Roaches, Roaches, Roaches!!

janjan20

Chameleon Enthusiast
My red runner eggs are starting to hatch! My goal is to have them as a main staple feeder vs crickets. Does anyone feed mainly roaches vs crickets? And what is your experience with keeping the colony under control? I don’t want an infestation lol. Thanks in advance!
 
I only feed roaches and have like 20 species, but no red runners. Didn't want to risk an infestation since they lay ootheca in damp places and Pittsburgh basements would make the perfect spot for that. Once I have a separate bug shed I'm going to pick some up though.
Cool, so far no escapees! I count them and watch him eat them lol! He prefers them over crickets and man crickets can get stinky as you know. I live in Florida so I can’t have Dubia shipped but I think discoid are ok. Thanks!
 
I once accidentally let the end of the curtains dangle into the red runner bin. Don't do that.
It was winter in California and we found most of them dead on the floor the next day. So far no infestation but lost a lot of a new breeding colony.
Edit: That we know of.
Yikes! As far as I know they need to have warmer weather and it’s getting pretty warm here in Florida. I have a decent set up outside for the small amount I have and they hid all the time. Thankfully they don’t fly like palmetto bugs :oops:
 
Roaches are great cricket replacements. Glad they're working for you. Down in florida some other ones I'm familiar with that you can use are discoid, deaths head, green bananas, and I think surinams
I had an extreme phobia when I first moved here, it’s the flying ones I don’t like. Educating myself and knowing they are more nutritious had helped me get past my fear. From what I understand green bananas fly? I might have to mark them off my list lol
 
The best part of the story is it wan't at my house. Believe it or not they let me come back after that.:wideyed:
They haven't been very prolific breeders but they are very good at getting any other roaches in the feeder moving. One to two can get a bunch of Dubia eaten.
Yikes!! Lol you got lucky :LOL::LOL: Yes they are fast and active...maybe too fast lol. Takes me a while to snatch them with the tongs. I may have to start extracting them with gloves.
 
My red runner eggs are starting to hatch! My goal is to have them as a main staple feeder vs crickets. Does anyone feed mainly roaches vs crickets? And what is your experience with keeping the colony under control? I don’t want an infestation lol. Thanks in advance!
I smear Vaseline along tops of my red runner container just to prevent any escapes even though it’s covered. Also liquid silicone works. But yes I think they’d make a good staple But good luck keeping them under control haha. If you only have one reptile look for friends to give them to cuz once they start breeding they go crazy. Their the fastest breeding feeder bug out there if I’m not mistaken. If you try to control it you may end up killing all of them but all I could say is maybe try keeping temps under 80 but no lower than 75. They like moist warm air so that may help although I don’t know how much.
 
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My red runner eggs are starting to hatch! My goal is to have them as a main staple feeder vs crickets. Does anyone feed mainly roaches vs crickets? And what is your experience with keeping the colony under control? I don’t want an infestation lol. Thanks in advance!
Only thing else I’d suggest is digging out the egg sacks and getting rid of them far away from your house. Short of that your gonna have thousands in no time.
 
They do, but I've only ever seen the giant green bananas readily fly. The regulars prefer to run around ime

I can second that. I thought I killed my regular green bananas but theyre just burrowed or hiding (a few did die tho).

My giant green banana bin is a whole other thing. The adults are constantly moving, climbing and fluttering around the cage. Definitely more active!!
 
I smear Vaseline along tops of my red runner container just to prevent any escapes even though it’s covered. Also liquid silicone works. But yes I think they’d make a good staple But good luck keeping them under control haha. If you only have one reptile look for friends to give them to cuz once they start breeding they go crazy. Their the fastest breeding feeder bug out there if I’m not mistaken. If you try to control it you may end up killing all of them but all I could say is maybe try keeping temps under 80 but no lower than 75. They like moist warm air so that may help although I don’t know how much.
Oh ok good to know...I only have one Cham at the moment. I will start feeding off the large egg layers and males.
 
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