S & W Pest Management Inc : Bug Pests

Pet Bugs » Cockroaches:

There are nearly 4,000 species of Cockroaches in the world, of which only 25 to 30 have any pest status, the rest are innocent members of the earth's fauna, and some make great pets. Housing cockroaches in captivity pose two main problems. First, most species come from tropical countries and therefore need to be kept at, 90° F minimum to be happy. Secondly, there is the problem of the cockroaches escaping and infesting the house. This problem is easily overcome by careful selection of species and cage structure, the cage needs to be escape proof.

Housing:
As most species of cockroach are good climbers a tight fitting lid is required with a good quality fine mesh to allow for air flow. For smaller and faster moving species access can be obtained via a cloth or mesh sleeve which can be tied tightly closed when not in use. The best method is to house them in a specially heated room, but for most people this is not possible, another alternative is to keep the cage in an airing cupboard. However, the most common method is to use a heatpad, these come in a variety of shapes and sizes and it is best to talk to your local retailer as to what you need, a good general estimate is that the pad should rest comfortably under the cage/aquarium so that two thirds of the cage is directly over the pad. This produces a temperature gradient giving the cockroaches some choice over what temperature they experience. The use of a thermostat can make things easier but it isn't really necessary for most of the commonly kept species.

The floor of the cage should be covered with wood shavings for leaf litter species such as Gromphadorhina portentosa or with peat for burrowing species such as Pycnoscelus surinamensis as well as a mixture of surface objects to offer hiding spaces, egg boxes and the inner from toilet and paper towel roles are excellent.

Feeding:
All known species of cockroach are omnivorous (this means that like you and me they eat nearly everything) though in captivity most species do well on a mixture of dried feed/grains etc. and fresh vegetables or fruit. I feed mine mostly on rolled oats and fruit like bananas and apples though they especially like over-ripe peaches and plums when I can get them. Although they don't need fresh food every day it is important that they always have enough to eat otherwise they will start eating the cage as well as each other.

Breeding:
As a general rule breeding will take care of itself, eggs are normally laid in an ootheca (natures answer to the polystyrene egg box). Some species will secrete these in the corners of the cage or other accessible nooks and crannies while others will carry the ootheca around with them, either inside or partly extruded from the body until it is time for the young to hatch. Some species are parthenogenic (the females give birth to other females only etc. etc. and no males are ever seen) i.e. Pycnoscelus surinamensis.

Suggested Species:
Surinam Cockroach, Pycnoscelus surinamensis
Madagascan Hissing Cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa
Death's Head Cockroach, Blaberus craniifer or Blaberus discoidalis

*Source information can be found on the credits page.