Setting up your roach ranch? Don’t worry, it’s easier than you think!

Start with a bin A basic plastic tote from Walmart, Target, or even one you’ve got lying around will do the trick. Discoids can’t climb smooth surfaces or glass, and they don’t fly so no fancy terrarium needed.

Add some egg crates They love to hide and climb, so stack a few egg flats vertically to give them plenty of cozy crevices. 👉 Here’s where we get ours

Give them something to dig into Discoids are burrowers by nature, so we recommend lining the bottom with compressed coconut fiber (like Bed-A-Beast or Eco Earth). It helps with humidity and gives them a comfy place to molt. 👉 Here’s our go-to substrate

Need a bin recommendation? 👉 These are the ones we use

That’s it! Simple, affordable, and roach-approved. Got questions about setup? We’re always here to help your colony thrive.

Think of your roaches as tiny nutrition-packed delivery trucks. What you feed them goes straight into your reptiles. So let’s make it count!

 Fresh is best Offer produce like Collards, leafy greens, squash, and other root veggies. These give your roaches a balanced diet and in turn, boost the nutrition your reptiles get when feeding time rolls around. Depending on what animal you're feeding your Roaches to, you can adjust the diet with Fruits as well.

Feed what they’ll eat in 24 hours Only give them what they can finish in a day. Any leftovers? Scoop them out to prevent mold. (Seriously, mold is the silent colony killer. Don’t let it sneak in.)

Clean bin = happy bugs Keep things tidy and dry to avoid contamination and keep your colony thriving.

Remember: healthy roaches = healthy reptiles. Feed them well, and your scaly sidekicks will thank you.

YES. PLEEEEEASE wash those fruits, greens, and veggies before feeding them to your roaches!

Here’s why: Most produce is sprayed with pesticides to keep pests away, and guess what? Roaches are pests in the eyes of farmers. So while your larger animals might tolerate trace amounts, for insects, it’s basically a slow, silent death sentence. 😬

Let’s keep your colony thriving with this simple wash routine:

🫧 The Soak Method

• Fill your sink with water

• Add about ½ cup of white vinegar (or use a 1:4 vinegar-to-water ratio for smaller batches)

• Let your produce soak for a few minutes

• Rinse thoroughly

🧴 The Spray Method (for small batches)

• Mix the same vinegar-water ratio in a spray bottle

• Spray your produce, let it sit for a few minutes

• Rinse well before serving

Your roaches will thank you with healthy molts, strong appetites, and top-tier nutrition for your reptiles. Clean food = clean colony = happy herps.

They sure do, but not in the way you might think!

Our roaches get most of their hydration from the fresh, rinsed greens we feed them. We wash their veggies thoroughly and leave them a little damp, no towel-drying here! That moisture goes a long way. We also give our colonies a light mist 2–3 times a week to keep humidity levels just right.

Want to go the extra mile? You can add a shallow dish of water crystals to their bin for extra hydration. Just skip the open water dish roaches aren’t great swimmers, and we don’t want any accidental drownings.

Discoids like it hot. For optimal breeding, we keep our bins at a toasty 85–92°F, and the results speak for themselves: happy, active, baby-making bugs.

Want to learn how to keep your roaches cozy too? 👉 Check out our heating tips and equipment guide here

Keeping your temps dialed in = thriving colony = more feeders for your scaly crew.

If you’re in Florida like us, congrats, you’re basically living in a roach spa ;) But just in case you’re somewhere drier (or running the A/C like it’s your job), here’s the sweet spot:

Discoids thrive at 45–50% humidity.

That’s their happy place. Moist enough to support healthy molts, but not so damp that you’re inviting mold to the party. If your space runs dry, a light misting a few times a week or a damp corner of substrate can help keep things balanced.

Happy humidity = happy molts = happy colony.

Discoids take their sweet time growing up, but once they do, it’s go time.

They typically reach sexual maturity and sprout their wings around 4 to 5 months of age.

That’s when the real colony magic begins. 💕🪳

So if you’re raising up a future breeder crew, give them time, keep them warm, and before you know it, you’ll have a bin full of winged "lovebugs" ready to do their thing.

When conditions are just right, a single female Discoid can pop out around 35 babies every 30 to 45 days. Yep! Tiny roach bundles of joy!

But here’s the catch: that number isn’t guaranteed. It all comes down to your husbandry, things like temperature, humidity, nutrition, and stress levels all play a role in how productive your colony will be. Treat your roaches right, and they’ll return the favor with a booming bug nursery.

