Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

Insectsunlimited · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 7:31 am Post subject: EGGS.???.

Hi There, Dave @ Insects Unlimited & I`ve been reading thru the thread that seems to be confusing... if you`re trying to learn "wot`s wot"... It is not strictly true to call them eggs, rather egg-cases. These egg-cases are called Oothecas & are basically, an egg sack with 30x to 60x eggs inside (depends which breed).
Without getting too technical, some breeds (the majority) absorb the ootheca back into the body for the period of gestation & give birth to live young. This includes the majority of roaches but there are a couple of exceptions. Parcoblatta & most other wood roaches do discard the ootheca & leave the young to fend for themselves when they hatch. These are often lodged in cracks of bark. If you have B. dubia "dropping" oothecas, they have been discarded prematurely & will not hatch out. They will just shrivel up.
There are a number of reasons why they may be doing this... the first has already been mentioned & that is they have been disturbed while laying into an ootheca & have just discarded it. Another is that they have decided that the conditions aren`t quite right. Most roaches are nocturnal & shun light... if they are in the open daylight, they will abandon a lot of oothecas. As a breeder of roaches, mine get NO natural light & when I feed them, I use an infra red bulb (for illumination to see, only) & I get very few discarded oothecas. They are content when undisturbed, crowded & in the dark. Stick to these 3 pointers & they will breed at their best. Obviously, you will have to disturb them when feeding or cleaning them out but try & keep this to a minimum. Some breeds such as Blaptica dubia, Gromphadorhina portentosa or Blaberus giganteus settle down & can be quite calm if handled regularly. My B. dubia actually climb on my hand while I`m feeding them but lobsters & wood roaches feel the heat in your hand & think you are a predator & flee for cover. These are best undisturbed for the most successful breeding results.
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Dave Messer @ Insectsunlimited.

It may be the early bird that gets the worm but it`s the 2nd mouse that gets the cheese.

Rickeezee · Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:14 am Post subject:

Thank you for that information Dave very helpful.
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www.rickslivefood.co.uk

johne.ev · Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 10:46 pm Post subject:

Yeah, cheers for that Dave. the more i find out about roaches, the more fascinating i find them.

Insectsunlimited · Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:54 pm Post subject: "roach habits"

That`s O.K. Every day I find something new about insects I`ve kept for years. They are far more complex than "we" ever imagined. Scientists have now turned to insects to study, looking for cures from Altzheimers to various cancers (inc A.I.D.S.)... & every day humans squash 1,000`s of insects through ignorance. That won`t even make a dent on their numbers though as it is said that there are over 2,000,000 insects for every human.
The wild pigs, bears & wolves that used to roam the British countryside weren`t so lucky & now Tigers,Elephants,Polar bears etc...
At least you are learning to respect the part everything plays to keep the fragile balance on this planet. Which is more than can be said for the selfish morons that are wrecking it... & they think you`re weird for keeping insects. I, personally, reserve judgement on that score. Keep learning, ignorance can have frightening consequencies. Regards... Dave. [/code]
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Dave Messer @ Insectsunlimited.

It may be the early bird that gets the worm but it`s the 2nd mouse that gets the cheese.