ROACHES

I live in Florida and I know there are laws against having roaches here. Does anyone know of any type of roach that is legal to have in Florida?
Does anyone know how to start a nice sized colony?
Any tips and tricks?
Thank you

the dubai is great feeders and easy to breed, they may have someone in fla that sells them, i think i seen a ad from there about them. A colony is easy to do get some breeders and put in a large container and they do the rest. check out the ads im sure you will find some, poppabilll...

Originally Posted by armanilandrin

I live in Florida and I know there are laws against having roaches here. Does anyone know of any type of roach that is legal to have in Florida?
Does anyone know how to start a nice sized colony?
Any tips and tricks?
Thank you

and put in a 30 gallon

Ok. I will look into it. Thank you

My understanding is that discoid roaches (Blaberus discoidalis) are legal to have in Florida because they are native to Florida. Non native species are not legal. I have not kept discoids but I have been very successful with dubia roaches. I believe their care to is close to identical so I will share how I keep my dubia cockroaches.

Discoids, like dubia, are non climbing and non flying so a plastic storage tote with smooth sides will keep them from escaping. It will take 6 months to a year to establish a self sustaining colony. Start several hundred to a thousand nymphs (small nymphs are usually cheaper but large nymphs can save a couple months of maturation time) to raise up to adults depending on how large of a colony you want. Or if you want to cut the time and don't mind spending extra you can buy adults as well. Keep them warm (85-95F). An under tank heater with a thermostat works well. Provide paper egg flats or paper towel tubes for them to hide and climb on. Food can consist of poultry mash (available from farm feed stores), fruits and vegetables (oranges, carrots, yams are favorites). Water crystals hold water and keep nymphs from drowning. Miracle-Gro® Water Storing Crystals are available at home depot for about $8 and works great for the cockroaches. Substrate is not necessary. Going without substrate actually makes it easier to clean them. Cleaning is accomplished by using a smooth plastic container (a plastic 5 gallon pail works well) that has the entire bottom covered with small 1/8 drill holes and a second smooth plastic container with no holes. Pour the adults, nymphs and frass (droppings) into the container with holes while holding it over the intact container. The frass will fall through while all roaches are held in the first container. The adults and nymphs can be sorted by using additional smooth plastic containers each with different appropriately sized holes to separate the different size insects.

Good luck!