all Roaches DEAD

[SJRG95]

So i just got a shipment of Pallid roaches, because Dubais are not legal, and all of them are dead within 24 hours of me receiving them.
I was wondering if anyone knew why they died?
I had them in a Tupperware container with holes at the top so they could breathe, they had cardboard in them, as food they had carrots, grapes, and apples.

My cham already at 3, those were all that are left, and now im worried he could get sick.

 

[fluxlizard]

Did you wash your tupperware prior to using?

I have lost insects once in the past because I did not wash and rinse well, new food storage containers.

 

[SJRG95]

Yes. It was super clean. I've used that tubberware for many previous feeders that's why I thought it was weird that they does so quickly.

 

[little leaf]

what about the food - I wash mine in soap and vinegar and then rinse VERY well -

 

[Psychobunny]

I killed almost a whole colony of cricks once by feeding them produce from the store that had pesticides. Now I only use certified organic.
Could that be the problem?

I wouldn't think roaches would be as sensitive as cricks, but maybe not

 

[Rango3d]

Dubias don't like cold. Was it cold??

 

[nick barta]

Sara,

I would think that before, or during shipping the Pallid Roaches were too cold for too long. If they shipped from the Northern US to you, they could have sat in the cold temperature at a shipping facility.

Did they have a heat pack?

Was it still warm?

Did they arrive in 3 days or less?

I would contact the seller to see if you can get a replacement shipment, and just pay for the shipping.

CHEERS!

Nick

 

[repdog]

I agree with nick, somewhere it got to cold for to long.

 

[zlew]

I just checked on my colony and found almost all of my adult females dead. Anyone ever had this? the males are fine, and so are the nymphs, and there are some new babies.

 

[repdog]

I just checked my colony over and all seems good right now.

 

[SJRG95]

I wash everything with vinegar and water. I dont think thats it. They were shipped from MI to FL in 2 days. It's anywhere from 70 to 80degrees in my room. They were in the shade in my room away from everything. I've contacted him to see of maybe it's something I did. Or maybe something just went wrong. They were wrapped in 10 million pieces of newspaper . in a small cup. No heat pad.

 

[eat2muchrice]

I've read about whole (dubia) colonys being wiped out by fungus/mold, articals say that if one gets infected it will spred to the rest unless removed (slow moving roach). Prevention is to keep your enclosure dry and clean to prevent mold growth, keep fresh foof fresh, dry foods dry and water crystals clean. I know yours are new and died quickly, makes me think they were all infected beforehand. Bad batch and try again.

 

[repdog]

Good point, I wouldn't even have thought of that seeing they were new.

 

[SJRG95]

I mean I only had them for 24 hours before they died. But I talked to him and he said maybe the sudden temperature chance could have done that.

 

[eat2muchrice]

I mean I only had them for 24 hours before they died. But I talked to him and he said maybe the sudden temperature chance could have done that.

Soooo, is he willing to send you some new ones? Personally I think roaches are tough little creatures, IMO short term temperature change would not do something like that, possible but not likely, my roaches live in my garage and with a heat pad the temps still drop down to 60 degrees but back up to 90, they are fine and breeding. If you say "They were wrapped in 10 million pieces of newspaper . in a small cup." was the cup vented? If not I know my roaches sweat a lot so the moisture from being stuck in the cup could have caused a bacteria bloom.

None of that matters if he is willing to replace them, I had a problem with one of my roach orders and they replaced them all with a ton of extras. Good luck!

 

[SJRG95]

He said to open up the container and allow them to get more air for a few hours and see what happens. He said this helped him in the past. my only problem is that no only are they fast.. but they can also climb up smooth surfaces. and i HATE cockroaches.

I am debating whether to just wait until spring time to get more, that way its warmer up north and maybe this doesn't happen again.

 

[eat2muchrice]

He said to open up the container and allow them to get more air for a few hours and see what happens. He said this helped him in the past. my only problem is that no only are they fast.. but they can also climb up smooth surfaces. and i HATE cockroaches.

I am debating whether to just wait until spring time to get more, that way its warmer up north and maybe this doesn't happen again.

Use packaging tape or petroleum jelly around the inside of your container/bin and they can not climb out.

 

[junglefries]

This why I always keep 2 colonies, at least, of what feeder(s) I have. Nothing is ever interchanged bin wise and both have separate food supplies. Helps to diagnose issues and prevents running out of feeders. Good luck.

 

[MelissaB]

He said to open up the container and allow them to get more air for a few hours and see what happens. He said this helped him in the past. my only problem is that no only are they fast.. but they can also climb up smooth surfaces. and i HATE cockroaches.

I am debating whether to just wait until spring time to get more, that way its warmer up north and maybe this doesn't happen again.

I'd modify your bin lid by cutting out a large section and hot gluing screen over the hole. I wouldn't be comfortable leaving the lid off a species of roach that can climb smooth surfaces. I hope the seller does the right thing and refunds you or sends you another shipment. I've had dubias shipped during the winter, and packaged correctly, they do just fine. I would think that most species of roach would be about the same.

 

[fluxlizard]

If they arrived alive and healthy looking, it is most likely something on your end. Maybe a bad food source with pesticide, maybe the stuff you cleaned with wasn't rinsed off well. They do require a lot of ventilation- I gave a bunch to a friend once who tried to go with too little ventilation and he had problems, but it took days and the tubs smelled really bad and he had little bugs and fungus and condensation before they started dying. I just keep the lids off an use vasoline, and for species that cannot climb like blaberus sp, I don't use vasoline, only smooth sided containers with lids removed.

Of course, they aren't in my house either. I have them in my outbuilding so having the lids off is no problem.

I use heat taped shelving now, but in the past I did not. The roaches survived just fine at temps between 50 and probably sometimes over 100. Outdoors in the fall I have seen even tropical species like hissers and dubia survive well below 50- even down near freezing I think, and some even manage to live through a light frost. I don't have experience with pallids though, but being florida natives I would think they would take shipping temps just fine.

Huh- just looked pallids up- those sound like a good species to be interested in. I may have to try some. It seems like for lizard keepers in florida, pallids are a good alternative to lobsters, and discoids are a good alternative for dubia...