Discoids are live-bearers! That’s right, no egg-laying here. When it’s go-time, mama roach gives birth to fully formed, wiggly little nymphs ready to burrow and grow. It’s one of the coolest (and weirdly adorable) things to witness in the bug world.

🎥 Curious what it looks like? You can watch a live birth right here below!

Bug birth: it’s wild, it’s real, and it’s part of the magic of colony life.

Ah, the age-old roach riddle: who’s who in the bin?

Here’s how to spot the difference:

🪳 Males

• Usually smaller and slimmer

• Wings extend past the tip of the abdomen

• Often more skittish and speedy

• On their underside, you’ll notice a narrower body shape

🪳 Females

• Wider, thicker, and built like a tank

• Wings are shorter than the abdomen

• Tend to be a bit more chill

• Their underside is broader and rounder

🔍 Pro tip: The most reliable way to sex them is by checking their underside. We’ve included a side-by-side visual to help you out:

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be a roach sexing pro in no time.

Nope! Discoids can’t fly so no surprise takeoffs in your living room. They might give a little flutter boost when they jump, but that’s about it. And bonus: they also can’t climb smooth surfaces like glass or plastic, which makes them super easy to contain.

Grounded, chill, and easy to manage, just the way we like our bugs.

Don’t panic, it’s not as weird as it looks!

Sometimes, a pregnant female Discoid will partially push out her ootheca (that’s the fancy word for egg sack) to help it harden. If everything’s going smoothly, she’ll pull it back in when she’s ready to either breed again or give birth.

🛑 Important: Please don’t try to remove it or help, interfering can seriously injure her!

If you notice a dropped or dried-out egg sack, it could be a sign of stress. In that case, check your setup:

• Are your temps in the sweet spot (88–92°F)?

• Is the bin overcrowded?

• Are they getting enough fresh food and hydration?

A little husbandry check can go a long way in keeping your colony calm, comfy, and baby-ready.

Not at all! If you spot something that looks like a brown egg sack hanging out of your roach, don’t worry, it’s actually a good sign. Sometimes, a female will “vent” her ootheca (egg sack) by pushing it out slightly to cool it off or dry it out. As the babies inside develop, the ootheca naturally darkens to a brown color. A brown egg sack usually means one thing: Babies are on the way!

So no need to panic, just give her space, keep conditions stable, and get ready for some tiny new additions to your colony.

Yes, but not in the way you might expect!

Discoid roaches give live birth, usually about once a month (depending on your husbandry game). Here’s how it works:

• The female carries an ootheca (egg sack) internally

• When it’s ready, the sack becomes brittle, and the babies hatch inside her

• Then: Ta-da! She gives birth to a bunch of tiny white nymphs

• Within a few hours, they darken into the classic baby roach brown

• The empty egg case is then expelled

It’s wild, it’s weird, and it’s one of the coolest parts of keeping a colony!

Surprise answer: We don’t! And here’s why!

Baby roaches actually thrive in “frass” (yep, that’s roach poop). It’s packed with nutrients that help them grow strong, healthy, and resilient in their early days. Think of it as their first superfood smoothie, gross, but effective. 💩✨

Unless you’re dealing with:

• Mold (usually from leftover food)

• Mite infestations

…there’s really no need to change the bedding. In fact, keeping that frass around gives your colony a major head start. So skip the deep clean and let nature do its thing.

We get a ton of questions after folks receive their roaches, mostly about how to set up bins and how to get those babies breeding. So here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how we currently run our setup.

Just a heads-up: we’re always tweaking things based on how our colony behaves. Observation is key! But right now, this setup is giving us top-tier breeding results:

1️⃣ The Bins

We use 56 qt clear bins from Walmart... about $8 each.

• No lids (Discoids can’t climb smooth plastic)

• Clear sides help us monitor activity without spooking them

• Bonus: they’re so used to us, they don’t even scatter when Chris pops in to say hi 🥰

2️⃣ The Substrate

We lay down about 1 inch of any one of these:

• Exo Terra Eco Earth

• Plantation Soil

• Coconut Fiber Husk

• Frass

All four work great, pick what’s available to you!

3️⃣ The Egg Crates

We stack egg crates vertically for hiding and climbing.

• Bulk orders: Zellwin Egg Flats (fast shipping, great quality)

• Smaller quantities: Amazon Option

4️⃣ The Food

We feed a mix of:

• Our own dry blend

• Organic greens, fruits, and veggies every other day. We grow most of our own Organic food on our homestead and freeze dry as we go through the seasons for when we can not feed fresh.

