Turkistan roach (blatta lateralis)

[Zen Reptiles]

If there isn't high enough protein, they WILL eat ALL the babies.

My colony of Turks eats much more, and much faster, than any other roach colonies I have seen.

I also suggest no substrate, their poop will serve as a good substrate.

You do need /some/ humidity for the eggs to hatch, as I have had issues with mine drying up in very low humidity. I have also heard that using an oil (coconut oil, or olive oil) is good for Turks, though I haven't experimented enough with it to say for sure.

These are the best roaches for smaller animals, as when the eggs hatch, they seem to all hatch one after the other for a constant supply of pinhead-sized roaches!

I try to keep a ratio of 1 male per 5 females, and feed the extra males off. Male populations will boom and decline, boom and decline, every so often, so keep track that you don't overharvest them.

 

[sandrachameleon]

If there isn't high enough protein, they WILL eat ALL the babies.

just as a point of clarification, Mine do exist on a purely vegetable, fruit, grain, nut and seed diet. You dont need to provide meat or egg for them to get all thier protein needs met.

 

[Zen Reptiles]

Yep

Mine get it from bee pollen, brewer's yeast and spirulina mostly, and the odd addition of high quality koi fish food.

 

[ijmccollum]

Thanks for heads up on protein. They must be eating their young because I never see pinheads -- though I do see juvies. Perhaps the avian starter mash (thanks poster) is the way to go.

I have noticed a decline in males to females and am reluctant to feed any out -- except treats -- till I get a handle on breeding them. I have only had them since the SLC reptile expo --1st week end of Oct. 2009. Am considering seperating eggs from adults for better hatches, esp for replacement males.

Hope this helps the original poster. It helped me -- thanks for starting the thread.

 

[Chameleon Jim]

To get humidity in an Arid environment (see Arizona--->) You just need a standard aquarium air pump. Get a tube and run it from the pump into a bottle of water (any size is fine, I just use a .5 liter) make sure the line going into the bottle goes to the bottom of the bottle (submerged in water). Then run a second line out from the bottle, that is above the water level. The air bubbles will agitate the water and the newly humidified air will be pumped out the second tube. Easy and Super Cheap.

(see attached pics is my rambling engineering speak did not clearly describe what I was talking about)

Note that there is a short and a long line. The short line goes to your feeders housing container. Just make sure that the short line is above the waters surface, otherwise you are just pumping water instead of humid air.

Hope that Helps.

 

[DGray]

Queen of Hearts

...

I dont let the roaches free-roam though - too fast, too likely to get out. So I either put in a feeding cup or remove the roaches head (without their heads, they dont seem to run so far! but they stay alive and moving more than long enough to get eaten!)

Thanks for that beheading idea. I just got a colony of these and I have been a bit nervous about using them because they are so fast.

Now, where are those little scissors?...

 

[Digby Rigby]

Cold storage

You can also put them in the refrigerator for a few minutes to slow them down. They do not dig, burrow or climb glass so not hard to contain. If y=humidity is an issue for the egg cases not hatching you can always pick out the egg cases and put them in a sperate container with some damp paper towels perhaps, to hatch them out.

Where else but here can you also talk about beheading roaches or cutting cricket legs and still have people love you

Digby Rigby _______________________

 

[ijmccollum]

To get humidity in an Arid environment (see Arizona--->) You just need a standard aquarium air pump. Get a tube and run it from the pump into a bottle of water (any size is fine, I just use a .5 liter) make sure the line going into the bottle goes to the bottom of the bottle (submerged in water). Then run a second line out from the bottle, that is above the water level. The air bubbles will agitate the water and the newly humidified air will be pumped out the second tube. Easy and Super Cheap.

(see attached pics is my rambling engineering speak did not clearly describe what I was talking about)

Note that there is a short and a long line. The short line goes to your feeders housing container. Just make sure that the short line is above the waters surface, otherwise you are just pumping water instead of humid air.

Hope that Helps.

Thanks for the pictorial -- it really helps. Looks like a weekend ptoject. Did you just drill and insert or make the fittings "tight"?

Also, are you using a heat matt too? If so, how, so I don't cook 'em or start a fire?

 

[rmichaelk]

just as a point of clarification, Mine do exist on a purely vegetable, fruit, grain, nut and seed diet. You dont need to provide meat or egg for them to get all thier protein needs met.

Hi Sandra,
What grains, nuts and seeds do you feed your roaches? I assume you feed these to all the roaches, right? Oh do you grind these ingredients and then serve them to the roaches?

Michael

 

[tkilgour]

Sandra do you experience random escapees with these? I keep finding some on the ceiling, or running along the wall. I have a large container full of them, and this container is put inside a second larger plastic container. The lid is sealed shut with package tape. I also pre-load smaller containers to use as feed for the week. These containers are in a larger container also. All the sides of each container are lubed so these things can't climb out. When I feed these I hand feed to my chameleons. Still I am finding them loose and on the run. How else do I prevent them from getting out? It is only 66 deg. F or 18 C outside the their storage room and the humidity is prob. 30%. So hopefully NO infestation.

 

[fluxlizard]

How else do I prevent them from getting out? It is only 66 deg. F or 18 C outside the their storage room and the humidity is prob. 30%. So hopefully NO infestation.

