can't have snakes in NZ ). I think it would be cool to have a chinchilla or a hedgehog. Are you looking for creep crawlies specifically?

Actually I just ordered all the roach supplies! So technically I can't really do anything else lol, it seems like everything is banned in NZ

 

[LilSprout]

I'm really interested in entomology as a hobby, sadly many exotic species of arthropod such as hissing roaches and exotic mantids and illegal to own in Canada.

I'd love to own a giant african millepede. I have a lot of experience creating the humid environments they need to live because I keep tropical pitcher plants in a large tank and they need humidity too. Also the millepede can eat scraps of veggies from the kitchen so it'd be a very functional organic matter disposing pet.

 

[faislaq]

Actually I just ordered all the roach supplies!

Yay! What species did you decide to go with?

 

[Percy&Ivan]

Yay! What species did you decide to go with?

Madagascan Hissing Cockroach (G. Portensa I think ) but I'm waiting for the supplies and stuff so it can be ready and them I'll get them.

 

[faislaq]

I found my pics of Spike. Not the best quality; these (and my phone at the time, lol) are from 2010. I forgot I had that last one & how cute he was!

 

[Percy&Ivan]

I found my pics of Spike. Not the best quality; these (and my phone at the time, lol) are from 2010. View attachment 251899 View attachment 251900 View attachment 251901 I forgot I had that last one & how cute he was!

Aghhhh not on your face!!! That's so cool though, I'd int think I'd be able to let it call on my face