Madagascar hissing cockroach is an excellent pet for lovers of exotic creatures. Of course, the insect can hardly be called attractive. And the Madagascar cockroach will not become an adequate replacement for the affectionate four-legged friend. Despite this, it is rather curious to observe the behavior of such creatures, to study the peculiarities of their biology and relations with relatives.
What is required for the maintenance of Madagascar cockroaches? What do they eat? What specific conditions do they need? How do Madagascar cockroaches breed at home? We will talk about all this in our publication.
Terrarium
As a house for Madagascar cockroaches, breeders recommend choosing a transparent plastic container, similar to that used to contain small rodents. What capacity should such a terrarium have? For each insect there should be about one liter of free volume.
It is desirable that the container has convenient handles. In this case, the house of Madagascar cockroaches can always be taken with you on a trip. The main condition is the presence of a tight cover that will not allow insects to get out. Naturally, it should have miniature openings, which will provide high-quality ventilation of the terrarium.
The above requirements apply to adult Madagascar cockroaches. Young growth can be grown in roomy glass jars covered with gauze. In this case, the walls of the tank must be lubricated with petroleum jelly. After all, unlike adults, young cockroaches are able to climb vertical, even surfaces.
As for the breeding of a large colony of Madagascar cockroaches, numbering several dozen individuals, in this case we will have to take care of finding an aquarium with a volume of about 20-30 liters.
Terrarium litter
In order for Madagascar cockroaches to feel like they are in natural living conditions, the bottom of the container must be lined with a suitable substrate. The following materials should be used as litter:
- Finely shredded paper.
- Coconut flakes and fiber.
- Clay soil mixed in equal proportions with sand.
- Sawdust.
- Fine crushed stone.
What should be the thickness of the litter? This moment has no special significance. The owner of insects should form a substrate layer according to personal reasoning, focusing on the number of cockroaches. The litter must be changed every time it becomes unusable and clogged with an abundance of pet waste products. Usually it is enough to resort to the procedure once a month.
Shelter Creation
Madagascar hissing cockroach - nocturnal insect. Such creatures do not like too much light. For this reason, it is recommended to prepare several shelters in the terrarium. A good solution is to put small cylinders in a container, formed from paper or pieces of fabric.
If desired and free time is available, the insect owner can prepare various designs for them. The easiest option is to place chicken trays upside down in the terrarium. In addition, you can build a kind of house from wooden or cardboard plates connected by screws. To create additional free space in the container, such a shelter should be made multi-tiered.
In their natural habitat, Madagascar cockroaches prefer to hide in fallen leaves, tree bark. Such stems can also serve as a shelter for insects.
Clay decorative houses will also work, which are often installed in aquariums when keeping fish. You can buy such shelter in any store of goods for animals.
Temperature
Madagascar cockroaches love warmly. Viable insects will remain at room temperature. However, it is better to slightly increase it, to indicators of the order of 24-30 ° C. If a stable temperature is maintained in the room at a level no higher than 20 degrees, cockroaches are unlikely to actively reproduce.
Air humidity
Ideal for such insects are conditions when the air humidity is at least 65%. However, the creation of such conditions seems to be a rather difficult task for the owner of cockroaches. To make pets feel quite normal, it is recommended to periodically spray the substrate and walls of the terrarium with water. An ordinary spray gun will do for these purposes. Under the influence of the heater, the liquid will actively evaporate, transforming into a kind of fog. Such conditions look optimal for Madagascar cockroaches.
It is important not to flood the insect house with water. After all, the litter will begin to rot, which will lead to the multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms and parasites. The result may be the spread in the colony of cockroaches of all kinds of diseases.
Feeding
Madagascar cockroaches, photos of which can be seen in the article, are omnivorous insects. In their natural habitat, food for them becomes all kinds of carrion, fruits of trees, rotting vegetation. When kept at home, it is recommended to diversify the daily diet of such insects.
How to feed Madagascar cockroaches? The daily menu should include the following products:
- Fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Bran.
- Bread crackers.
- Small crustaceans.
- Greens, flowers of plants.
- Powdered milk.
- Egg shell, powdered.
What else do Madagascar cockroaches eat? You can feed them meat. However, care must be taken here. A salty, spicy or stale product can cause excessive health damage to insects. The result will be the death of the main part of the colony.
How often should insects be offered food? It is recommended to feed Madagascar cockroaches no more than 2-3 times a week. This will be enough to fully saturate such pets.
Water for pets
Access of insects to an abundance of drinking is the most important moment in their content. Lack of water can cause the death of exotic pets. Immediately it is worth noting that you should not use deep drinkers. Indeed, in such containers, cockroaches will choke and drown. This is especially true for young animals. The best option is to place a piece of wet material in the terrarium, for example, rags, foam rubber, cotton wool soaked in water. From time to time, such a “drinker” should be moistened.
There is another solution. You can use a shallow bowl filled with one of the above materials. Insects will climb into such a container and periodically absorb the liquid.
In fact, it is not necessary to engage in the arrangement of a drinking bowl. You can refuse to use it if there is an abundance of juicy fruits and vegetables rich in life-giving moisture in the daily diet of cockroaches.
Breeding Madagascar Cockroaches
To create insects special conditions for reproduction is not necessary. It should be taken into account only that during mating, males can engage in rather tough skirmishes with rivals. Therefore, in order to breed insects, it is reasonable to plant a male and female individual in a separate container for some time in advance.
After mating, the so-called ooteka is formed in the abdomen of the female in the form of a capsule divided into segments. The time it takes to carry the offspring in the indicated container depends on the environmental indicators. At room temperature, pregnancy will take several months. At the end of this period, the larvae will hatch directly in the female abdomen. From here young growth will crawl out with the remains of segments of the ooteka, which will become for them a source of food in the first hours of life.
Gradually, young individuals will begin to acquire a dark color. As soon as this happens, young animals must be moved to a separate container with their mother, protecting them from contact with fairly aggressive adult relatives. Periodically, the former larvae will molt, dropping old malleable shells and building up a denser shell. The process of transforming young animals into adult, mature cockroaches can take about six months.
Where can I buy insects?
Buy Madagascar cockroaches in large cities is not difficult. The sale of such insects is carried out by a wide range of pet stores. Most of them offer insects in the form of larvae that breed as food for all kinds of reptiles and spiders.
If you want, you can buy Madagascar cockroaches on the Global Network. It must be taken into account that in a packaged package, insects can remain alive and healthy for 3-4 days. For this reason, the purchase is best carried out in an online store located closer to the place of residence.
How much are Madagascar cockroaches?
At the moment, from insect larvae will have to pay from 100 to 150 rubles. As for the cost of adults, the price will depend on age. Typically, for large sexually mature cockroaches they ask about 400-500 rubles. The indicated amounts look quite acceptable, given the fact that such pets need a minimal amount of food and do not require special care.