The Turks are here!!

[palomino]

I just got my first shipment of Turkistan roaches. They are teeny tiny and so far really cute. I got 1,000 extra smalls and they are just that...extra small. I have them in a sterillite container with a screen top that is duct tape really well and they are sitting on top of a heating pad w/no auto shut off. I am a bit worried about melting the plastic but common sense tells me that if it doesn't burn human skin it won't melt plastic. I am also paranoid about having it plugged in all day.

I'd say over 95% of the roaches were alive if not more when they came in. Luckily someone was home to pick them up when the mail came so they didn't have to sit out in the cold Ohio weather. So far they seem really inactive. Could it be bc I just put them in their home or are they afraid of the light? I have them in my computer room which it lit up rarely during the day. I hope they are ok.

Anyone know what I can feed them? Right now I have them on Flukers cricket feed that I give my crix, left over fish food (betta fish food flakes, blood worms, and shrimp pellets). Can I give them cat/dog food whole? I also plan on throwing some of my bd's collard greens in there as well. Any advice would be much appreciated regarding these guys.

 

[brunoboy]

Congrats.!

You can give your roaches ground up dry dog or cat food. Mine seem to prefer the cat food and I've heard dry dog food can contain pesticides. Also offer sliced banana, if you have one. Apples, orange slices, squash, greens,-----etc. Oats, corn meal, dry cereal, bread, crackers..... Just make sure to keep a careful eye on fruits and veggies----remove if they show signs of mold----mold can kill your colony.

Keep an eye on your heating pad---it shouldn't get hot enough to melt the plastic-------you can buy a heat probe---that will keep the heating pad at a certain temp and then shut it off to keep the temp. steady. You can also buy heat tape---this is the best, I think. The duct tape around the top of their enclosure sounds tricky.

goodluck

 

[patrickb]

I wouldn't worry about the plastic being melted by a heat pad, just ain't gonna happen. The fire risk is potentially there, but it is the same as with having a light bulb on basically. Just don't set it on any low compustible surface like paper or something and you should be fine.

For food, they eat a lot of the same things you and your beardie eat. Just try different things and see what they like the most. Dry dog/cat food is a good staple source. Oats and Baby Rice cereal are popular with mine. Fresh fruits and veggies are always welcomed. Oranges, pumpkin (when halloween is near) and butternut squash stands little chance. Celery and carrots are a hit too. Like I said, just try different things and you will find what they prefer in the long run. They would do just fine on dog food alone, but keeping them fed well so they provide that same nutrition to your beardie is something to consider.

They are afraid of the light and will run and hide. If you want to observe them, a dark room with a very faint light source and a clear bin is a good way.

 

[palomino]

Thanks guys for your advice. I put some Cheerios in there last night and an orange and they went nuts. They are just so small,
it's going to take them forever to grow. I have been checking for climbers and so far they can only make it about an inch on the side of the tub. I can't wait for them to get big as I am sick of these crix.

 

[patrickb]

Well, welcome to the world of roaches!

Bit of advice, keep your temps on the high side, upper 90s to around 105. This will get them growing FAST FAST. It will shorten their total life span by a few months, but your goal at this point is growth and production. Once they get to a better colony size, you can reduce the temps as they are going to breed faster than you can feed them. If you haven't seen any climbing yet, then the surface of the tub is smooth enough. If you ever do see them scaling the walls, some clear packing tape (1.5" wide) around the inside top will stop that.

 

[palomino]

Well, welcome to the world of roaches!

Bit of advice, keep your temps on the high side, upper 90s to around 105. This will get them growing FAST FAST. It will shorten their total life span by a few months, but your goal at this point is growth and production. Once they get to a better colony size, you can reduce the temps as they are going to breed faster than you can feed them. If you haven't seen any climbing yet, then the surface of the tub is smooth enough. If you ever do see them scaling the walls, some clear packing tape (1.5" wide) around the inside top will stop that.

Thanks Patrick! I have some growth over the last couple of days. They are taking shape. The like the oranges I put in there. I am going to try some more cereal today. I noticed that there are pieces of food in the egg cartons and I read somewhere that they will take pieces of food to "their homes" and eat it there. They are definitely starting to show off their speed and their color is starting to show too.

 

[fresnowitte]

Your roaches need a diet high in protein and hydration along with the higher temps like Patrick mentioned an your colony will thrive. If at anytime you find you'd like to slow the reproduction and growth down lower your temps.

If you'd like to observe them I find it best to do at night when feeding them. :wink:

 

[palomino]

Thanks Barbara! Those suckers are already starting to grow! They were barely bigger than fruit flies and now they are a bit bigger. I got the 1/8" b/c that's all that Bug Pros had and it appears that there is a run on Turks as I have found most places are sold out.

Does anyone know if you can tell the sex this young? I have ones that are definitely red (female looking) and blonde ones (male looking- no wings yet). I am thinking about getting some adults as I am impatient.

 

[fresnowitte]

I remember when I first got mine I thought I'd gotten riped off. I didn't see any males so I bought a few from the pet store only to find within about a month that I had more males than I wanted or needed. I'm not sure at what size you can actually tell the males from the females. Sorry!
Clear or Patrickb might be able to answer that question better.

If you keep your temps high (high 80's to 90's+) they will grow faster.
Also the higher the protein diet you give them the better too.

