Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i remember reading that larger uroplatus are keen on madagascar hissing cockroaches in the wild, so i bought a few at the reptile show when i bought my new pair. they seem a bit large, and when i tried to hold one, it seemed a bit strong. i want to breed and feed these to my henkeli, so my question is: should i wait until they reproduce and i get some smaller roaches to feed them to the geckos? also, does anyone have any experience with these and let me know any up/downs of them?

Hissers are great feeder animals. They don't really get that heavy armor plating until they are almost adults. They breed easily as long as you supply enough heat. I have found that you can grow the babies to the size that you want for feeding in the warm breeding box, then move the feeders into a cooler "room temperature" box and this slows their growth tremendously keeping them at that optimal feeding size. The downside to hissers is that they tend to hide faster than crickets do and they will burrow in your substrate.

Breeding roaches can be a great help and lots of fun.
I breed 5 kinds of roaches to help me cut down on my cricket cost and add a little veriaty to the diet.

I feed hissers to all my uro's. The problem with hissers is that they take a while to get to breeder size. Which means more food and more space, although you can breed enough hissers to maintain a SMALL collection. And like you said, they are strong as hell. Keep in mind that female hissers are softer then males. So you don't want to feed out most of your larger females.

Lobster roaches on the other hand make super feeders.
They breed like crazy and they are a softer bodied roach. You keep them they same way you would keep a hisser, but you get MORE then what you put in to them. Their both glass climbers, so it isn't a problem for uro's to chase them around a tank. Lobsters will burrow, but they tend to go to the top of the enclosure.

The best thing about tropical roaches it that they will not make it in most US homes. It isn't hot and humid enough for them to thrive. The only place's where you MAY be an essiue is in the south. Even then, with proper containment there shouldn't be any problems.

Best wishes and have fun with your roaches.
JC

yea, im eager to feed some hissers to my uros, i noticed my male henkeli avidly staring down a roach the other night when it was in view. ill just wait a while to get some babies, and hoefully they wont take too long to get to a good feeder size. thanks guys.