hey Clay, Olivia and Cody

[robin d.]

do aby of you keep b. dubia? or b. caniifer?or e. distanti?
i am looking for a third type of roach.. the orangheads seem to have an odor and it grosses me out LOL.... i was kinda leaning more towards the dubia... anything? coments? you suck? roachs kick crevass?

[Clay Davenport]

I only raise the lobsters and discoids (B. discoidales) now.
I had some distanti, but the starter colony I purchased was exposed to some extreme heat during transit and only about a dozen small nymphs survived. Starting with such a small number I didn't put a lot of effort into them since it would have taken well over a year to develop a viable colony.
The discoids have proven to be a good species for me. Non climbing and no noticable odor. My discoid colony is currently quite low in adults, but I just cleaned the tub a couple of days ago and recovered over 1600 nymphs 1/4" or less, so they'll be back strong in a couple of months.

[progeckos]

Of those 3 that you listed Robin I would go with the dubia. The distanti are very closely related to the orange heads. I was looking at getting some dubia but I could not find any for a good price. From what I hear they breed fairly well. They’re also one of the easiest roaches to sex. The discoids are also very good but you already have them. ;)

[Slizarus]

B. Caniifer, the true Death Heads.. get even larger than Discoids.. I'm going to buy some myself.. just got into roaches on Friday when my shipment from Clay arrived, good stock :) I had about 3 litters of Lobster roaches the morning after.

Death heads are large, depends really on what you're feeding but I would highly reccomend any of the Blaberus.. B Dubia however come reccomended by James Tuttle.. easy to sex, get larger than discoids I believe.. no odor, don't climb.. a lot of people like them..

One thing I can't stress enough.. Make sure you know what you're getting, Blaberus don't look all that much alike.. but too many people confuse them.
I've seen Discoids, fusca, and even Giganteous confused for Death heads (UC Davis was the one that called Giganteous Death heads :) )
So yes.. make sure you find some good solid pics on them before you buy them from some other breeder as some of them aren't even sure what they have.

heh...Depends on what you like, otherwise.. Discoidalis 4tw

[robin d.]

well right now i have orange heads and discoids.. the orange heads kinda stink... i like my discoids allot but the beardies eat any of them. the leos and fatties seen to like the discoids better i am assuming because they dont stink

[progeckos]

I’ve noticed the same thing Robin. My fat tails don’t like the orange heads but they go for the lobsters. I haven’t really fed any of my discoids as I’m trying to get an excessively large colony. I still think you’ll be happy with the dubias. If you get a large colony going let me know because I’d be interested in buying some from you.

[Digby Rigby]

Hello and good morning,

Some good feeder roaches are Blaptica dubia, Blaberus parabolicus and Blatta lateralis. The Only places you can get real true black Craniifer arent selling them yet and they will cost you 5 dollars apiece. What people are selling as craniifer are actually not they look like a cross between blaberus fusca and Blaberus craniifer they also get rather large and get too big for most geckos to eat as adults. Lobster roaches are a pain to deal with and I have not found anyone who likes them who have other options available to them. Lobster roaches climb glass and are very fast and escape easily. Vaseline is gross and doesnt work well in high heat which roaches need to breed fast. They do have an excellent meat to shell ratio and lizards do seem to like them however the only reasons people have lobsters is because they are the cheapest roach or they dont know any better. Dubia are worth every penny they cost and I sell them all the time I dont even have people ask for lobsters anymore. Hissing roaches are all shell and fat thus worthless as feeders. Once your dubia colony gets going you will see large amounts of nymphs. Dubia also arent as spastic as other roaches and dont fly and dont have a strong odor and a much better meat to shell ratio. The only complaint I have ever received in regards to the dubia is from a lady who has to hand feed them to her arboreals because they dont climb :rolleyes: Soon Blatta lateralis will be available they breed faster than lobster roaches and are egg layers so their nymphs are even smaller and they dont climb glass. They will be available soon. There are many other roaches and other feeders I can recommend but is beyond the scope of this post. In closing dubia are a very good easily sexed roach that is worth the price dont look for a cheap answer when it comes to dubia you cant afford not to.


Digby Rigby DigbyRigby@exoticfeeders.com

http://exoticfeeders.com Where the feeders are cooler than your pets.