Friday, September 13, 2024

Cool New Roaches!

Got some new roach species over the summer that I wanted to share with y'all!

First off we have Deropeltis sp. "RSA - Small". This is a good year for new Deropeltis species in the hobby, and these are probably my favorite one so far. They are quite small for this genus, probably less than half the size of D.paulinoi for example. The care seems standard for the genus, and I am happy to announce that these are the first Deropeltis I've successfully bred! 😁 

I have them in a moderately ventilated enclosure that I'm keeping humid, but not too wet. A lack of humidity is what's caused me to fail with Deropeltis spp. in the past I'm pretty sure, at least as far as hatching their oothecae goes.
They have a thin substrate layer of coco fiber topped with coco coir chunks, eggcrates and cardboard rolls. I'm keeping them at 80-85F°, and am feeding them dog food as the staple diet.

Here are some pictures of an adult pair:

Female





Male




Pair






Adorable little species, I hope they will continue to breed well for me, and get established here in the US hobby for years to come!

Speaking of newcomers to the US hobby, I got a culture of Pseudoglomeris valida valida "Vietnam". They are quite similar to P.tarsalis, but with a much smoother and finely punctated exoskeleton.

I have them in a moderately ventilated enclosure with a thin layer of coconut fiber substrate, one third of the setup kept moist, the other dry. They have cork bark for hides, and I'm keeping them at around 75-85F°. I'm feeding them dog food, artificial pollen, and fresh fruits.

Here are some pictures of an adult pair:

Female






Male



Pair
A very cute species, hopefully another good beginner's Pseudoglomeris as well, we shall see!

Now these are a bit of a hobby staple, but I've never kept them before now. Introducing to the Invertebrate Dude collection: Opisthoplatia orientalis, AKA the "Red & Black Cockroach". These were once a popular pet species but have faded into obscurity lately, with only a very few US hobbyists still keeping cultures.

I'm keeping them in a minimally ventilated enclosure with an inch or so of a moist coconut fiber, coco coir chunk and sphagnum moss substrate mix, topped with eggcrates and leaf litter. I'm keeping them at around 75F°, and am feeding them dog food and fruits. 

Here are some pictures of these beauties:

Male









Female







Such a pretty species, and I'm really not sure why they haven't stayed more popular in the hobby. In any case, hopefully they will breed well for me.

Lastly, I now have a pair of Lucihormetica verrucosa "Venezeula". Locality stock of this species has eluded US culture for years (despite there being two Locality lines in EU culture). But that changes now, and boy do these things look pretty! 😍 

I have mine in a minimally ventilated enclosure with several inches of moist coconut fiber substrate. I'm keeping them at around 75F°, and am offering dog food and fruits as the staple diet.

Here are some photos of the pair:

Male




Female





Hopefully these will breed well for me, though I don't have the best track record with this genus... though thankfully Kyle from Roachcrossing has a solid breeding group that I imagine will produce well for him, so they should get established here in the US no matter what. 😅

Anyway, that does it for this post! Thanks for reading, hope everyone enjoyed, and I'll see you all next time! 😉 

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