Blatta lateralis Care & Setup Tutorial

[emr7611]

I want to start selling my Dubia how do I go about counting them to sell them do they have a measuring tube like they use to collect the crickets

[moose9900]

@emr7611 No special gadgets that I know of. I count by hand.

[GHustlas]

We have theese in Palm springs California. But they arent in groups of like 200. More like little packs of 12-45 and by dusk they come out and there all lined up moving around the ground.

[DozyNoiseOfEcocamp]

I think Blatta Lateralis are the best choice of food breeding for beginners. Once when I was replacing my colony from a small to a larger container, I forgot one egg case in the small container which was in the trash. Later, about 1-2 week, I don't know why but I took it out of thrash bin ( which was in my room and was used mostly for papers), I noticed that the egg hatched and there was about 20 little babies that survived. I think that proves that breeding them is pretty simple. Cheers

[moose9900]

@DozyNoiseOfEcocamp Yes, I agree. It seems the harder people try to hatch the eggs the harder it is for them to breed this species. I have never had a problem. Set them aside and let nature take it's course. Hope you managed to catch those 20 little babies!

[2010barnie]

Good day sir. Im John from the Philippines. i had started my blatta lateraris colony since may this year by about 200 pcs. I started to collect their eggs every now & then. but untill now i was not able to succeed in hatching the eggs.. What is the right way of hatching lateraris eggs? pls. i really need some help with this. thank you very much..

[moose9900]

@2010barnie No special trick, I just keep my temps between 80-90 degrees and humidity over 30% and they hatch out in 3 to 4 weeks. Good luck!

-Greg

[2010barnie]

@moose9900 thanks sir greg for the advice.. Im already starting to harvest nymphs in my enclosure... indeed it was very effective sir... Many Thanks!!!

[necessaryevil101]

hey greg its john!!

[Asasaghghh]

Hey I wanna get some roaches but my parents wont let me keep them inside and I live in Phoenix arizona where the hotest it gets is like 120 Can the leave in the heat like that like say If I put them in the shade and its like 120 outside but they arnt in direct sunlight will they live? Please resond.-Michael (Asasaghghh)

[moose9900]

@Asasaghghh Replied by email!

[tyhellboy3114]

@Asasaghghh theres a dood in arizona his name and website is aaron pauling and he sells them cheap and he is very reliable

[oulap54321]

how are there nutritional facts compared to a cricket and are they easier to breed im thinking of starting a colony plz respond

[moose9900]

@oulap54321 B. lateralis have less fat and about double the protein of crickets. Very easy to breed and maintain. From newborn to maturity takes anywhere from 3-5 months on average. Adult females produce ootheca's (egg case) about every 4-5 days it seems. The eggs generally take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to hatch depending on temps and humidity. Longer if temps and humidity are low. I have plenty in stock now. Mainly small - medium size.

-Greg

[RoadRashBurn]

I started mine with 8. I now have around 75.

[MrJeffery1991]

right on.. i am trying to grow my colony,

[denisesfeathers]

Can you get these in Canada do they stink much. I know I had roaches in my house once and had to get a exterminator in.

[moose9900]

@denisesfeathers I don't know if there available there in Canada. They do have a noticeable odor in large quantities. Not as bad as crickets. There not know to infest the home as there not a pest roach. They prefer hot, humid environment and don't fair well in the cold.

-Greg

[tjd1985]

Hey man, do you know how long it takes for a nymph to reach adult? WIll it take around 6 months or something?

[moose9900]

@tjd1985 3 - 5 depending on temps.

-Greg

[tjd1985]

@moose9900 Thanks man

[schtickl]

How do you keep them from smelling?? Mine STINK!

[moose9900]

@schtickl B. lateralis have an odor. If the odor your talking about is overwhelming like crickets, then you must have allot of dead roaches rotting in the bottom of the bin. That was the only times I noticed a stronger smell than normal with mine. You may need more ventilation in your container. B. lateralis need a little more elbow room than say B. dubia. Over population, lack of space and little ventilation can cause a massive die-off and increased odor. This has been from my experience.

-Greg

[ILOVETARANTULA]

Hey Greg... I would like to know that how many roaches you started with...

[moose9900]

@ILOVETARANTULA I started with about 1000.

-Greg

[Hawkdown6]

alright thanks right now I've had them in the shoe box container and a cup if water gel as well.

is there any way of knowing the egg is good? because mine have gone from a reddish color to all black

and how long does it take to hatch?

