Turkistan Roaches? Anyone feeding these...?

[Klemins]

Hello all. I came across these at NY worms and am considering trying to get a colony going. For those of you that have bred/fed these, how did they turn out as feeders? I can't find much info in terms of nutritional value, so any help is appreciated. The non-flying and climbing factor helps, but if they're not nutritious I'll probably try Lobsters. Thanks for any help

 

[Vibrant Chameleons]

Blatta Lateralis (Turkistan) are very prolific and breed like crazy. Be careful, they are very fast little buggers.

 

[spatulars]

I heard on an earlier thread that turkistans can infest houses easily.

 

[darla]

Yes even though people say they can't climb I still found several that got out somehow. They are a great feeder though. They are pretty fast too. The good thing is they don't burrow so they stay in sight for a good long time. The thing that got me off of them was the smell. They do have a bit of a smell, but if you can tolerate it go for it. I couldn't handle the smell.
http://www.thebugpros.com/home.htm

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Darla, did you get your lateralis from the bugpros?
They feed them some cheap dog food or something there ... they really stink.
Once I got mine cleaned out they smelled a lot better... substrate helps with the smell too, I used topsoil.
For me these guys are on the proceed with caution list.
I sent them all to Wheelock. Great feeder though (my mantids last summer loved them)
And yes, they are super fast!

-Brad

 

[darla]

yes I got them from Bugpros, but I also got some from NYWorms. I think they were fine when I only had 100 but when it jumped into the 1000's whew, man alive! I do use some substrate but since they don't burrow I didn't use too much. I've had them a good long while and I don't use dog food so they should be over the smell by now. I also have a problem with the lobsters. I just have an over sensitive sniffer.