Ok guys I just got back from the Reptile store with some Blatta lateralis, or red racers. Anyway I bought a couple hundred of them and was wondering how many I really need to start a colony? I noticed the lady threw in some Adult males (im assuming they are males, they do have wings lol) I have maby 4 of them. I feel like running up to the pet store and getting some roach food and water crystals. How many should I not feed my beardie to start a colony? what else do I need? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! I can post pics if needed. Thank you!
If I were you I wouldn't feed off any of them. Remember the more roaches you start with, the faster you'll have a big colony. Your'e setup can consist of a dark tub, a jar lid of water crystals, a bowl of food(cereal, dog food, cichlid pellets, basically anything high in protien) and some egg crates. You will need to also provide a heat source(I personally use an undertank heater) and some egg crates for them to hide in.
As far as humidity requirements, they lay egg cases and these need to stay hydrated. You can treat them like any other roach for humidity because they will instinctively lay drop the egg cases near the water gels where the local humidity stays higher.
And yes, the golden winged ones are males. The big black ones are female.
BTW: These are the fastest breeding feeder roach there is. You won't have to wait long.