Really interesting e-mail from Pauline Corzilius, Woodsville High School, Woodsvillle, NH
Hi - I, too, have become a "roach wrangler"! Our school started with 3
females and 3 males 4 years ago; currently I have around 100, so I
guess that qualifies me as a successful breeder. I have a few
suggestions to add that may be of help to others.
We use dog kibble as our basic food, but we grind it up in a blender first so the littlest
guys can eat it more easily. They can survive on kibble alone, but if
you wish to breed them you need to give a good source of carbohydrates
too; though they will eat slices of sweet fruits such as bananas,
apples, and oranges, my bugs' absolute favorite is a slice of raw
pumpkin or squash. If your water is offered in plates - I use petri
dishes, as I have had a couple of disasters trying to use a gerbil-type
water bottle - it's a good idea to put a piece of sponge in the dish so
the babies don't drown. Sometimes they munch on the sponge, but it
hasn't done any harm. Also, if you want to breed, it needs to be warm
in there 24/7! Our school turns the heat down on weekends, so I have
to monitor the roach case carefully. We use a big plexi aquarium donated
by a parent, and I have a regular drugstore-purchased hotpad set on high
attached to the back of the aquarium with duct tape. I set it up so the
pad is at one end of the case, providing a gradient of temperature in
the habitat. It's funny - on Monday mornings they'll all be piled up at
that end of the case.
As to your question about broken antennae, the teacher I got my
original bugs from had set up a video camera on his bugs overnight, and he said
that they fight at night; the males butt heads like goats to establish
dominance. Some antennae may be broken in this process, but apparently
more often the dominant males will bite off the lesser males' antennae
when they get the chance. Antennae are pheromone receptors; if you
can't smell when a female is in breeding condition, you don't get a chance to
breed her. And since females only breed once regardless of the number
of litters they have, the stakes are high for the males, particularly as
the population density rises.
My biology students' favorite lab is the "roach pull" in which they
must weigh an adult cockroach, then harness it with thread (if they hurt the
roach they get an automatic zero on the lab...so far, so good!) and get
the roach to drag a small container into which they drop pennies one at
a time until the roach can't pull it anymore. Then they weigh the
container and the pennies and calculate how many times its own body
weight the roach can pull. They then weigh themselves and apply the
same calculation, leading to the conclusion that if you were as strong as an
cockroach, you could drag thousands of pounds around. It's a great
kickoff for a unit on insects, or to teach about scale factors.
One final thought - roach keepers should make an effort to educate the
janitorial staff about their bugs BEFORE something untoward happens! An
ounce of prevention...
E-mail from Jan Stein Carter, Asst. Prof. of Biology, Univ. of Cincinnati - Clermont College
....Another good protein source they like and is good for them is Tetramin brand flake fish food. I've found that they much prefer Tetramin to dog chow. You might try kale, rather than iceberg lettuce, for more vitamins (better for people to eat, too). Besides carrots and oranges, another nutritious and well-liked food is raw sweet potato (yam?).
There are a couple methods I've seen used to provide water. If you can obtain dental wicks (those white, absorbent snake-shaped things the dentist crams in between your jaws and cheeks when working on your teeth), one of those stuck through a hole in the lid/rubber stopper of a container full of water works nicely. Alternatively, a test tube full of water blocked with a wad of damp cotton will do the same thing. If the cotton wad is sized right, you can lay the test tube on its side in the aquarium without any of the water leaking out. I have found that often, as the water is consumed, the cotton tends to slide down into the tube, so having a pair of forceps handy to remove it (so the water can be refilled) is a good idea. Watch out for "babies" hiding down in there.
One thing I've seen used as "bedding" is pieces of cardboard egg carton with no shavings, etc. in the bottom of the tank. That way, when it's cleaning time, the cartons, with most of the roaches on them, can be lifted out and the droppings (frass), shed skins, dead roaches, etc. removed from the bottom more easily (watch out for "babies" mixed in). They do tend to nibble on the cartons, so eventually those need to be replaced, and because of the roaches' tendency to munch on things, I would be leery of trying styrofoam egg cartons.
Miss Borders' 3rd grade class from Poasttown Elementary School in Middletown, Ohio reported:
We have 3 male hissing cockroaches in our third grade classroom. The kids just love them! The best reward for a hard day's work is getting to hold a cockroach! Together we voted on names for our out-of-the-ordinary class pets and decided on Star, Airbag, and Godzilla (who is a little over 3 inches long!).
On the first day of school the kids were a little hesitant about the cockroaches, but now my third graders bring their friends into our classroom just to show them off!