We place food on top of the egg crates—and trust us, with the number of roaches we have, it’s gone in 30 minutes flat. Make sure some scraps reach the substrate for the babies!

5️⃣ The Water

Hydration is key! Here’s how we do it:

• We wash all produce thoroughly and don’t dry it, the moisture helps

• We use a 3-gallon sprayer to mist the bins. Roaches drink the droplets right off the walls

6️⃣ The Climate

Our roaches live in their own dedicated barns, so here’s how we manage temps:

• No heat source needed most of the year (Florida perks!)

• In winter: Out Climate Control System temps above 80°F

• In summer: an AC unit keeps it under 100°F

• We monitor everything remotely with a smart sensor + router

• The AC is hooked up to Alexa, so we can cool things down even when we’re away

That’s our current setup and it’s working beautifully. Remember, every colony is a little different, so don’t be afraid to adjust based on what your roaches are telling you. Happy breeding!

Honestly? We don’t run into this much. Our roach barn is locked down tight with screened vents and sealed entry points to keep unwanted guests out. But hey, nature finds a way, and sometimes a critter sneaks in (we're actually in the middle of buying air curtains because good lord Gnats are annoying!) . Here’s how we handle it:

Anoles

If one of these little lizard ninjas gets in, we gently chase or catch and relocate them outside. No harm, no foul.

Huntsman Spiders

We’re not in the business of squashing helpful hunters. We catch and release them outside the barn, preferably far enough away that they don’t RSVP again.

Ants

We had a brief ant invasion after a particularly juicy banana feast. Our fix? We greased the legs of our plastic shelving, and boom, no more ant access. They gave up and moved on within days.

Fruit Flies

These guys are a common complaint. Here’s our go-to trap:

1. Fill a jar with apple cider vinegar or fruit juice

2. Cover the top with plastic wrap and secure it with a rubber band

3. Poke a few small holes with a toothpick or skewer They’ll fly in, but they won’t fly out. Problem solved.

Mites

We’ve been lucky, no mite infestations here. But if you’re dealing with them, here’s your action plan:

1. Clear out and deep-clean the bin

2. Gently shake and wipe down your roaches

3. Lower humidity: Mites hate dry conditions

4. Clean all surfaces, vacuum, and wash everything

5. Avoid re-contamination by keeping things tidy

6. Bonus tip: Add ladybugs to your bin they’ll snack on grain mites like it’s a buffet

We also wrote a whole blog post on dealing with gnats! 👉 Check it out here

Keeping your colony clean and critter-free is all about prevention, observation, and a little DIY magic.

Totally! Roaches are tough little survivors, and losing part (or even all) of an antenna isn’t the end of the world. In fact, fun bug fact: Discoids can regenerate limbs over time, especially during molts. So if your roach is otherwise healthy, it’ll keep on living its best bug life.

Want to nerd out a bit? There’s a fascinating scientific read on roach regeneration right here: 👉 Check it out

Bug resilience is real, and your little antenna-challenged friend is gonna be just fine.

Great question and one we get a lot! Most Eco Earth or coconut fiber comes in a compressed brick that needs water to expand. But here’s the trick to keeping your egg crates dry and your bin balanced:

Start small: Instead of dumping in a full gallon of water, begin with about 2 cups. Break the brick apart with your hands as it soaks, and add water gradually until you hit that perfect texture.

Too wet? No problem: If you go overboard, just mix the substrate around in the bin for a few days. It’ll dry out naturally.

What we aim for: A slightly damp substrate that eventually dries out to bone dry, especially in Florida’s humidity, where extra moisture isn’t needed.

Dry crates = happy roaches = no moldy mess.

Short answer: it can be! But it really depends on your goals. Since we breed roaches for sale, a bioactive setup doesn’t make much sense for us. We’d have to dig through the whole thing to collect roaches, which kind of defeats the purpose. So we stick to simple, efficient setups that keep our colonies thriving and easy to manage.

That said, plenty of hobbyists have had success with bioactive enclosures! They can create a more natural, enriching environment for your roaches, especially if you’re keeping them more as part of a display or ecosystem.

If you go this route:

• Add a cleanup crew (springtails, isopods) to manage waste

• Keep a close eye on humidity and temperature to match their natural habitat

• Be ready for a little more maintenance and observation

It’s a cool option if you’re into the bioactive lifestyle, just not the best fit for high-volume breeding.

