Hissers

[kylerenz]

Is anyone here using madagascar hissing roaches as a staple. Are they harder to breed and take care of than dubias are? I want some more variety. I plan to get some silkies as well but I think four food sources would be good with some treats thrown in. Let me know your thoughts everyone.

 

[blackbetty]

I'd be afraid they are too large. Even the adult Dubias are pushing it for my Panther. Takes him a good minute to get it ground up enough to swallow. Hissers are HUGE. I imagine all are decent staples in the roach family if they are fed properly and cared for and captive bred...

I bought my colony from someone local and he said they were a mix of Dubias and Lobsters? They all look the same to me and Leo loves them, but I have to monitor him when he eats the adults.

 

[kylerenz]

Well I have dubias and I don't feed off the adults. Well not the full grown adults. I feed the ones that are probably two molts away from being adults and then the small nymphs to my younger chams. I just want to offer a bug that is from Madagascar. I just want to know what some peoples experience is from keeping and breeding hissers. I read sandrachameleons research on them in the feeder forum but I would like to hear some testimonials if at all possible.

 

[sandrachameleon]

First off, I will say I vote for variety and NO staple feeder
That said, I used to use Hissers a fair bit. (Im currently letting the colony expand, so am not feeding off many right now). They do grow very large, so you can only feed off the nymphs. They do not seem to breed as quickly as some other roaches. They have way more personality that other roaches. Their shells/skins seem a little tougher than some other roaches - not sure what the meat to chinton ratio is. Hissers are very easy to look after. They dont stink and dont fly (no wings) and arent fast (compared to other roaches) but they CAN climb smooth surfaces, especially the nymphs. Even with a ring of petroleum jelly, I would definately use a lid.
more info: https://www.chameleonforums.com/madagascar-hissing-roach-14584/

If I were picking four feeders, they would be: Roaches, silkworms, crickets, butterworms or superworms.

 

[kylerenz]

First off, I will say I vote for variety and NO staple feeder
That said, I used to use Hissers a fair bit. (Im currently letting the colony expand, so am not feeding off many right now). They do grow very large, so you can only feed off the nymphs. They do not seem to breed as quickly as some other roaches. They have way more personality that other roaches. Their shells/skins seem a little tougher than some other roaches - not sure what the meat to chinton ratio is. Hissers are very easy to look after. They dont stink and dont fly (no wings) and arent fast (compared to other roaches) but they CAN climb smooth surfaces, especially the nymphs. Even with a ring of petroleum jelly, I would definately use a lid.
more info: https://www.chameleonforums.com/madagascar-hissing-roach-14584/

If I were picking four feeders, they would be: Roaches, silkworms, crickets, butterworms or superworms.

Well thank you SandraChameleon. I am hoping to start a conlony. It is always nice to mix it up for the chams it keeps them happier and makes them eat more often. Are you still using your double container design that you had before?

 

[sandrachameleon]

Well thank you SandraChameleon. I am hoping to start a conlony. It is always nice to mix it up for the chams it keeps them happier and makes them eat more often. Are you still using your double container design that you had before?

Yup, I continue to be ultra paranoid with my roaches - they're all double-binned. That said, havent yet found a roach in the outter bin. They all remain in their inner bin. I am almost to the point, almost, of just trusting the single bin. almost. not quite. maybe after another year of no escapees.

 

[kylerenz]

Yeah I don't like the idea of roaches wandering my house. I know everyone says dubias can't climb but I have males that climb their glass enclosure everytime I am in there grabbing nymphs. Maybe I have two breeds in their and I don't know it. Anyways, how do you keep it warm enough to coerce breeding from the hissers with your setup?

 

[sandrachameleon]

My double-bin set-up is not condusive to extensive breeding. I didnt used to care, as I didnt need very many. Even with the bin right over top a forced air heat vent on the floor, in the warm chameleon room, I doubt it gets over 80F. They still reproduced, just not a huge amount.
Soon as the weather heats up a little more, half the roaches are going in the greenhouse on top of a table of heated sand (used for sprouting/rooting) - in summer it cooks in there, which will encourage the suckers into a baby making explosion.
Next winter I may start using a fish tank with screen lid and an under tank heater. I have to get over my paranoia first. I cant imagine how even a non-climbing species wouldnt climb the silicon in the corners.

 

[kylerenz]

Yeah well the males in my container don't even need the silicone to climb. Well I will just have to figure out a good design that will make them breed as well as keep them in. I like the double bin idea and it does stay about seventy five in my chameleon room but I don't know. We will just have to wait and see.

 

[Hilikus311]

lol but sorry i have to say imagine one or two got out and now you have a colony of Hissing cockroaches in your house, at least you wouldn't run out anywho ive read that putting a regular house bulb on them for heat 24hrs a day is fine since it doesn't matter if its dark or not as long as you have hiding places much like that of crickets
Good luck

 

[sandrachameleon]

Having any kind of roach loose in the house would be awful.
Luckily where I live a tropical roach infestation is unlikely.

 

[kylerenz]

Same here. It does not get that warm. Well not inside my house anyways. I still would not ever want to risk that. I am sure there is a reason that there are so many exterminators in tropical regions because people hate roaches in the house.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

I used to raise lobsters, hissers and dubias. I'm just raising dubias these days. I decided that there probably wasn't much difference in the nutritional value between the three. Lobsters smell like sweaty laundry, their babies are super small, and I think that they are more likely to be able to survive and reproduce outside of their "breeding tank". Hissers have leg spikes that look potentially (more) dangerous. I usually "removed" the back 2-4 legs just before feeding-off. I've found dubias to be a good compromise between the three. Not too small, not too big, no smell, bullet-proof to keep alive and my chameleons will eat them (from time-to-time).

These days I use dubias, silkies, supers, horns and an occasional walking stick, butterworm, silkmoth etc.

 

[summoner12]

I'd be afraid they are too large. Even the adult Dubias are pushing it for my Panther. Takes him a good minute to get it ground up enough to swallow. Hissers are HUGE. I imagine all are decent staples in the roach family if they are fed properly and cared for and captive bred...

I bought my colony from someone local and he said they were a mix of Dubias and Lobsters? They all look the same to me and Leo loves them, but I have to monitor him when he eats the adults.

Roaches grow.. as they grow you feed off the appropriate size for the animal you are feeding. This helps the animal you are feeding in many ways.

 

[Clifford]

Mine has no problem eating Hissing roaches, even fairly large ones (though I've not offered full grown adults, I think he'd be able to eat them - I saw a post of a chameleon eating a hummngbird on here, so obviously they can eat big prey if they want to)