I'm about the same lattitude and environment as you approximately- 1 state over from ohio. I'm gonna copy and paste what I wrote in another thread for you-

I purchased 15,000 lateralis a few years ago and fed them out over several months after becoming afraid of their potential for infestation. I was correct- I still find them wild in my lizard building where I find egg casings between and beneath cages and on the ground in low traffic areas, they somehow get into my other roach tubs (they have to climb walls or shelves and drop in from above to do this) and starting this spring, when I pick something like a rock, cinder block, board out in the yard, I find them underneath. {edit- it has been a couple of years since I fed out the last of my lateralis tubs, but this spring was the first time I saw them in the yard}. Last month we had 18" of snow on the ground. I brushed the snow off a board and picked up the board and there were 40 or 50 lateralis alive and moving on the ground beneath the board. The ground was not frozen and was soft and moist, but this I am sure still would have killed other species I have kept.

I deeply regret purchasing this species and since purchase I have used google to learn that this species is illegal in some states and that professional exterminators have to deal with this species sometimes.

Someone in this thread asked if they can fly- I promise they can- I've seen them fly to our porch light last summer- I captured and confirmed. They are also good climbers- just not of smooth surfaces...

One storage room in the building where I find them most often is low humidity and no heating- stays 50s most of the winter, but it's low traffic so I guess they like it... I find them in there every time I go in- just the other day for example... All I have to do is pick up a box and move it and there will be some behind and beneath and I find egg casings randomly scattered on the floor and shelves if I don't sweep for several days...

I also keep lobsters which are very hardy, and have fed out literally millions since 2002, and have never had a problem like this from those.

 

[DGray]

freebies

San Francisco Bay Area people can get some free turks here

 

[tkilgour]

I'm about the same lattitude and environment as you approximately- 1 state over from ohio. I'm gonna copy and paste what I wrote in another thread for you-



Someone in this thread asked if they can fly- I promise they can- I've seen them fly to our porch light last summer- I captured and confirmed. They are also good climbers- just not of smooth surfaces...

One storage room in the building where I find them most often is low humidity and no heating- stays 50s most of the winter, but it's low traffic so I guess they like it... I find them in there every time I go in- just the other day for example... All I have to do is pick up a box and move it and there will be some behind and beneath and I find egg casings randomly scattered on the floor and shelves if I don't sweep for several days...

I also keep lobsters which are very hardy, and have fed out literally millions since 2002, and have never had a problem like this from those.

Ok I am getting rid of all of them.....I just put everything outside in a cold garage, it is below freezing. Anyone want over 4,000? Thanks for the heads up, I have only found about 10 in total and they were all small. I just used ortho home defense all over the rooms and hallway. Hopefully, they will be no more!!!!! I have No idea how any have escaped.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Sandra do you experience random escapees with these?

No. They do not climb the plastic sides of the bucket they are in. Even if they did, there's a lid. I used to double-bin all my roaches, but never once did one get out of the inner bin into the outer bin, so I stopped.

If you have escapees, its likely from the chameleons cages. I never leave roaches unattended - I watch to ensure they are eaten before I move on.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Hi Sandra,
What grains, nuts and seeds do you feed your roaches? I assume you feed these to all the roaches, right? Oh do you grind these ingredients and then serve them to the roaches?
Michael

Walnuts, almonds, seasamee seeds, sunflower seeds....
more of the things i used are listed here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

 

[luevelvet]

Fluxlizard,

Are you you sure you're talking about lateralis? They can jump and flutter, but I'm not sure they can sustain flight in anyway. Plus they don't climb smooth surfaces like glass and most plastics that aren't textured.

I only ask because you gave up lateralis for lobsters and usually it's the reverse. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of how easily those roaches can escape and proliferate.

Luis

 

[tkilgour]

I froze thousands outside for several days. Then I brought them back inside and in 1 hour they were racing everywhere. None fly or climb the plastic. I think maybe a few got out of the bottom of the enclosures. I have not found any more loose B. lateralis since I stopped feeding them. They are highly prolific and with humidity and food they multiply extremely fast.

 

[fluxlizard]

Fluxlizard,

Are you you sure you're talking about lateralis? They can jump and flutter, but I'm not sure they can sustain flight in anyway. Plus they don't climb smooth surfaces like glass and most plastics that aren't textured.

I only ask because you gave up lateralis for lobsters and usually it's the reverse. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of how easily those roaches can escape and proliferate.

Luis

I'm sure it was them. I saw them fly on more than one occasion. I *suppose* if they climbed pretty far up into some trees about 30' from the porch light, they could drop and flutter towards the light...

Also, I didn't give up lateralis for lobsters. I had already been using lobsters by the zillions for several years prior to getting the lateralis. I still use lobsters to this day. I tried the lateralis over several months and you know the rest of the story.

In spite of using literally millions of lobsters over nearly 9 years (compared to 15,000 lateralis over several months) I have never found lobsters out wild in the yard underneath concrete blocks, boards, etc, and they always dissappear from an area soon after the lizard cages are moved (I move my cages out all summer and in all winter). Lobsters are cold hardy-moreso than probably most who keep them know (I've found them alive and happy in empty lizard cages I haven't brought in during the fall until after the first frost or two), but they won't survive stuff lats will survive.

If you don't believe lateralis can fly, try leaving the lid off your roach bin for a month. For a while when I was first keeping them as they reached maturity I was finding adult female lats, but no males in my tubs (I used 50 gallon storage containers without lids). I was thinking "what the heck? Why are they all females?" Then I started finding males around the building. The top of the egg crates in the tubs was about 8-10" below the top of the tub. So either they can jump 8-10" or they can fly. They can't climb it.

IMO people switch from lobsters to lats because lats haven't been around as long and they don't know yet what they are switching too. I think dubia is a much safer choice for most people than either.

I'm not saying lats are necessarily wrong for everyone- but I do think caution is a great idea with them, and I personally get a little worried about my property here (and surrounding properties) some nights because of them... I have to admit my experience makes me cringe a little when I see them recommended without a warning...