Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I ordered 1000 lobsters and was wondering what I should use for substrate? The breeder of the roaches uses pine shavings as a substrate. Its the first I have heard of pine being used. What does everyone else use? Suggest etc?

Also how can I heat the rubbermaid bin? I believe the bin I am putting them in is a 60 or 90 gallon, its pretty big. The reptile room is only about 80 during the day and around 70 at night, sometimes lower! Its NY! Can I use a heat lamp? If so any special color bulb? OR Human heat pad? (probably not too safe!)

I went and bought chicken feed to use to feed them. Plus I will offer them tropical fish flakes and fruits, veggies etc. Is that enough?

Do I spray them with water every so often? If so, how do I keep the bedding from spoiling?

Sorry for all the questions! I just would hate to spend all this money and kill them with the lack of knowledge! There isnt a whole lot of info out there on them. Thanks, Lindsay

I've been raising Nauphoeta cinerea for over a year & have good production without optimal conditions. I use alfalfa pellets for a substrated which the baby roaches like to hide in. I also use egg-crating. Temperatures are 70F-most of the time; however, to get good production, I would recommend mid-70's to mid 80's. Either a heating pad or a low-wattage red/blue bulb should work; the best would be a ceramic heat emitter(low watts). I spray them with water(light mist-on glass) 1X/day. I provide the standard roach food(vegs. & non-medicated poultry-laying mash) they nibble on the substrate. Make sure there is adequate air circulation or the substrate will mold; suggest using a screen top. Coat the glass with either Fluon or vaseline near the top of the glass.

Below is a link to a site that has more specific information on the topic of Nauphoeta.

http://www.herpshop.com.au/CareSheets/FeaderRoach.html

Goodluck.
Link

Whats non medicated poultry feed? I just went to a local farm type store and asked for laying mash, chicken feed and they gave me egg layer feed. Is that ok? I still havent decided on a substrate or how to heat them. I either can use a human heat pad, a dome light or the top of a wodden reptile cage which gets toasty because the lights heat the wood. What substrate is easier to clean? To pick babies out of? Thanks, LM

Non-medicated poultry feed is "poultry mash" or "egg-laying mash" that has no antibiotics added to it. Most of these chicken feeds have antibiotics added, so you should ask or read labels prior to buying the feed. The medicated feeds can be harmful to both roaches, crickets or other feeder insects as it destroys their intestinal "gut" flora; thus killing the insects. Laying- mash usually has calcium added to it, as it is designed for egg-laying hens; however, too much calcium can kill feeder insects. Studies indicate that lizards obtain more calcium from feeder insects that are "powder-coated in a bag" than by gut loading alone. A combination of gut-loading with hi-calcium vegs. & calcium power-coating would provide the maximum calcium intake for the lizard(s).

The previous posts to your questions re: heating are all good methods. The most efficient would probably be an UTH or Flex-Watt tape. Again, I use alfalfa pellets for the substrate; it acts as a natural deodorizer, & is edible (to the insects). It has high protein & mineral content. The only obstacle is to not get too much water misted onto it or it will mold. I use a small fan in my reptile/ feed-insect room to circulate the ambient heat, aid in evaporation; this also prevents grain mite infestations. If you use no substrates, this would aid in "picking-out" baby roaches. In that case you should provide plenty of egg-crating for them to inhabit (for security & breeding purposes).
Goodluck

>>I ordered 1000 lobsters and was wondering what I should use for substrate? The breeder of the roaches uses pine shavings as a substrate. Its the first I have heard of pine being used. What does everyone else use? Suggest etc?
>>
>>Also how can I heat the rubbermaid bin? I believe the bin I am putting them in is a 60 or 90 gallon, its pretty big. The reptile room is only about 80 during the day and around 70 at night, sometimes lower! Its NY! Can I use a heat lamp? If so any special color bulb? OR Human heat pad? (probably not too safe!)
>>
>>I went and bought chicken feed to use to feed them. Plus I will offer them tropical fish flakes and fruits, veggies etc. Is that enough?
>>
>>Do I spray them with water every so often? If so, how do I keep the bedding from spoiling?
>>
>>Sorry for all the questions! I just would hate to spend all this money and kill them with the lack of knowledge! There isnt a whole lot of info out there on them. Thanks, Lindsay

With mine I put them in a bin with a lid and set it on flexwatt tape on a dimmer switch. They are nice and toasty, even with the switch set at 90. You might be able to get better heat nearer the ceiling in your room. Heat rising and all that.
I have mine in shavings right now but will likely switch it to rabbit pellets or something later. I haven't decided yet. Otherwise I treat them like crix but warmer and they are already reproducing for me in less than a week. Mike has some info on his page as to how he keeps them. ( I am thinking that is where you got them)
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Sonya

is "Carefresh" - perhaps because it holds heat/moisture. Regardless, our hisser colony is booming on it. It gets very humid, increasing the minimal smell of the roaches a bit, but hey, they love it so I'm not complaining. They did well on aspen as well. Whne you run our of chicken feed, just go head and feed them dog food. Ours do well, and it's got plenty of protein. A UTH will keep them nice and toasty, just check the temp. until it gets high enough for your sp[ecies.

>>is "Carefresh" - perhaps because it holds heat/moisture. Regardless, our hisser colony is booming on it. It gets very humid, increasing the minimal smell of the roaches a bit, but hey, they love it so I'm not complaining. They did well on aspen as well. Whne you run our of chicken feed, just go head and feed them dog food. Ours do well, and it's got plenty of protein. A UTH will keep them nice and toasty, just check the temp. until it gets high enough for your sp[ecies.

For my small hisser colony I have them in spaghnum moss. It is very easy to mist and to layer and pull them out of. I haven't used it with the lobsters yet 'cause I think it will be harder to find them in it. I have a thin layer of shavings and they just stacked egg carton and paper towel tubes. So far, so good. The lobsters are making babies already.
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Sonya

Read my post above entitled "all the answers". I breed six different species and this works well on all of them. I feel sorry for you guys breeding these hissers and lobsters. I have had both and hated them. They are easy to contain in their rubbermaids, but once they get in that reptile cage they will find a way out. Nothing but a pain in the rear. Stick with the non-climbers. Heat from the bottom and keep it hot. They will breed and grow much faster.
James