COCKROACHES

A couple of weeks ago I obtained 4 of these interesting
creatures from a shop in Northampton and I strongly suggest
people keeping these before condemning them as I have been
pleasantly surprised.

There are nearly 4 000 species of Cockroaches (Dyctioptera,
Blattodea) 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.
Firstly most species come from tropical countries and therefore
need to be kept at, at least 25C 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.
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 cabinet. The commonest method is
to use a heatpad, these come in a variety of shapes and sizes
and it is best to talk to your local seller 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 bottom of the
cage is directly over the pad. This allows a gradient of heat to
arise giving the cockroaches some choice over what
temperature the 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
leaflitter 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,
(most cockroaches are nocturnal) egg boxes and the inner from
toilet and paper towel roles are good for this.

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. though
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.

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.