Because bugs aren't just for breakfast anymore...
Cockroaches
Archmandrita tesselata
Archmandrita tesselata is also known as the 'giant peppered cockroach'. Though it only grows to just shy of three inches, this is one of the more massive cockroaches by weight. It is a very long lived species, sometimes living over two years, but young are quite slow to mature. This species retains the ootheca (egg case) internally, expelling it complete with live young capable of living independently. Medium speed breeder.
Blaptica dubia
Odd the element 'dubia' in the name of this cockroach, which means 'question' or 'questionable'. This medium sized species lays its ootheca. Males have wings and can fly, whereas females do not. Fast breeder.
Blaberus giganteus
These are true Blaberus giganteus, much different than the Blaberus discoidales depicted at the bottom of this page. True giganteus are much larger and reproduce more slowly than their smaller cousins. They are also typically much more expensive. Unfortunately many suppliers are, inadvertently or otherwise, selling the discos as true giganteus. Because they are typically asking a price appropriate to discos, we believe that there is simply confusion as few have seen true giganteus. A good rule of thumb is that if the adults are smaller than 3 inches, you are looking at discos. If the adults are larger than 3 inches, you are looking at giganteus, which may approach 5 inches. This totally ignores several other inherent differences, including the relative serenity and the pallid transparency apparent in the wings of the giganteus. Differences are even more apparent in the nymphs. This species does not climb glass. Medium speed breeder.
Blaberus Discoidales
These roaches are also large typically reaching a length of two plus inches. The nymphs could be said to resemble trilobytes. Ours seem most happy in a setup similar to the Hissers, though a bit less damp and with more leaf litter. Whenever we add fresh leaves to the enclosure, there is a frenzy of activity. Each male roach bobs and jousts for the highest point atop the log shown above. Breeding follows. These also thrive on leaves, dry cat food, and calcium powder. This species does not climb glass. Fast breeder.
This is the Orange Head cockroach, Eublaberus prosticus. We first bought these as unidentified nymphs simply because the nymphs were so striking. These do not appear to climb glass and make good captives. Fast breeder.
This is the Lobster cockroach, Nauphoeta cinerea. Under proper conditions this species multiplies very quickly. It is also readily accepted by more animals than some of the other roaches, making it an ideal feeder. They top out at one to one and a half inches. This species does climb glass but is easily contained by a barrier of Vaseline or Singer sewing machine oil applied in a band around the top inch of the container. Our critters really cannot get enough of these. Very fast breeder.
Here is an example of the true Death's Head cockroach (Blaberus discoidales need not apply). If you click on the picture you will see an enlarged view from which the 'Death's Head', located on the upper back, will be easily discernible. As you can see in the picture, these typically have dark to black wings as opposed to the translucent beige of the discoidales. The Death's Head is also considerably larger. Otherwise, cultivation is the same. Medium speed breeder.
Madagascan Giant Hissing Cockroaches Gromphadorhina portentosa
These could well be the most popular species, being commonly kept as pets and raised as feeders for other animals. They often reach three inches in length. Males are distinguished by hornlike structures by which they push other males around when competing for territory or choice females. They typically sound a screeching hiss when disturbed. This species is also wingless, and prefers to live in groups. One visitor to Madagascar reported seeing groups beneath rocks and living in agaves. We recommend keeping this species on damp soil and leaf litter at 80-95 degrees and high humidity. The higher temperatures greatly increase reproductive rates and the humidity appears to help with molting. We feed ours primarily leaf litter, dry cat chow, and calcium powder, This species climbs glass. Medium/fast breeder.
Newborn Madagascan hissing cockroach nymphs
This is a sight often seen with female Hissers that have recently bred. These roaches have relatively recently on the evolutionary scale begun to retain their ootheca (egg case) until birth rather than deposit it immediately for external incubation. The function of this behavior is unknown, but it appears as if the female is almost 'air drying' the ootheca before retracting it into her body. Such behavior is quite common and the ootheca nearly always subsequently carried to term except in cases of environmental stress, illness, or malnutrition.
Click here for an expanded hisser care sheet
Australian Giant Burrowing Cockroach Macropanesthia Rhinoceros
These are the giants of the cockroach world. It is a wingless burrowing species, typically living one to a burrow, one adult male with a female who is about to mature, or a female with assorted nymphs. They have evolved into specialized feeders, often eating eucalyptus leaves which contain cyanide, a deadly poison to unadapted animals. This species is best kept with a deep substrate of sandy soil at warmer temperatures and relative dryness as they are a desert species. Exceptionally slow breeder.
ANYONE HAVING THESE FOR SALE in the US PLEASE CONTACT US.
Eremoblatta subdiaphana
This somewhat fuzzy photograph is due to the tendency of the North American desert cockroach to refuse to pose for photographs. It is an attract species, being reddish orange. It is not a particularly large species, topping out at a little more than a half inch. They are sexually dimorphic in that mature males develop wings whereas the females do not. This species has proven quite difficult for us to find, even in its native range. In fact, we've only ever found two females despite a lot of looking. Both of those females died, but fortunately not until one ootheca hatched and gave us a few young to renew our efforts at establishing an ongoing colony. This species does not climb glass. Lays egg cases, medium speed breeder.