Having the cockroaches as part of our class has taught my students so much about the world around us and how important even the small things are.
Feb. 2000
Thomas E.J. Conte, third grade teacher from Chippewa Local Schools in Doylestown, Ohio invites you to visit his classroom's website (sorry-defunct) where you can find out more about the cockroaches and other animals the children care for.
Dec.1999: "My third graders are raising an orphaned bunch of Hissing Cockroaches which have been nick named "the Kubwas" after their deceased mother "Kubwa Madudu".
The pet store assured me their mother was not "pregnant"; three weeks later we realized the error of his statement. The mother died soon after and 20 little guys remained.
They currently live in a ten gallon aquarium but will soon be separated boys from girls into two separate 10 gal aquariums. We will be assigning each roach to a keeper that will be responsible for the little guys over spring break!"
BIG news from Mrs. Drobney's classroom in Connecticut. (I gave Mrs. D a bucket of cockroaches this month as her friends at the Lutz Children's Museum in Manchester had convinced her they were totally cool. Educators within driving distance who want to pick up some livestock should contact me at the email address below.)
"Our first cockroach molted this afternoon. Of course my kids were with my teammate for social studies, so I put the roach and old body container into a petri dish and took it to them. They were SOOO excited. The other teacher, who had been fairly resistant to the new neighbors next door, was totally into the process. I think I may have won her over to "our side"! It is so cool that even the antennae are white!" Dec. 1999
Sandy S. of the Meriden Public Library, Meriden, Ct. writes:
We have recieved two male madagascar hissing roaches from our local Girls Inc. which has a Science program there. We are a local public library and have taken on these critters in the Children's room for all who visit. We find both adults and children alike are very interested in these guys. I am the only one who will give them water of feed them & it's amazing how they respond when I pick up the cage to put in more water or food. They really start moving around & get excited. I am really enjoying our new pets.
Teacher Lee Ann A. of Olathe District Schools, Olathe, Kansas writes: I am a third grade teacher with the Olathe school district. Our first science unit of the year is insects. We successfully raised Monarch and Swallowtail butterflies from caterpillars. I took in the cockroaches and the kids went wild. They thought they were great. I also read them the book "Shoebag" about a cockroach turned boy. They loved it. The roaches are in a plastic aquarium in front of a window which overlooks the entryway.Every day both AM and PM I have noses pressed up against the glass looking at our cockroaches. They are a hit!!
Mrs. Tracy Trimpe of Havana Junior High, Havana, Illinois invites you to visit her Science Spot web site which includes a hisser section. She writes "My 7th grade science students created a roach maze out of plywood and 2x4's. The maze was designed so that they can change the layout by moving a few inside boards. The students are still collecting data and trying to limit variables. We are trying to decide if they learn the maze (and remember it) or if they just get more comfortable with the material and increase their speed. Sparky holds the speed record to date - 1 min, 18 seconds. Gerdie, our large female, holds the record for cheating - she usually climbs over the top to get to the end - lettuce leaves." Check it out for their conclusions.
Teacher Andrea A. wrote: I have one male Madagascan Hissing Roach (Arthur) in my kindergarten classroom, which I got from my old High School last year.
Teacher Daniel S. writes: I teach sixth grade at Five Oaks MiddleSchool in Beaverton, Oregon, and got a pair of roaches in about March or April of this year. (He went on to mention that his roaches, both female, had given birth to a lot of babies....so if you don't want to raise roaches, buy only males as the females may already be fertilized. Luckily he had a rose-haired tarantula who, I believe, was going to benefit from all the new livestock!)
Teacher K. C. S. of Modesto, CA writes: I am a new traveling teacher for the Great Valley Museum in Modesto,CA. I will be teaching a traveling insect program so am busy gathering info.We have a colony of Hissing Cockroaches; your site has helped a lot! Thank you so much!
Connie M. of Southwest Elementary School, 3rd grade ,Pratt, Kansas writes:
We currently house appx. 20 hissing roaches. We have successfully bred and reared many! The egg sac that one class talked about is empty. Our females then eat their empty sacs. Put a heat lamp on the cage for a few days and wait and watch. (They also asked for experiment ideas....if you have any, send them to me and I will pass them on.)
Ryan's Cockroach Page....this is a established years ago by a then middle school student who is a very successful cockroach breeder. Good overview of cockroach family , as well as tips on keeping. New pictures are listed (really nice one of the young) and, when I was there, a link to a seller that had interesting stuff like a recording so you can hear the hiss!
Teacher Laura S. writes: I teach second grade social studies, science and health to 100 students daily. We have 6 roaches that the students love....