Roach Colony

[dmglakewood]

Okay I have my roaches, heating pad, water crystals, food etc etc. I have everything setup and it's a 90 degrees and 60% humidity. Thanks everyone for your online tutorials it helped a lot.

My only issue is there is no tutorial on how to handle these guys. I have no issue putting my hand in when the coast is clear. If a nymph grabs onto my finger though I freak out like a little girl and shake my hand really fast. It's really quite embarrassing to my ego. How do you recommend becoming one with the roaches? It took me a while to be comfortable with crickets. I have a thing about roaches though =/. I grew up in Florida and during the summer they are every where. I think that's where my fear comes from.

I'm trying to pick up the small ones but they don't seem to like that too much. If I see a large one though I wont even put my hand in there. Am I just over reacting because I'm not used to them? Did you have issues with them at first?

 

[Theroachguy]

if you dont like the way they feel on your hand you could get some laytex gloves this will take the feel the legs put off when they cling to you.

 

[dmglakewood]

if you dont like the way they feel on your hand you could get some laytex gloves this will take the feel the legs put off when they cling to you.

Hmm never thought of that. That's a good idea to start out. I was actually watching a few youtube videos online and people just reach in and play with them. It gave me a little more confidence to do it. I have no issues with the small ones, I just can't touch the adults yet.

Thanks again for the colony, you're the guy I purchased it off of. Just a tip you should make a tutorial on how to use the water crystals. It's not a huge deal, but I had no idea how to use them and I put like 30 of them in the tank and poured some water on them. I came back a few hours later and the water crystals were taking over the tub I have them in lol.

 

[moose9]

To get over your fear of the magnificent little creatures, you have to hit it straight on. I just reach in and grab a handful. Yeah, its going to freak you out, but you get use it or not. I have always been one with the bug, so that may be why they don't bother me. B. dubia do have quite a grip for there size. They brush off pretty easy though if you have to many getting friendly. If you still have trouble handling, you can use long tongs to reach in and grab the size you need. All kidding aside, hope you get over your fear of handling these bugs. Good luck...

 

[JeffSimpson]

There's really no reason that you need to grab any. Whenever it's time to feed / sort them, I simply grab one of the egg cartons and start shaking it in a rubbermaid bin. Then you just dump them into buckets w/ holes to sort.

Of course, if you are a guy you should be able to handle them. :twisted:

 

[dmglakewood]

Okay I sucked it up and just went in. I only let the smaller ones crawl on me for now and it really wasn't that big of a deal. I'm not up to the big guys yet but I'm making progress. Those things are super fast and hard to grab.

I do have a question though....every now and then I turn on the light in the room they are in and I check them out. They never seem to be eating of drinking. Do they do this in the middle of the night? Do they know the difference between day and night even though their room is always 100% dark?

 

[moose9]

Okay I sucked it up and just went in. I only let the smaller ones crawl on me for now and it really wasn't that big of a deal. I'm not up to the big guys yet but I'm making progress. Those things are super fast and hard to grab.

I do have a question though....every now and then I turn on the light in the room they are in and I check them out. They never seem to be eating of drinking. Do they do this in the middle of the night? Do they know the difference between day and night even though their room is always 100% dark?

Good job! As far as eating, how big of colony do you have? If its small, you may not notice for awhile. I have 1000s in each bin and I have to feed every 4 days. They go though a good 1/2 to a pound of food in that time. Same with the water gel. Mine eat and drink all through the day, lights on or off, doesn't seem to matter. And yes, they detect light.

Greg

 

[dmglakewood]

I have 250 roaches of all various sizes. I see them eating from time to time but it's always the smaller roaches. I haven't seen the big guys come out yet, unless of course they do it when I'm not checking on them.

 

[Theroachguy]

Okay I sucked it up and just went in. I only let the smaller ones crawl on me for now and it really wasn't that big of a deal. I'm not up to the big guys yet but I'm making progress. Those things are super fast and hard to grab.

I do have a question though....every now and then I turn on the light in the room they are in and I check them out. They never seem to be eating of drinking. Do they do this in the middle of the night? Do they know the difference between day and night even though their room is always 100% dark?

Good job! As far as eating, how big of colony do you have? If its small, you may not notice for awhile. I have 1000s in each bin and I have to feed every 4 days. They go though a good 1/2 to a pound of food in that time. Same with the water gel. Mine eat and drink all through the day, lights on or off, doesn't seem to matter. And yes, they detect light.

Greg

well said Greg is 100% on this one