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Hissing Cockroach Care Guide
Hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa),also referred to as the Madagascar hissing roaches or hissers, are large insects that are known for their ability to tolerate being handled and the noise them make.
Hissing roaches make a perfect beginner insect pets, as they are relatively simple to care for, don’t cost much, and make interesting comapnions.
Hissing Cockroach pet – How big do they get?
Hissing cockroaches begin life as 1/4″ nymphs (baby roaches), and can attain adult size at 5-6 months of age under the proper care and conditions.
The MGHC Large adult males can reach up to 4 inches in length, and weigh almost an ounce!
These roaches will grow as far as they’re alive and will shed away their exoskeleton when they do so. The young roaches of this breed will shed more often than older animals. After your pet hisser sheds, it will become soft and white for some hours.
Hissing Cockroach Lifespan – How long can a hissing cockroach live?
Hissing cockroaches generally live 2-3 years but can live up to 4 or 5 years with excellent care, nutrition and love.
- Hissing Cockroach Housing
These roach types are easy to house – they also do not need much room 1-2 hissers can be housed in something as small as a ½ gallon container, as long as it is well ventilated.
A group of hissing cockroaches can be housed in a 10-gallon or effective habitat. Their housing must have a screen top, in order to prevent escapes – you really do not want roaches running around your home.
NOTE: These roaches can climb glass with ease. We recommend placing a layer of petroleum jelly along the top inside the rim of the enclosure, to keep the hissers from reaching the top.
- Hissing Cockroach Substrate
For this, you should use coconut fiber. However, ensure it is kept slightly damp. We also recommend providing a piece of cork as a hide and climbing obstacle for the roaches.
Add a small water bowl and food bowl so they don’t drown! Your pet roaches are bound to thrive!
- Temperature
Hissing cockroaches will do good at room temperature but will breed and grow best if kept warmer, up to 95F.
You may need to use a heat lamp or heat pad in order to provide them with the warmth they need.
- Roach Diet
Roaches in general aren’t known to be picky eaters. You can feed them a dry cat or dog food. Fresh fruits such as oranges, apples, and bananas can be offered as treats.
Leafy vegetables such as turnips, mustard greens or collard are also a great treat. Take away any uneaten fruit after some days, so that it does not rot in their enclosure.
- Hissing Cockroach Breeding
Well, it’s simple – put a male and female together and BOOM! You have babies! There’s no specdial formula for that.
Hissers can attain sexual maturity at 3 months, although 5-6 months is more common. Simply make sure sexes (males have much more pronounced ‘horns’ than females – pictured below), and give them time.
Female hissers can have up to three litters per year, with each litter consisting of 2-3 dozen little nymphs. The female holds the eggs inside her body until they hatch.
The eggs will hatch 60 days after the hissing roaches mate. we recommend keeping hissing cockroaches warmer (80F – 90F) if you wish to breed them. With older animals, males typically display prominent horns on their heads.
Sexing hissing roaches is a simple task – by looking at their rear from underneath, you can know males and females.
Males possess smaller segments at the rear of their abdomen, while females have one.
- Hissing Cockroach miscarriage
No, they do not experience miscarriage but their babies can die if the cage temperature is not right.
Where Can You Find Hissing Cockroachesin The Wild?
Hissing cockroaches have roots from an island in Madagascar, where they live in a tropical/subtropical climate in leaf litter and rotten logs on the forest floor.
