Off and on for about 2 years now I've been looking into producing my own insect feeders. A big downside for me in keeping many lizard species was the reliance on crickets. I knew there were alternatives, but the commonly available ones were expensive (wax worms, mealworms, and butter worms from Petco/Petsmart) or unavailable, and using them as a staple would cause an unbalanced diet. The nearest reptile show is about two hours away from where I live, and it is one of two that happen annually within driving distance for me so purchasing at a show was not a long term option. Just keeping crickets is a messy, smelly endeavor and while I keep them healthy and alive for our leopard gecko's sake, I really am not interested in breeding them.
While lurking on bearded dragon (bottomless insect eating machine) forums, I started seeing cockroach topics surface. As someone who had never seen a cockroach other than in the movies, there was definitely that initial gross out reaction to the thought of paying money for insects that are cast as the scum of the earth. However, I was fascinated by the idea of low maintenance, low odor, and high production feeder insects. With a little more reading I started finding that not only are roaches easy and prolific, but the species that are commonly used for feeding are also tropical and easy to contain. Living in Washington, it means I'd have zero risk of having an accidental infestation (needing temperatures around 80 F to reproduce makes it difficult to live here) and I wouldn't have to dedicate more than a few plastic tubs space-wise for virtually infinite lizard food. It's pretty common now to see all sorts of insectivore keepers and breeders making their own cockroach colonies. There is also a whole part of the invert hobby dedicated to keeping roaches as pets!
With said off and on 2 years of research under my belt, I'll be making my own attempt at starting a roach colony or two. I was originally going to post a how-to guide based off of the pages I've found, but I'd much rather go off of my own experiences than parrot what everyone else has done. Plus I can take pictures, and who doesn't love PICTURES!?
Aside from the feeder colonies I'm seriously considering keeping some cockroaches as pets. There are hundreds of species of cockroach, and the majority are easy to care for. I love active animal displays, and there really isn't a dull moment with inverts. The sheer variety is mind boggling! Being able to handle them without worrying about stress is a big plus as well.
In the mean time, here are the pages I found incredibly useful for setting up a feeder roach colony:
Ball-pythons.net guide by Michelle C.
The Roach Ranch Dubia care sheet
Dubia roach care and breeding by The Dragon Spot
I highly recommend doing more research, but those are enough to get started (with focus on Blaptica dubia). There are many roaches suited for feeding including Lobster roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), Madagascar hissing roaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) and Orange Head roaches (Eublaberus posticus), to name a few. Find a species that works with what you're comfortable with.
Just for kicks, if you're interested in taking a look at a huge variety of roaches or looking at some of the commonly kept "pet" species, check out http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/ and http://www.roachforum.com/. They're really cool insects once you look past the rather sordid reputation that they have been dished. You'll find it's rather undeserved, I think ;)
Till next time!
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