Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches

[reptileman]

hissers are good feeders but most people I know dont use them because they get to big to feed 2 fast and they are a climbing species which requires extra work to keep them from escaping. They work as good feeders when young, I would recommend getting a dubia colony instead but at the price you found I guess it wouldnt hurt to experiment with them.

 

[PrettyInInk87]

hissers are good feeders but most people I know dont use them because they get to big to feed 2 fast and they are a climbing species which requires extra work to keep them from escaping. They work as good feeders when young, I would recommend getting a dubia colony instead but at the price you found I guess it wouldnt hurt to experiment with them.

I have both a Dubia colony and a Lobster colony going... They aren't yet established but if I can get my hands on multiple types of roaches and critters, i'm going to do so. They are pretty freakin' awesome and don't mind having them even if they aren't fed off. I can always sell them if I get overwhelmed. I just had them out and they are really chil, my son LOVES them. Lol! Lobster Roaches are VERY quick and also are a glass climbing species but a bit of vaseline on the glass stops them from getting out. I'll do the same with the Hissers...

 

[Mr Wilson]

I feed my ambilobe adult hissers every once in a while when i can come across them. He loves them. Great find

 

[PrettyInInk87]

I feed my ambilobe adult hissers every once in a while when i can come across them. He loves them. Great find

Just situated them in a 10 gallon glass tank with a couple of hides, food, and water crystals. They were pretty hungry and thirsty! I hope my gravid female has lots of babies.

 

[yoshi9]

Just situated them in a 10 gallon glass tank with a couple of hides, food, and water crystals. They were pretty hungry and thirsty! I hope my gravid female has lots of babies.

How do you tell if its gravid? Is it the same as dubias, like telling if a female is gravid?

 

[PrettyInInk87]

How do you tell if its gravid? Is it the same as dubias, like telling if a female is gravid?

Well female Hissers carry their ooth inside of their bodies and when the babies hatch, it gives the appearance of live birth because she pushes them out. The ooth sticks out a tad bit out of the body so that you can see it and tell she is gravid. Dubia give live births... I don't think you can tell when they are gravid except for being really fat and plump.

 

[vegas shooby]

nasty...only dubias

 

[PrettyInInk87]

nasty...only dubias

They are SO cool! I love them... I've been lying on my stomach watching them all night. I'm just waiting for her to pop those babies out. I want to WATCH!

 

[vegas shooby]

They are SO cool! I love them... I've been lying on my stomach watching them all night. I'm just waiting for her to pop those babies out. I want to WATCH!

hahah lol nice...good luck

 

[PrettyInInk87]

hahah lol nice...good luck

Thank you!

 

[fluxlizard]

My hissers had mites a couple times over the past 10 years or so too. I just used plain calcium and dusted the hissers to kill the mites and moved the roaches into a clean container. The mites arrive if too much moisture is present- especially foodstuff which is why the mites are really there- they aren't bloodsuckers like snake mites- they are scavengers but they need moisture and can clog up your roaches breathing holes and kill them which is where they like to gather for the humidity from the roaches. Maybe the flour is better for treatment than the calcium- the calcium treatment dried up some of the roaches too.

The couple of times I got mites in the hissers I was feeding a lot of melon rinds because we were eating a lot of melons out of the garden. Too much moisture attracts the mites.

 

[PrettyInInk87]

My hissers had mites a couple times over the past 10 years or so too. I just used plain calcium and dusted the hissers to kill the mites and moved the roaches into a clean container. The mites arrive if too much moisture is present- especially foodstuff which is why the mites are really there- they aren't bloodsuckers like snake mites- they are scavengers but they need moisture and can clog up your roaches breathing holes and kill them which is where they like to gather for the humidity from the roaches. Maybe the flour is better for treatment than the calcium- the calcium treatment dried up some of the roaches too.

The couple of times I got mites in the hissers I was feeding a lot of melon rinds because we were eating a lot of melons out of the garden. Too much moisture attracts the mites.

Ok, awesome. Thank you! I was just a little worried about suffocating them with the flour. I'm going to wait a bit to get rid of them since my female is gravid. I don't want the adults dying on me since I only have 2...