Hissing Cockroaches...??? Help!!

[Jace]

I just got home and put some nice, fresh tasty orange in my Hissing Cockroach terriarium, and discovered my female, Desta, with an...unusual long white cylinder coming from her back end. Would anyone have a clue as to what it is? She is still alive and is not making a sound. I suspected that she might be pregnant, so could this be an egg case??

[John]

I'm not up on hissers I'm afraid but at a guess I'd say probably an egg case.

[Jace]

After finally getting a site to actually open, it is, alas, an egg case. A rather large one. She is just finishing (pardon the mental image on this) sucking it in. From what I can gather, I have a while before she gives birth to live young, though how many that will be has more range in numbers than I care to think about. Watching her was probably the grossiest, coolest, amazing sight I have seen in a while. Then again, I don't get out much. I'll try and post some pics.

[Jace]

Okay, here are some pics. The first one is what I came home to. The second one is her almost having finished bringing it inside to hatch in about two months.

[Kerry1968]

Ewwww, that is kinda gross! but fascinating! So they lay the egg case, then suck it back in? That's weird, is it incubated in a different part of the body than from where it's laid? Seems a pointless waste of energy otherwise!

[Jace]

Ewwww, that is kinda gross! but fascinating! So they lay the egg case, then suck it back in? That's weird, is it incubated in a different part of the body than from where it's laid? Seems a pointless waste of energy otherwise!

From what I can gather, the egg case is formed, dropped, fertilized by the male-I have two, but I have a feeling Akida is the soon to be proud father-and then the female sucks it back into her abdomen where it incubates for up to 2 months (shorter period if enclosure is kept warm) and then she gives birth to 20-50 (?) live young and expels the empty egg case. Most sites I've found tell you how to get them to breed, but not really about the egg case or what happens afterwards. I agree with you, though-gross but fascinating! I might be wrong about whether it is fertilized after or before it is dropped, but either way there is a bun (make that buns!) in the oven!!

[Kurt]

After looking at the photos I am convinced she ate a gummi worm whole and now its passing. I bet you guys will never ever eat gummi worms ever again. LOL

[Jace]

Okay, Kurt, it takes a lot to gross me out, but that came very close...especially since I ate a gummi worm earlier today!! But, good one! I, for one, have seen one too many horror movies, so I had numerous other visions dancing through my head. I'll take gummi worms over those images!!