I have noticed that a lot of the places that sell Turks are selling or sold out. I think that many people have begun to realize that they are a much cheaper roach to start. They are higher in moisture and protein than dubias and they are lower in fat. This was why I chose Turks. I really don't care what they look like my beardies have me feeding them many ugly feeders, after-all they have me touching maggots(PW). :lol:

 

[BestRoach]

Turks mature quickly....expect adult breeding roaches in just a few months. Turks like lots of protein, so don't skimp out. High quality cat food is usually a good choice, with the occasional fruit or vegg tossed in the bin. Turks can climb plastic when older, so I suggest investing in some vasoline or other barrier before they get out on you. That said, clear sterilite totes (what I think you are using), do a good job at keeping turks from wondering too far. Turks have an amazing breeding rate, and in no time expect to have thousands.

I would not feed any off until one month after you discover egg cases. That way, the next generation has time to develop and hatch. Expect the next generation to be around 10k roaches strong..give or take a few thousand depending on the male to femal ratio.
Turks are a great feeder roach.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[fresnowitte]

Thanks BestRoach for the post. I'm very glad to know I did something right. Meaning that I use tall 30gal tanks with no silicone to house my turks in. I'm so glad I didn't go with plastic as I have had no escapees thus far(Knocks on Wood) an I have had them sense March of last year. I've noticed babies will try to climb the corners but as long as there is no silicone they don't make it far before falling. I think keeping the inside of the glass on the tanks/enclosure was of help too. Knowing that the adults can climb the plastic I will continue to heavily suggest that anyone starting a turk colony uses a tall glass tank. :wink:

 

[patrickb]

I think the plastic involved is the big key. Those colored totes usually have enough texture for the Turks to climb on. The clear sterilites mentioned above are what I have used and the roaches definitely can't climb them. If the inside of the totes get dirty or dusty, that may change things.

If you are ultra paranoid, skip the vaseline and use that clear 1.5" wide packing tape you can find at most general stores in the office supplies section. The turks can't climb this either. As a matter of fact, one aquarium I have has silicone in the corners, and I just use a little of that tape at the top of the corners to keep the Turks from escaping. They can climb up the silicone but not the tape.

As far as sexing the young viewtopic.php?f=18&t=78729&p=614051&hilit=sexing+roaches#p614044 would work but it is a bit of a pain to do with fast moving Turks. Visually, I have never noticed a difference in the nymphs. They will vary in color individually, but not necessarily because of their sex. Then again, I never really observed them that closely to notice any very subtle differences with an overhead view. I remember a post a little while back about someone showing a method where you could sex Dubias based on the shape and protrusion of one of their upper segments. I still haven't gotten around to trying that. Something similar may work for Turks, but in all honesty, Turks breed so fast that you won't have to worry about how many males/females you have.

 

[fresnowitte]

Hey Patrick I checked out that link thanks. I think you might be right turks might beable to be sexed in a very similar way. I too don't really observe them that closely. But after reading your post I decided to check it out.
I placed several roaches into a tall plastic container with one adult male and one adult female. An it does appear that the male has a much slimmer back half to them. The butt area doesn't seem to be as dark on some of the nimphs these are the narrow ones.(I'm thinking male) Where some appear to be darker and wider in the butt area.(I'm thinking female)

Oh and thanks for the info on the tape I never would have thought of that.

So now I have a question and more observing to do because I'd like to know at what size does the males wings actually appear? Mmmmm? Not that it makes any difference just think it might be interesting to know.

 

[patrickb]

Hey Patrick I checked out that link thanks. I think you might be right turks might beable to be sexed in a very similar way. I too don't really observe them that closely. But after reading your post I decided to check it out.
I placed several roaches into a tall plastic container with one adult male and one adult female. An it does appear that the male has a much slimmer back half to them. The butt area doesn't seem to be as dark on some of the nimphs these are the narrow ones.(I'm thinking male) Where some appear to be darker and wider in the butt area.(I'm thinking female)

Oh and thanks for the info on the tape I never would have thought of that.

So now I have a question and more observing to do because I'd like to know at what size does the males wings actually appear? Mmmmm? Not that it makes any difference just think it might be interesting to know.

The tape works very well. I love that stuff! Now if it would just work with climbing species that would be perfect.

Everytime I turn around, I learn new stuff about roaches and get more fascinated with them. I suspect I am going to have to join Roachaholics Anonymous in the near future too.

That sexing technique should work for most species of roaches overall. There are some exceptions to that I believe, but it is universal for the most part. The more discreet methods like body shape etc are a bit more tricky and I am not so certain they do work. Size and shape in a roach varies a lot in each individual just as the coloration does. This makes glancing at them tough to do (and also it is impossible to even identify the species of certain groups visually) I still need to try out that Dubia sexing method based on the upper segment sometime when I have them out to "play" with, but its on my list. I believe the wings do not appear until the terminal molt, which would be when they mature. They are hidden underneath the exoskeleton and probably don't develop until the instar right before maturify. That's just my thoughts, but if you think about it, when was the last time you saw a roach with partial wings that wasn't mature. They are either stubs (mature female) or full wings (mature male). I am not ruling out that there is a faster way to sex them as nymphs, but it would be species specific and considering that it can be hard to identify even what species a roach is at it's nymphal stages, I think sexing would be even more difficult like that. Just my two cents worth and inflation isn't helping me.

 

[palomino]

Man I can't believe how fast these guys are growing. I have to crunch up some more cat food for them as they seemed to like that and the cereal I mashed up for them (I don't have a grinder )