Turkistan Roaches (Info and Colony pics)

[Carnivorouszoo]

ok first try to reply seems to have not gone through, basically I said that my turks and dubia don't seem to care about being in clear bins cause they're breeding really well *shrug*

 

[jewl495]

I have wondered about adding them as a feeder but I'm worried about infestation! I haven't read of anyone being infested that has a colony but did read that it was a real possibility. Kratos won't chase them down so that make me to worry about escapees as well.

So you guys will have to keep me informed on how all this goes.

 

[Carnivorouszoo]

I live in MO and most the time we have pretty good humidity (not like FL but still) I had some escape Mojo's cage but they die within 2 days. Egg sacks(from turks) left outsidethe bin's microclimate wither and die within 4 days. Risk of infestation in MOST areas is zero.

 

[jewl495]

Good to know! I may have to give it a try!

 

[Erimis]

My escapees have lived for quite awhile in my house (CO). They even live stuck to the double sided tape I have around my kitchen. They keep popping out of drains- bathtub, sink. No idea how they got into drains or how they can live in there.
Hubby found a dubia nymph on his pants that he pulled out of his closet. He was upset! I was like its just a dubia! :roll:
Still no dubia breeding, ordered more Turks. Bad idea right before Christmas- they are MIA!! Even with tracking they can't tell me where they are. Ugh

 

[Caltrat3]

Erimis did your laterlais ever show up?


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I've had lateralis now for awhile. they're still my staple feeder while I'm waiting on the dubia colony to produce for me, they breed like crazy and I do NOT take care of them like I should (shame on me), they're definitely extremely fast little buggers, I plop a few in the tank for Jiggy to try to catch (sometimes he gets a few) when he tires out I feed the rest out of a small clear tupper-ware (like for leftovers) countainer. then I remove them promptly when Jig's stops eating. not too many escape that way but even if 1-2 manage to get out of the bowl I can snatch them up rather easily and put them back.

I did have an issue where they chewed through the screen on the side of their bin (long story. it was a cricket bin with the fabric screen and not the alluminum (my bad), so I had some escapes but they died within 1-2 days of escaping and I lived in LA (the state) at that time, so it was warm and humid.

they CAN climb some plastic bins, I fixed this issue by putting a strip of clear packing tape around the length of the bin at the top. (this is just good practice for roaches anyways)

overall I think they're a pretty good alternative to dubia, they definitely have their pro's and con's but it's a really cheap investment, even if you only use them while you're waiting on your dubia to get going and then give them away/sell them off/ or make them stop breeding (I honestly have no idea how you would acomplish this, they're such prolific breeders).


semi-side-note, I have never had success with vaseline stopping these guys like I've heard its popular to do...