Orange Head & Ivory Head Roaches.

Rankins · Oct 26, 2016

Ivory head adult and nymph. The nymphs are little bulldozers. Bulky things, they are deep maroon with yellow spots (not visible in picture)
[ximg]85426 8533251006[/ximg]
Orange head adult and nymph. Nymphs are a deep red...pretty roaches.
[ximg]85426 2307906403[/ximg]

Rankins · Oct 26, 2016

Next species will be Deaths Head (University of California type).
Then the dubias get ditched, they have less mass than the others, and they are ugly

Spunky · Oct 31, 2016

I'm going to be starting a dubia colony because I can get them [semi] locally. I am however very interested in the ivory roaches since I've seen you mention them on several posts. Is their care the same as dubia? Someone linked the south texas dragons page and I am planning on going based on that.

Rankins · Oct 31, 2016

All my roaches are cared for the exact same way. They all breed well, but the orange heads tend to breed quicker than the dubias and ivory heads.
I don't remember where I bought my orange heads from, but my ivory heads were obtained from Kyle at Roach Crossing.
Ordering through the mail works out fine. I did see that ABdragon has orange heads on sale right now. They want $50 for 1lb of roaches.
Heck, If I end up with large volumes of them I may offer them to the list.
But if your going to spend a lot of time raising roaches I would recommend spending that time raising a better species.

Spunky · Nov 1, 2016

Good to hear they are all easy. I think my husband would blow a gasket if i spend $50 on roaches right now, but it is very tempting. I mean, really, it will save money in the long run! How many roaches are in a pound do you think?

Rankins · Nov 2, 2016

Tens of thousands of little ones, or many thousand of bigger ones.
Which weighs more, a pound of roaches...or a pound of feathers?

The same...a pound is a pound

50 roaches are $20 at Roach Crossing.
Heck, if your anywhere near Oregon I'll give you a handful.

Spunky · Nov 2, 2016

ha. I get the physics of weight. I'm just not great at visualizing exactly how many are in a pound. I don't know if I would be able to handle 1000s! The little guy would be able to eat to his hearts content and a colony would be no problem, but how many tubs would I need to house them comfortably? I might have to think about this this week.

Rankins · Nov 3, 2016

The feather joke is always a fun one though

Orange heads tend to chew on each others wings a bit. But its only cosmetic and if you maximize hiding areas you could house large volumes together. You would have way more than you could ever use...but craigslist works for selling extras.
My roach bins are made out of a 150 quart coolers. They are heated and have fans to vent humidity. I just built my ivory head cooler bin yesterday and the colony is small yet. But the orange head colony has been up and running for over a year and the colony is huge now.

Spunky · Nov 7, 2016

I am one click away from ordering the orange roaches and BSFL. I told him how much was in a pound and he was worried about having that many roaches around. (I brought 40 dubia home yesterday and he does not seem all that bugged by them) I talked to him about being a tropical roach and nothing like the american roaches. He had to go let the plumbers in (basement reno) so we will hopefully end the convo with me ordering soon.

ETA: they are ordered! Now I am having my own little panic attack. What I am going to do with them all? lol

Rankins · Nov 7, 2016

Good job!!
You'll be happy with them, and a pound is plenty to get your colony established fairly quickly. Don't worry about having too many, you can house large volumes together. So even though a pound sounds like a lot...it doesn't require much room for much, much more. You'll be pleased with the orange heads and you made a wise choice. If your going to spend time cultivating a colony you want to have the best colony as possible. Spending a bunch of time growing dubias instead of orange heads is a bit of wasted time that is better spent on a better species. Your spouse may even think they are kind of pretty or interesting. I actually enjoy taking care of them.

Rankins · Nov 7, 2016

I'll try to post some pictures of some roach bins I made. It will give you an idea on how to house them. My orange heads and ivory heads are in heated 150 quart coolers. But you don't need anything that complex. A Rough Tote, with a wooded framed screen screwed to the lid, and some heat tape on a cheap thermostat will do the trick. It should cost less than $40 to build. The thermostat I use is only $18 on amazon.

Rankins · Nov 7, 2016

Can't post pictures again for some reason. I'll add the pictures to my 'Desert Design Venomous' Facebook page. Its not a business page...its just a page devoted to my reptiles.

Rankins · Nov 9, 2016

Forgot to mention where to buy the heat tape. Its $3 a foot from 'Reptile Basics'. Don't buy Flexwatt, it has to be cut in 1 foot lengths. The reptile basics heat tape can be cut anywhere. I have about 100' of it for all my reptiles.

Taffer · Jan 3, 2017

Rankins":2rge3hwk said:
Tens of thousands of little ones, or many thousand of bigger ones.
Which weighs more, a pound of roaches...or a pound of feathers?

The same...a pound is a pound

50 roaches are $20 at Roach Crossing.
Heck, if your anywhere near Oregon I'll give you a handful.

The real question is which falls faster in a perfect vacuum, a pound of roaches or a pound of feathers? :laughhard:

I'm assuming this 1 pound of roaches would be a lot more than 100 adults...were any of these breeding size, or did you just wait until they grew and started breeding? Also not certain...were you talking about a pound of Orange Head roaches, or Ivory head roaches?

Spunky...how is your colony going so far?

Rankins · Jan 3, 2017

Roaches fall slower if you put parachutes on them. But the ivory heads can fly short distances. Freaked me out a little because roachcrossing said they don't fly....

The 1lb of roaches were for the orange heads. The ad says they may have chewed on wings...so some must be adults. The chewed wings are not a big deal. They do that if they don't get enough moisture and protein.

A pound of ivory heads for $50 would be an awesome deal!! But saddly, they cost about $2 each.

Orange Head & Ivory Head Roaches.

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Spunky

Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Spunky

Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Spunky

Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Spunky

Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Taffer

Hatchling Member

Rankins

Gray-bearded Member

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

Forum statistics

Share this page