Life on our Florida homestead is never boring. Between chickens clucking, turkeys strutting, bees buzzing, and roaches scuttling, there is always something going on. At first glance, you might not think those four belong in the same story. Chickens give us eggs, turkeys act like they run the place, bees keep the flowers blooming, and roaches… well, most people think roaches are only good at showing up where they are not wanted. But here, they all have something in common...

Unlike us mammals and birds, who are endotherms (meaning we generate most of our own body heat internally through metabolic processes, like a personal furnace), roaches are ectotherms (sometimes colloquially called "cold-blooded"). This means their internal body temperature is largely dictated by their external environment.

When we talk about the health of our exotic pets – be they reptiles, amphibians, or even some arachnids and small mammals – the adage "you are what you eat" applies just as much to their prey as it does to them. Among feeder insects, the Discoid roach (Blaptica discoidalis) consistently earns high marks from herpetologists and dedicated hobbyists alike.