[Hawkdown6]

i have around 900-1000 that i just got.

and wondering if i take out the eggs and put them in a plastic shoe box on top of my Bearded dragons heat lamp would it help to hatch?

also if so would i have to mist it or leave it dry?

[moose9900]

@Hawkdown6 The key to hatching B. lateralis eggs is temps and humidity. If they dry out, no hatch. I have placed the ootheca on damp green moss with 80F and they hatched good. A little difficult though to separate. Another method is to put them in a shoe box container with a separate container of water gel to provide humidity. Be careful putting the container on a hot light, possible fire hazard. Keep them warm and humid and you should have baby nymphs running all over.

[mrxyo]

Are they faster than dubia roaches? I need this info.

[moose9900]

@mrxyo Are they faster in what way? Speed, yes. Breeding, possibly. B. dubia give birth every 30 days, B. lateralis seem to drop an egg case every week or so (never watch a single to track). But the eggs can take 2 to 4 weeks or longer to hatch. B. dubia are much larger, more meat for your buck.. B. lateralis are more active when feeding your critters. I guess it depends on what your going to use them for.

-Greg

[mrxyo]

@moose9900 I currently use Tenebrio molitor for feeding my spiders (which are L9 and less). However, I started to think about about something moving faster than my lazy worms. I guess B. lateralis would be great, but soon it may turn out that these roaches will be too small for my growing spiders.

Thanks for quick reply ;)

[moose9900]

@mrxyo You would definitely be stepping up by feeding roaches as they are more nutritious overall. I raise and breed several species of roaches as feeders for my tarantulas so they get a variety and that I have many different sizes of tarantulas. If one species is too small, I step up to a larger feeder as they grow. B. lateralis and N. cinerea are great foe slings and juveniles, B. dubia and discoids are great for larger specimens.I feed over 400 tarantulas weekly, so I need a variety.

-Greg

[MrGeckolover]

do you have escapes because evrey one in the netherlands says they escape very quick

[moose9900]

Only when I feed, and sometimes when cleaning or sorting. Yes, they are very fast and the males are the sneaky/smart ones. As soon as a male senses or see's freedom, he will jump and flutter fly to the ground. We don't worry about infestation here because it is so dry and these roaches require moister, warmer conditions to molt and survive. If you do have escapes, I found putting a container(s) of water along a wall well attract and trap/drown them.

-Greg

[SupraNAT]

How do you keep the humidity up in the enclosure?

[moose9900]

With the ventilation I have, I just use a 16 oz deli container full of water gel. It keeps the humidity at around 44% which is all they need and keeps the roaches hydrated as well.

-Greg.

[FireGuyX]

You don't have to use any soil for the roaches to breed right?

[moose9900]

No soil/substrate for breeding. But you must keep high (85F-95F) temps and moderate humidity. If not enough humidity egg cases (oothec) dry out and won't hatch. If you can't get humidity up, just take out egg cases and put them in a deli container with moist moss or similar and they'll hatch.

[lizardgirlkelsey]

HOW DO YOU MAKE WATER JEL!???

[moose9900]

With water crystals. Water crystals are safe and non-toxic for using as a water source for crickets and roaches. Water crystals absorb up to 400 times there mass in water. I sell 1oz bags of water crystals on my website (link in description) and will be adding pre-made water gel shortly. One ounce of water crystals makes approx. one gal of water gel. Hope that helps.

[mattmoksnes]

WOW Greg you weren't kidding when you told me you have thousands of them man when I was watching the video I was like holy crap thats a lot of roaches and wow man you have like a lot of babies too. well man thank you so much for making this video

[moose9900]

Your welcome. I'll be making another on my B. dubia setup this week sometime. I may do one on my mealwors too. Glad you like it.

[19IndianOrnamental96]

hey thinks for more vids awsome

[TomatoFrogs211]

christ thats a lot of roaches

[LlGANNA]

How's the odor? If any.

[moose9900]

A little when you get a large amount like I have. I think that is due to the extra moisture in the bin, no condensation though. Nothing if you compare to crickets which seem to permeate the room after a few days. As soon as I remove the lid, it dissipates quickly. When I started there was no oder. The bin you see in the video hasn't been cleaned in well over a month. So if they do produce any oder, just clean more often. Thanks for the comment.