Unknown roaches

[goblinsly]

Hey everyone,

Today i got 15 free roaches from a very nice guy. He said they are Blaptica Dubia, but now that i got them, i realise they are about 2 times as wide as my blaptica dubia and longer. They look different also. I will post a picture, soo you can help me solve the mistery.

 

[patrickb]

Those definitely aren't Dubia! hehe
They are in the Blaberus genus. Most likely B. Fusca, but could possibly be a B. Craniifer hybrid. From your description and photos, they seem most likely to be B. Fusca, but this genus is very difficult to identify by visual means along with a confusing taxonomy, so it is hard to tell.

 

[goblinsly]

Are they still good for my beardo ? Because if they are, and they move, they are meal.
I am gonna wait for more replies, then go online to check what housing they need.

 

[goblinsly]

This roaches are absolutely amazing, i cant wait to show them to my gf. Dubias look small, cute and funny compared to those big guys. And unlike dubias, they dont care if i see them and if there is light, they dont hide.

Right now none of my beardos are even closely big enough to eat one of those. Soo no hurry, i put them into a seperate box, enclosure basicly same as the ones i keep dubias in. Soo i will wait for them to mate etc. I see 5 egg bags also, but none of roaches are carrying them, i just found them on the ground. Does that mean they are dead ? Because for dubias, i know they have to carry them around until they are born. Again, awesome roaches.

 

[patrickb]

Well, if they are laying the oothecae (egg bags) on the ground, then they are most likely B. Fusca indeed. Very very impressive roach and a huge congrats to you on your new acquisition. I am planning on starting up a colony of them this spring or summer as they seem really interesting and I really want them in my collection for a display roach. Who'd of thought I actually wanted to display roaches?!?!?! :lol:

Keep them setup about the same as Dubia, but maybe a bit more humid if you can. This will help the hatching rates of the oothecae laid on the ground. Some of them will not hatch and some will get eaten. Don't worry too much about this, it is quite natural and plenty of them will still hatch so your new colony will grow in size. Do not try and seperate the oothecae out into a special container, as more often than not you will damage them when handling them and they won't hatch. I have tried that approach with a couple of species and had worse hatch rates than when I just left them where they were laid. It will probably take between 1-2 months before the oothecae hatch after they are laid, so don't expect babies next week.

That species breeds a bit slower than Dubia, and I would imagine with their size, take a month or two more to mature, but that is speculation on my part there. And if I remember correctly, they are a bit more picky about the food they eat compared to Dubia, so you may have to experiment with different food sources to find something they like.

Again, a big congrats on your new gems. They are very impressive in size and coloration both! Hope your GF likes them as much as you do! heh

 

[goblinsly]

I checked their enclosure few mins ago and i saw 2 of them mating. That is if they are doing it the same way as dubias, turned against eachother with their behinds. They are still doing it, soo seems like i will have a few babies.

 

[vickson420]

Topic moved to Feeders

 

[LittleRob]

Your friend have anymore to give out? :mrgreen:

 

[Trogdor80]

They are either deatshead or false deathshead. Either way perfectly edible

 

[gregorydragon]

One thing on these big guys. I will double check and edit this post, but I believe these guys can be very agressive to each other if conditions are not just right. The humidity needs to stay higher and you have to be sure that they do not run out of food or water.

*EDIT*
Never mind! I was thinking of Posticus. Fusca should be fine. sorry...

 

[Ryan Maguire]

These are Blaberus Fusca, I have 60 of them (starting a breeding program soon).

I'd say they are too big for a Bearded Dragon. These are 2x the size of my Bearded Dragons head and he is a big adult. I don't even know how well my Pixie Frog will handle them and he takes down quail/rats. :shock:

Did he only give you males? I don't see any females in the picture. I hope he threw in atleast 1 female.. :x

 

[patrickb]

Did he only give you males? I don't see any females in the picture. I hope he threw in atleast 1 female.. :x

Yes, he has ooths being laid, so he has some females. B. Fusca aren't sexually dimorphic to the degree something like Dubia or Turks are, so it's hard to distinguish the males from the females in the photos. I do agree, a mature one is going to be way too big for any beardie. Would be good for monitors. Otherwise the nymphs should make fine feeders too.

 

[fresnowitte]

Here's a little heads up on sexing them. :wink:

Sexing:
Females are much larger than the male, the males are typically slender.
The males wings are longer than the body, the female’s wings are shorter.

Very interesting looking roach they are.