I have Hissers coming!!!!

[poison]

i don't know that, but would love to know more about these guys, all i know that guy i was talking about was saying that he is keeping dubia and hissers separately, same conditions and food, but he has a substrate (cocohusk) for hissers and keep them in a bit higher humidity in comparison to dubia. he's saying hissers are taking forever to mature, amount of babies produced is small and in his opinion hissers due to slow growth are not really suitable to be a staple feeder, but again this is not my experience. I would love to have more data on that. there are not much info on a web as well.
i would love to know how giant peppered roaches would fit into all this too.

poison you are saying yours take 6-12 month to mature, demon you say it is 3 months for you, would you guys share how exactly you keep yours, i wonder what is a difference since growth rate is so much different.

They use to be kept like any other roach colony. Eggcrates and no substrate but now I've changed the setup. I'm now using bio active substrate and bark. Ambient tyemps are in the high 80's. humidity around 60%-70% ansd they are feed a diet of fruits, veggies and greens only. http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/...ps519bbe5c.jpg

[Lija]

would you guys please summarize, i got confused here
- food -
- temps-
-humidity
no substrate, some bark, etc....? egg crates?
and you are saying they all are the same pretty much in nutritional value, keeping and breeding/time to maturity rate, did i get it right? size is basically teh only difference pretty much? then why there are a lot of contradicting info out there.

[demon amphibians]

would you guys please summarize, i got confused here
- food -
- temps-
-humidity
no substrate, some bark, etc....? egg crates?
and you are saying they all are the same pretty much in nutritional value, keeping and breeding/time to maturity rate, did i get it right? size is basically teh only difference pretty much? then why there are a lot of contradicting info out there.

Now to answer your questions Lija.
for hissers you want to follow the same feeding, temps, and husbandry as you would dubia. If you would like I will send you my detailed self made care sheet. the difference is hissers get twice the size as dubia and they can climb smooth surfaces which a thin layer of oil or vasiline will take care of that problem. And dubia males have wings that only allow them to flutter.
another difference is dubia can handle a wider range of humidity. I personnally have not proven this however this is word on the street per say, and i would follow it until further information has been provide with substantial facts.
Substrate can be used and you will have great success but you may also use no substrate for they create their own, its called frass. egg crates make much more surface spaces which is good if you have large numbers. If you have a few dozen branches and bark will suffice just fine. Temps, humidity, surface space, darkness and diet are the main factors for both species and they are the same.
The reason for all this conflicting information is just as Jeff said. Roaches can thrive in a various environements and will eat almost anything. some enviornments are better than others. Just as foods. For example i fed my dubia a staple on dog biscuits and dog food and mangaged to raise my population up to 40,000 strong. But when i started feeding them nothing but plant matter their death count suggnificantly decreased and breeding increased by more then 400 percent. look up my thread in the feeder section for more detail.
Roaches have been one of the most successful species on earth for good reasons.

[poison]

And dubia males have wings that only allow them to flutter.

Not trying to bash everything you say but I have actually witnessed a dubia roach fly very well. It flew just like a moth from a 3ft cage. Never seen them take flight from ground level though. It also seems like it has never been proven that they cant fly, they just don't do it.

[demon amphibians]

Not trying to bash everything you say but I have actually witnessed a dubia roach fly very well. It flew just like a moth from a 3ft cage. Never seen them take flight from ground level though. It also seems like it has never been proven that they cant fly, they just don't do it.

That is very interesting. i have never witnessed a dubia roach take flight and i have 60,000+ But they do flutter with style when i throw them at my friends lol. I consider flight when they can actually control their take off and destination. such as using flight to escape. You will never see a dubia take off from the ground and travel upward more than 4". If you can capture it on video i wanna see it for the soul reason that i have never seen it before.

[demon amphibians]

They use to be kept like any other roach colony. Eggcrates and no substrate but now I've changed the setup. I'm now using bio active substrate and bark. Ambient tyemps are in the high 80's. humidity around 60%-70% ansd they are feed a diet of fruits, veggies and greens only. http://i1261.photobucket.com/albums/...ps519bbe5c.jpg

I think you have a good set up poison. i mean a natural substrate is something you cant go wrong with. And the diet of veggies and fruits you cant beat. your humidity levels are also pretty much ideal. keep us updated on your progress. when i do my research i will take your input every much into account.

[poison]

I think you have a good set up poison. i mean a natural substrate is something you cant go wrong with. And the diet of veggies and fruits you cant beat. your humidity levels are also pretty much ideal. keep us updated on your progress. when i do my research i will take your input every much into account.

Thank you very much Though keep in mind I have only been working with hissers for about a year or so.

[demon amphibians]

Thank you very much Though keep in mind I have only been working with hissers for about a year or so.

you can learn a lot about a species in a year if you pay close enough attention and put in the effort. I have had dubia's for less then two years. But i have learned a great deal about them. I didnt need a microscope to find the secrets to their madness lol.

[demon amphibians]

I aplogize if we derailed this thread... both species are excellent food items for pacmans if they are appropriately sized.