Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a colony babies and all of about 5,000 to 10,000 and I have them in a single container. its a 30 gallon /114 L Rubbermaid . as of yesterday I had about 40 plus die babies and adult. i never had anything happen like this before i clean it out once every 2 weeks and i might find 10 dead ones. it seem like the ones I see that are getting ready to die, its almost like there legs are all not working then the next thing you know there on there backs. no changes have been maid, I feed them the same as I do the hissers and there fine. I have been doing this for over a year and has never had a problem like this. everything is clean I give fresh water crystals about every 2 days and gut load as well. temp in the reptile room are 85-90 which is perfect for them. I did hear from a source if the colony gets to big and you don't split it up they put off lethal gases that will kill them, but i do have a screen top for air flow. does this sound like what it could be? please give me your opion on this as you are somewhat of a pro, there is a lot of money there and I don't wont them all to die. the colony is very packed the egg creates are full and heavy. I hot glue them 3 layers deep see pic below. well I have taken up enough of your time and thanks in advanced for the help.

hello this is an update there where some changes that i didnt know of, here they are as followedmy wife told me that she gave the roaches water crystals for the first time from a new seller. she gave them babied carrots from a new bag 1 day before the death started to happen. and we started using a new chicken feed about 4 days before the deaths. as of no the deaths have slowed down but there are still about 20 or more a day. I split the colony and took out all the food,and water crystals. I gave the orange slices and bread to see if the deaths will stop. someone said it could be a moisture problem. I sprayed the egg creates lightly but I don't know who much I should spray them. I have lost about 3 middle size hissers over the hole coarse of this and I haven't loss any more crix then I would normally lose. note I gave all of the same food,and water crystals. I do see one thing new the lobster seem to be fighting or jumping onto the others. they I have also seen the pushing around the dead ones or the ones on there backs that are dyeing. if anyone out there has any ideas pleas let me know

I would determine if the chicken mash is medicated or non-medicated. The medicated mash will most likely tend to kill insects; in this case, roaches. I do not use water crystals(polyacrylamide)as it is not a natural product-but haven't heard anything bad about it. Also, spraying the caging with water can promote bacterial/mold/fungal growth-detrimental to insects.

In the case of all 7 of my roach species, I provide fruits & vegetables for water & nutrition. Additionally, I provide dog chow (no dyes), non-medicated chicken laying mash, and oatmeal &/or bran.