Starting new Roach colony advice.

felo1812

felo1812

Member
So I want to keep another type of roach, I currently have Dubias and they are pretty easy to take care of. Now I need advice on which what other species of roach should I try? I've been reading about the Orange Heads and the Red Runners, what do you guys think should I try? Or what other species I should look into? Also they MUST be non climbing (and preferably non flying) since the wify will feel better about keeping another roach colony in the house?.

Thanks y'all!
 
coastal_chameleon said:
lobster roaches breed Fast and probably require less care than dubia !! the only down side is they climb . and I mean fast with a capital F
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,?? Yeah Ive seen videos. I'll look into them, I just gotta make sure I can convince the wife. Haha she gets the hibbi jibbis just thinking about climbing ones
 
felo1812 said:
,?? Yeah Ive seen videos. I'll look into them, I just gotta make sure I can convince the wife. Haha she gets the hibbi jibbis just thinking about climbing ones
Click to expand...
Hissers reproduce pretty fast to !! I'm not having any luck with my red runners roaches ! I can't get the eggs to hatch :( buy the lobsters on the other hand have a pretty dry bin and they still reproduce like crazy !!
 
coastal_chameleon said:
lobster roaches breed Fast and probably require less care than dubia !! the only down side is they climb . and I mean fast with a capital F
Click to expand...

Lol true. I have a little bin of lobsters. Chams do love them though! Nice thing is, vaseline stops them pretty well unlike some roaches that will climb right over it.

ATM red runners are probably my favorite feeder. Basically like cricket roaches that don't chirp or jump(much lol).

I like orangeheads or any of the eublaberus genus for non climbers.

Byrsotria genus is another great non climbing roach genus that are pretty unique and have a lot of potential as feeders. I have 4 colonies of them that I have been liking a lot.

Horseshoe crab roaches are cool, easy to deal with roaches that can breed at room temp(they don't climb or fly and aren't an infestation risk).

Then there's always deaths heads/discoid/dusky cave and the other blaberus that are all similar as nymphs and have different colors/sizes as adults. Very active too.
 
Last edited:
felo1812 said:
So I want to keep another type of roach, I currently have Dubias and they are pretty easy to take care of. Now I need advice on which what other species of roach should I try? I've been reading about the Orange Heads and the Red Runners, what do you guys think should I try? Or what other species I should look into? Also they MUST be non climbing (and preferably non flying) since the wify will feel better about keeping another roach colony in the house?.

Thanks y'all!
Click to expand...
For your info if you don't already know. @jamest0o0 will be able to supply you with starter colonies for all mentioned in his reply.
Good luck
 
jamest0o0 said:
Lol true. I have a little bin of lobsters. Chams do love them though! Nice thing is, vaseline stops them pretty well unlike some roaches that will climb right over it.

ATM red runners are probably my favorite feeder. Basically like cricket roaches that don't chirp or jump(much lol).

I like orangeheads or any of the eublaberus genus for non climbers.

Byrsotria genus is another great non climbing roach genus that are pretty unique and have a lot of potential as feeders. I have 4 colonies of them that I have been liking a lot.

Horseshoe crab roaches are cool, easy to deal with roaches that can breed at room temp(they don't climb or fly and aren't an infestation risk).

Then there's always deaths heads/discoid/dusky cave and the other blaberus that are all similar as nymphs and have different colors/sizes as adults. Very active too.
Click to expand...

Very informative thank you! Since we are on the subject could I buy some orange heads and some horseshoe from you?
 
Ezekiel could of cared less about the Dubia's I tried to feed him. But he will run right over and eat the orange heads that I put in his feeder as soon as I put them in. They are more active than Dubia's and don't climb or fly. They seem to breed pretty fast, I have them at room temperature right now in my garage and the colony is still growing exponentially.

I will say I tried several different breeds. I also like the red runners, but they would try to escape from the feeder by climbing on top of each other. Sort of how you see the ants making a ant ladder on the discovery channel.
 
I have some lobsters and tried to heat up enclosure with heating pad. Hits like 120 F. Oops, my bad. Need some other method to keep at 80 for breeding.
 
Tony_S said:
Ezekiel could of cared less about the Dubia's I tried to feed him. But he will run right over and eat the orange heads that I put in his feeder as soon as I put them in. They are more active than Dubia's and don't climb or fly. They seem to breed pretty fast, I have them at room temperature right now in my garage and the colony is still growing exponentially.

I will say I tried several different breeds. I also like the red runners, but they would try to escape from the feeder by climbing on top of each other. Sort of how you see the ants making a ant ladder on the discovery channel.
Click to expand...

Lol I've seen this. Reminds me of world war z.
 
I would advice against feeding dog food, cat food, or fish food. These items are very high in protein. Not only can they kill off feeders but they in turn cause them to have higher uric acid levels which are very bad for chams. Prolonged feeding of feeders with high uric acid levels to a cham can cause issues of gout.
 
Beman said:
I would advice against feeding dog food, cat food, or fish food. These items are very high in protein. Not only can they kill off feeders but they in turn cause them to have higher uric acid levels which are very bad for chams. Prolonged feeding of feeders with high uric acid levels to a cham can cause issues of gout.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Roaches have the ability to store uric acid in large amounts. It's a survival technique of there's. Downside is, it turns them into uric acid bombs if they're fed excessive protein.
 
Good to hear and thank you all for the responses! I really love the amount of knowledge that this forum has! My bugs usually get all the food scraps (fruit & veggies) that we dont eat, or atleast the ones my toddler decided that day he didn't feel like eating ?. Now I was wondering what you guys think about the water crystals? I've read that they can be detrimental to both the Cham and the bugs too?
 
felo1812 said:
Good to hear and thank you all for the responses! I really love the amount of knowledge that this forum has! My bugs usually get all the food scraps (fruit & veggies) that we dont eat, or atleast the ones my toddler decided that day he didn't feel like eating ?. Now I was wondering what you guys think about the water crystals? I've read that they can be detrimental to both the Cham and the bugs too?
Click to expand...
I personally think the water crystals are a waste of money if your providing a variety of fresh veg and fruit....

chameleon-gutload.jpg
 
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