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help having problem with both my lobster roach colony. I am losing about 15-20 mid size roaches a day. they are the mid sized ones. I haven't been losing any adults nor have I been losing any babies. they are dyeing and not even flipping over which is strange. also they stink like crazy when I get them the next day. the only thing new that I have done was add a humidifier to the roach room but stopped that one day after I used it and that was last week. I got some new brand of wheat bread from the store and offered that to them Thursday. I started to notice a kill off Saturday. I also have 4 other roach species and there fine and I also have another colony of lobster roaches that are doing fine. any advice????
the only thing I think it might be is I might have misted the colony to much and the humidity is to high. also if there is mold or bacteria how long should bake the creates in the oven to kill off the mold and bacteria. I would get more egg creates but it will be a week before I can do that.
thanks for the help.

I suggest cleaning out the entire tub, tossing out all the old egg carton you have in there and putting in new stuff. Mold spores can tolerate very high levels of heat, I don't even think our home ovens will get hot enough to kill all the spores. Easier to wash completely and toss out anything uncleanable (ie anything wooden or from paper, ie egg cartons). Soak the tub and plastic accessories in a bleach solution (10:1 water/bleach) Pretty strong but this will kill anything. Soak for about 20 minutes, rinse really well, air dry for 12-24 hours to ensure all fumes are gone. Replace the colony afterwards.

Probably better to just buy a new tub, move the colony into it, then sterlize the old tub. This way you will always have a spare should something like this happen again.
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PHLdyPayne

What Lady says sounds pretty good to me!
You really gotta becareful with the mold and mildew. Roaches can not take breathing in that stuff and sounds most like what is causing your issues. I wouldnt worry about the food change as those lil guys can and will eat just about everyting.
I dont spray the egg cartons for that same reason unless its just a really light misting. I use a steralite tub for now with vasoline smeared around the top and when i water i just spray the sides and they come right out and crawl up and drink. That way i dont have to worry about the paper geting moldy or any of that.
Get yours cleaned up man and im sure you will not have no more dieing roaches!!

Good Luck,
M

P.S. Do they have a lot of ventilation? I read some where that lobsters produce some sortta gas that if a bunch are in the same enclosure and its not well ventilated the gas will actually kill them!! Wierd!!
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Mike & Wendy

2.0.0 Siberian husky, Jackrussel/schitzu
0.0.1 Ball Python
1.0.1 Leopard Gecko
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Another method to water roaches is to use plastic condiment dishes, jar lids, or petri dishes and cut a piece of sponge to fit inside the rim. To water them, just add water to the sponges.

This prevents mold on your egg crate and prevents wet feces, which can cause coccidia and e-coli to hatch. When the sponges get moldy to the point where rinsing and wringing them out won't remove the mold... just throw them away and replace them.
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KITKAT

0.0.1 Bearded Dragon
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