Help with breeding roaches?

[DC101]

Hello everyone!

Im getting some Green Tree Frogs and i was going to breed crickets but im not going to breed roaches!

So, i how do you breed these guys?

I have a few questions:

Approx, how long do they live for?
At what age do they start to lay eggs?
How long does it take for the eggs to hatch?
Do i need to separate ages and sizes?
When would i need to change the water and food?

Thanks guys! You really help!

[arielgasca420]

why not breed roaches? I am starting my own colony of roaches and superworms pretty soon. I tried crickets but they are so annoying when they escape.

[arielgasca420]

Crickets breed really fast. I did it for about a year and i stumbled upon breeding by accident so my information is based off of experience. I would say they live for about a few months tops from pinhead to adult. Once they are adult size is when they start breeding. The chirping is the sign of mating. The eggs usually take 2-3 weeks to hatch. I would seperate the sizes because if you have too many then they will start to eat eachother. The adults can also eat their eggs if overcrowded or hungry. Check food and water daily. Mold will kill them so it is best to change any fruits and vegetables that are not eaten in 48 hours. Use water crystals for the water so the babies do not drown. make sure there is substrate for them to lay their eggs. I used coco fiber susbtrate in a tupperware.

[DC101]

umm...arielgasca420, i don't think you read the question properly.

I am asking how to breed roaches

[arielgasca420]

umm...DC101, I think you need to reread your post.
Im getting some Green Tree Frogs and i was going to breed crickets but im not going to breed roaches!

So, i how do you breed these guys?

[Beardo]

I am also confused by what you're asking.....

Im getting some Green Tree Frogs and i was going to breed crickets but im NOT going to breed roaches!

[arielgasca420]

so if you are, in fact, breeding roaches and not crickets than you need to make sure you have all your proper materials.
through reading on the internet, which is my suggestion to you as well, the females can live up to a year and lay 20-30 eggs per month.
they start laying age once they reach adulthood. I believe once males get their wings and females are large, etc.
I hear the eggs take a month to hatch but it really depends on temp
I would seperate the nymphs only because the males can get very cannabalistic if there are too many males and not enough females.
Change the dry food every few days, change the water whenever the crystals dry out. check daily for mold. remove any fruit or veggies after 48 hours.
you do not need substrate because roaches give live birth to nymphs.
make sure males to females is roughly 1:5

[Beardo]

Another important factor:

What species of roach?

[arielgasca420]

hopes this helps. I am starting my colony this week. I ordered 100 various sizes to get started. some suggest 250 for a large colony. I bought mine on amazon with two day shipping. expect your colony to be ready in 2-3 months at the least.
Materials:
water crystals
high gloss 18 gallon rubbermaid
window mesh
duct tape
egg flats, carboard tubes, egg cartons etc. the more surface area the better
high protein dog food, rolled oats, wheat bran, kale, carrots, apples, etc.
Try not to gut load them too much. Give the fruit and veggies as a weekly treat. the more you gutload the more humidity it will create and possibility for mold.
good luck! Ill keep updates on how my colony is going

[arielgasca420]

Another important factor:

What species of roach?

Hopefully dubia.
Any suggestions on types of roaches?

[Beardo]

I guess it depends on what you're feeding them to.....I have always preferred Lobster Roaches for most of my animals (tarantulas & tree frogs specifically).......larger frogs such as Pacman & Pixies would probably be better off with dubia though.

[Branman]

Dubia would be better to breed. They are more commonly found, and you can sometimes find better deals on dubias. Here is a link that you can read if you wanna learn about Dubia roaches.
Blaptica dubia Roach Keeping, Breeding, and Feeding - Chameleon Forums

[JeffreH]

What are you trying to feed and what do you want in a roach?

There are literally dozens of options when it comes to breeding roaches, all species are similar but have their own pros and cons and minor deviations as far as how prolific they are, their behavior, and their care.

Some roaches give live birth, some roaches lay eggs.
Some roaches are very prolific breeders, some are on the slower side.
Some roaches are small, some are large.
Some are fast, some are slow.
Some burrow, others don't.
Some climb glass, some cannot.


Cricket replacements: small, fast, prolific

Shelfordella (Blatta) lateralis - Turkistan roach AKA Red Runner/Rusty Reds will reproduce prolifically, stay small, attain adult size more rapidly, but lay egg cases. Do not climb.
Nauphoeta cinerea - Lobster Roaches are similar, but give live birth and can climb glass and smooth surfaces. This can be problematic for many keepers.

Both of these species tend to be on the smellier side due to their more rapid metabolisms. They are still far better than crickets in terms of smell, but a bin of 1000 lobsters isn't going to smell as nice as a bin of 1000 dubia.

Other common feeders roaches:
Blaptica dubia
Eublaberus posticus - Orange Head Roach
Most any of the Blaberus genus (discoidalis, hybrids, craniifer, fusca)
Gromphadorhina portentosa -Madagascar Hissing Roach for larger species. Also climb glass but give live birth.

Look into some of these or feel free to narrow down the list with what you are looking for in a feeder, then we can specifically address the information you are asking for per species. Each species has their own individually tailored needs and will grow and reproduce at different rates and in different ways. You rarely see separation of adults from nymphs in feeder colonies; only certain species are more readily cannibalistic and proper care generally prevents any real colony loss. You should be able to just let the colony go for months only tending to food and hydration needs and they will take care of the rest once set up and the result will be a bin full of a variety of sizes of roach. = )

[DC101]

Hey guys!
Sorry for the spelling mistake. I do want to breed roaches.

So, here are some things i would like in a roach.
Live birth,
Fast breeders,
Descent sized. (im getting Green tree frogs)
Relatively slow,
Non burrowers
doesn't matter about climbing but i would prefer if they didn't.

Thanks guys, hopefully this could narrow it down a bit.

Im getting some roaches this weekend and the frogs in 2-3 weeks so i really need to get going!

[Heatheranne]

Dubious work well, are easy to care for, breed at a decent rate, and have minimal to nearly no odor. I have a very simple set-up and mine do great. The 'babies' are small at approx 1/4" and the adults are large at approx 1 to 1 1/2", with varying sizes in between once you have a good colony going. Easy to feed too. If you keep their temp around 90'F they'll breed for you. My males do not eat the smaller ones. I feed mine flukers cricket water gel and Flukers powdered gut-load food, oranges (they love the oranges), apples, carrots, multigrain cheerios, and occasional potatoes. Never feed tomatoes because tomatoes are poisonous to frogs.

Simple set-up, too. Tank, 75watt inflated heat bulb on a dimmer to one side of the tank, water plate, food plate, and egg flat stood upright at the non-food end to keep the feces away from the roaches and from their food. I clean the feces out once a month or so. My buddy has a screen bottom so the feces drop right through to another outer bin. Great idea.

[J Teezy]

youtube is a great place to see how to do this, how to do that

breeding dubia roaches - YouTube

[Heatheranne]

Oops, phone corrected word, lol...that should say dubias....
Oh, and occasionally I sprinkle fish food flakes on their food too, and cat food.

[DC101]

Thanks guys!
Around how long does it take for a colony to start breeding?

[Heatheranne]

Not long at all of you have adults and the right temp. Mine had babies already in the container when I got them and haven't stopped breeding since.

[DC101]

Congratz heather!
Im going around tomorrow to see what pet shops have some.

How much do you think i should start with?

The only problem is that in AUS, we aren't really much places that sell them. Most of us are not into reptiles that much.
But i am