Roaches don't jump but they run very fast.
The roaches finally arrived a few days ago. They were shipped in a poster tube, tightly and robustly taped at either end and filled with newspaper and roaches. I think I'm going to have to get serious and get a plastic container with the special paint to prevent their escape if I intend to use them as a food source. Getting them out of the tube, while quite easy, makes it difficult to do a number of things.
1. See how many there are left
2. Put a reasonable number into the cage for feeding
3. Give them food
4. Have some idea of their health
The poster tube has newspaper in the center so I cannot see how many roaches are actually in the tube. When I try to put some in the cage I either get just a couple popping out or I get a flood - there doesn't seem to be any midway point. This morning there was a flood. The dragon was going crazy trying to catch them all. I spilled a few on the floor and I'm pretty certain I didn't get them all.
I know I should put them into a small container and put them in the fridge to slow them down but that requires forward planning. It also requires roaches in the fridge. I'm not much at the former regarding roach feeding and I'm on thin ice with the latter. I get away with rats and mealworms in the fridge but I suspect I need to get another fridge and put it in the garage if I intend to cool down the roaches.
The roaches will just about well eat anything but at the moment I have no idea what they are eating in the tube. All I can see is stuffed newspaper. I tried to pull a bit out this morning, which is where all of the trouble started. A few roaches came out but when I pulled a bit of paper out there was a veritable flood of the bastards. I went into a blind panic as the last thing I want is dozens of roaches running around the house. Crickets at least have some aura of acceptability and 'she who must be obeyed' can have a little chortled with friends etc. She would be hard pressed to find anything remotely amusing to tell her friends about if these were roaches. "We've got dozens of roaches running around the house, haw, haw" doesn't come off nearly as funny as crickets in her circle of friends. Thy run like hell and can climb anything. I think I've secured the perimeter so far but I can see I need to perfect this.
On another matter, the local herp shop has changed rodent supplies. Prices have doubled for the rats and there are now no mice. I'm prepared to give them some slack while they find another supplier but I'm a tad cranky at the prices. There is another supplier who has both and I'll be going to them in the immediate future and chase up the other when they have found their new supplier. I hope they find one soon.
1. See how many there are left
2. Put a reasonable number into the cage for feeding
3. Give them food
4. Have some idea of their health
The poster tube has newspaper in the center so I cannot see how many roaches are actually in the tube. When I try to put some in the cage I either get just a couple popping out or I get a flood - there doesn't seem to be any midway point. This morning there was a flood. The dragon was going crazy trying to catch them all. I spilled a few on the floor and I'm pretty certain I didn't get them all.
I know I should put them into a small container and put them in the fridge to slow them down but that requires forward planning. It also requires roaches in the fridge. I'm not much at the former regarding roach feeding and I'm on thin ice with the latter. I get away with rats and mealworms in the fridge but I suspect I need to get another fridge and put it in the garage if I intend to cool down the roaches.
The roaches will just about well eat anything but at the moment I have no idea what they are eating in the tube. All I can see is stuffed newspaper. I tried to pull a bit out this morning, which is where all of the trouble started. A few roaches came out but when I pulled a bit of paper out there was a veritable flood of the bastards. I went into a blind panic as the last thing I want is dozens of roaches running around the house. Crickets at least have some aura of acceptability and 'she who must be obeyed' can have a little chortled with friends etc. She would be hard pressed to find anything remotely amusing to tell her friends about if these were roaches. "We've got dozens of roaches running around the house, haw, haw" doesn't come off nearly as funny as crickets in her circle of friends. Thy run like hell and can climb anything. I think I've secured the perimeter so far but I can see I need to perfect this.
On another matter, the local herp shop has changed rodent supplies. Prices have doubled for the rats and there are now no mice. I'm prepared to give them some slack while they find another supplier but I'm a tad cranky at the prices. There is another supplier who has both and I'll be going to them in the immediate future and chase up the other when they have found their new supplier. I hope they find one soon.
posted by Mark Chapple at 8:49 PM
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