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I was wondering what substrate everyone uses for their roach bins? Also what roach species do you have and what pros and cons do you have with the substrate you use? I use pine shavings and I am not so sure its the best I could be using. I worry about possible toxins not only killing the roaches but harming my reptiles. What is everyones opinion on that? Has anyone tried carefresh?

For the other questions:

I use egg flats cut in half and then glued together in my lobster roach bins. It makes a large living area for them. Problem is, how on earth do I get all the lobster roaches off the old ones so that I can disgard them and make new ones? They start to look dingy and start smelling after a couple months.

Recently the reptile room became very warm and a day or two later I noticed many of the roaches acting sluggish, not normal. I was wondering if the heat issue I had the day prior might have killed them? Does anyone know a minimun and maximum temperature that is safe for them?

Lately the reproduction rate has been down and it is making me nervous. I am tryng to build and grow and it just doesnt seem to want to work. I am trying to feed 9 bearded dragons and I originally started with an established colony of 1000 lobster roaches, mixed sizes. I have basically left them alone over the past 4 months except for a couple dozen fed off every other week or so. Anyways, its been 4 months and I would say I only have around 3000-4000 and the past month I havent seen many babies at all! What can I do? Would you suggest anything? Any advice?

Any help, advice or anything you could offer would be great. I thought I was doing so well with the lobsters, they were reproducing like crazy at first and now it seems like they are sick or dying and reproduction is at its lowest ARGHGHG! Thanks, Lindsay

I was wondering what substrate everyone uses for their roach bins and what pros and cons do you have with the substrate you use?

I use aspen bedding. I am thinking about freezing it for a day before using to ensure no pests are present. (Have not had a problem yet, but sometimes it is better safe than sorry.) I only put enough to make the bottom unviewable so the baby roaches can hide, but not too much where I have to search hard to find a roach.

Pros: Can be put in freezer or baked to ensure no pests are present. Holds moisture well without rotting when dampened.(Don't drench cage.) Provides hiding for adults and babies. Cage cleaning once every 3-6 months.

Cons: Cage cleaning can be a chore searching for all babies, but as long as it is not too deep, it won't be as hard.

I don't suggest grain beddings (or food beddings) since mites is a good possiblity and their droppings will be mixed in with the food. Also, trying to keep humidity up may result in molded food substrate.

Also what roach species do you have?

I have the Orange Spotted Roaches (Blaptica dubia) and the Discoid Roaches (Blaberus discoidales). I hope to get Death's Head and maybe one other non-climber roach later.

I use pine shavings and I am not so sure its the best I could be using. I worry about possible toxins not only killing the roaches but harming my reptiles. What is everyones opinion on that?

No idea. It was recommended to me to not use pine with my rats so I have been using aspen. Since I have extra on hand, that is what I use in my roach cage.

Has anyone tried carefresh?

Not me.

I use egg flats cut in half and then glued together in my lobster roach bins. It makes a large living area for them. Problem is, how on earth do I get all the lobster roaches off the old ones so that I can disgard them and make new ones?

Why glue it? I use full egg flats and place them vertical in my roaches cage. Usually a small stack of two egg flats. One cage, since it is big, has two stacks of two egg flats each. I don't use glue...just lay it on top by matching the bumps so it stays up. This way I can just take an egg crate off the stack and do what I need to do, then place it back.

Recently the reptile room became very warm and a day or two later I noticed many of the roaches acting sluggish, not normal. I was wondering if the heat issue I had the day prior might have killed them? Does anyone know a minimun and maximum temperature that is safe for them?

No idea why they got sluggish. I do mist my roach cage once every 1-2 days. They do like their cage very warm, so I keep mine at 85-90F. Probably can go as high as 95F. Try to keep cage above 80F. Don't forget humidity is important as well as a moisture food item. I read that roaches can die in a week from thirst.

Lately the reproduction rate has been down and it is making me nervous. I am tryng to build and grow and it just doesnt seem to want to work. I am trying to feed 9 bearded dragons and I originally started with an established colony of 1000 lobster roaches, mixed sizes. I have basically left them alone over the past 4 months except for a couple dozen fed off every other week or so. Anyways, its been 4 months and I would say I only have around 3000-4000 and the past month I havent seen many babies at all! What can I do? Would you suggest anything? Any advice?

I have only had my roaches for about 4 months so I don't know a whole lot other than what I have experienced. All I can suggest checking the temperature (got a gradient?), humidity, food source, moisture source, etc. Basically check your husbandry care to ensure it is optimal for them. Also, maybe they are eating the glue? Toxic maybe or affecting them otherwise? Roaches will eat almost anything.

Good luck.
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~ Juli ~
www.Polliwog-Design.com

I do the exact same thing you do with the egg flats. However, I don't use any substrate at all in with my lobsters. They are so small that their dropping dry up quickly so bedding is not needed. It is a lot easier to clean them if I pick up the egg flats with one hand and shake all the debris to one end of the container with the other hand. Then just use a paper index card to scoop/pick up the waste. (I also collect the waste material and put it into a bottle to freeze in case I miss any babies). I keep all my insect in plastic containers instead of aquariums so this is easy to do.--They are light weight and don't break!

My large roaches (hissers/Orange-heads) are all kept on sani-chips. (very small aspen chips). This is great because I can pour the contents into a colander and sift it. All the bedding/waste falls through and the large roaches/food stay in the colander. Some small roaches will fall through also and have to be removed from the waste by hand.--Only do this with roaches that can't climb or they will climb out of your calendar!!

One tip, roaches love Oranges! that is the only water source I give them. They have had nothing but Oranges and cat food or rodent food for about 6 years now and they are doing great. I tried other water sources in the beginning, but they do the best with oranges.--The seem to breed faster and are healthier.

Rodney