Hey guys,

So i can only get crickets here in Ellisras every 2 weeks or so, and the guy at the shop seemed quite unsure of himself. So i decided to start a roach colony to produce feeders of all sizes for my T's,

I know there are quite a few different roaches on the market. Could someone please tell me what the easiest to breed, pinhead to large sizes and how many do I need to start off this project.

I have made attempts in the past, but it was a complete failure.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I recently started my own roach colonies as well. I have 3 species.

Pallid roaches (Phoetalia pallida) are very easy to breed and I've seen multiple batches of nymphs since I got mine only to weeks ago and I've heard that a female can have a batch every 3 weeks. The nymphs are really small and you can use them as pinheads. (I would say these are the easiest to breed). Adults are approximately the size of adult crickets. They can climb and fly so they need to be in a secured tub where they can't escape from.

Lobsters roaches (Naupheta cinerea) are very good climbers. You can use them for arboreals if you do not tong feed them.

Blaptica dubia grow much larger then the 2 before mentioned roaches and can be used to feed some of your larger T's. When mature females will give live birth to 20 or 30 nymphs each month.

The number of roaches you need depends on the number of T's your colony will need to support and the type of roach you end up choosing. I'll go with at least 300 to 400 roaches per 50 T's of mixed sizes.

Here's a link to some good reading.
www.geckosunlimited.com/community/feeder...s-care-breeding.html

SIM-slayer wrote: I recently started my own roach colonies as well. I have 3 species.

Pallid roaches (Phoetalia pallida) are very easy to breed and I've seen multiple batches of nymphs since I got mine only to weeks ago and I've heard that a female can have a batch every 3 weeks. The nymphs are really small and you can use them as pinheads. (I would say these are the easiest to breed). Adults are approximately the size of adult crickets. They can climb and fly so they need to be in a secured tub where they can't escape from.

Lobsters roaches (Naupheta cinerea) are very good climbers. You can use them for arboreals if you do not tong feed them.

Blaptica dubia grow much larger then the 2 before mentioned roaches and can be used to feed some of your larger T's. When mature females will give live birth to 20 or 30 nymphs each month.

The number of roaches you need depends on the number of T's your colony will need to support and the type of roach you end up choosing. I'll go with at least 300 to 400 roaches per 50 T's of mixed sizes.

Here's a link to some good reading.
www.geckosunlimited.com/community/feeder...s-care-breeding.html

Hey bud,

Thank you very much for your imput.

I am a bit worried about the 36 - 42 temps we have here, but im sure that with the fan and aircon i will be able to regulate the temp within the limits.

Think that Dubia will be the way for me. i have read on some other sites that it is the easiest to breed so will give it a go.

again, thank you for sharing this info.

I heard some people leave their heatpads, which they use for their roaches, on throughout the entire summer claiming that the heat helps them in some way. I'm not sure how correct the information is and if it really helps but if it is I don't think your temperatures will be a problem.

SIM-slayer wrote: I heard some people leave their heatpads, which they use for their roaches, on throughout the entire summer claiming that the heat helps them in some way. I'm not sure how correct the information is and if it really helps but if it is I don't think your temperatures will be a problem.

I know that the Pinheads here die after a few days as the heat is just too intense. So will be keeping the Roaches in my cupboard to keep them away from the heat.

The Avics seem to love the heat being a lot more active than before.

Not to find someone with 500 dubias that will ship to Ellisras.

Try Tim @ Petbugs