Yep, you sure can! We leave dry food in our bins all the time with zero issues, but keep in mind, we’ve got a LOT of roaches, so nothing sits around for long. If you’re working with a smaller colony, just be mindful not to overfeed. A little goes a long way, and as long as the food’s getting eaten and not sitting damp, you shouldn’t run into any mold problems.

Dry food = low maintenance = happy bugs.

You can, but we don’t. All of our roaches, from tiny nymphs to full-grown adults, live together in the same bins. It keeps things simple and natural. The only time we separate them is when:

• We’re fulfilling an order

• A bin gets too crowded and it’s time to start a new one

Roaches are pretty chill roommates, and as long as your husbandry is solid, they’ll thrive together just fine.

Our answer? A big ol’ NOPE.

Cleaner beetles are often used to eat leftover food, frass (roach poop), and decaying matter... but here’s the thing:

• We’ve already explained why frass is gold for baby roaches and shouldn’t be removed

• Leftover food? Just remove it within 12–24 hours and you’re good

• As for sheds or the occasional dead roach, we hand-pick those out during regular maintenance

So unless you’re running a massive operation and need help with cleanup, we don’t see the need. For Discoids, cleaner beetles just aren’t essential. That said, it’s totally your call. If you’re curious or want to experiment, go for it! But for us, we keep it simple and it works beautifully.

We also wrote a deep-dive article on this topic if you want to nerd out a little more: 👉 Read it here

Short answer: Nope!

The real real estate isn’t the bin, it’s the egg crates. That’s where your roaches live, hide, breed, and do their thing. As long as your colony has:

• Enough egg crate space to spread out

• Room to grow gradually …you’re in great shape.

Can’t upgrade to a bigger bin just yet? No problem, just stack in more egg crates to give them extra living space without needing a full move.

More crates = more comfort = more babies.

Oh, you’ll know: She turns into a big, fat, roachy pillow. 😂

Pregnant females get noticeably rounder, heavier, and thicker through the middle. They’ve got that “I’m carrying 30+ babies” kind of glow (okay, maybe not glow... but definitely girth).

If she’s looking extra plump and moving a little slower, chances are she’s cooking up a fresh batch of nymphs.

Oh, they burrow... big time.

As we’ve mentioned before, Discoids are natural burrowers, and their babies are no exception. If you ever get the urge to scoop up a handful of substrate or frass, don’t be surprised if you uncover a tiny roach daycare underneath. They love to tuck themselves away in the cozy, nutrient-rich layers where it’s safe, warm, and snackable. So if you don’t see them right away, trust us, they’re in there!

Not often but yes, eventually.

We swap ours out when they start looking chewed up, soggy, or just plain icky. If they’re holding up and not growing anything funky, there’s no rush. Roaches aren’t picky but we are when it comes to keeping things clean and comfy. Think of it like changing the sheets: Do it when it feels right (or starts to smell wrong).

Kind of! Oranges are like a little aphrodisiac for roaches and they get the colony buzzing (literally). But there are a few things to keep in mind if you’re going to treat your bugs to citrus:

• Stick to Navel oranges: They have the lowest citric acid, which is gentler on your roaches’ systems.

• Limit it to once a week: A little goes a long way. Overdoing it can throw off their gut balance.

• Wait 3 - 4 days before feeding those roaches to your reptiles: This gives them time to fully digest the citrus.

• SCRUB those oranges like your colony depends on it: Because it does. Orange peels are often coated in pesticides that won’t hurt us, but can be lethal to your roaches.

And honestly, that goes for any fresh produce, always wash thoroughly. We’ve heard heartbreaking stories of entire colonies wiped out just because someone skipped the rinse. So yes, oranges can spice things up, but only if you serve them smart!

If you’re using tongs, the best spot to grip is just behind the head, where the exoskeleton slightly protrudes. It’s the most secure and comfortable place for the roach and it helps you avoid accidentally squeezing too hard on softer parts of the body.

Think of it like a gentle pinch on the shoulders... not too tight, just enough to keep them steady.

Always use soft-tipped or rubber-coated tongs if you can, and go slow. A calm roach is a happy roach.

So your bin is booming! Congrats! That means your roaches are happy, healthy, and doing what they do best. But when things start getting a little too cozy, it’s time to split the colony to keep everyone thriving. Here’s how we do it at Luna Roaches:

When to Split a Colony

Look for these signs:

• The bin is visibly overcrowded (roaches are stacked on top of each other constantly)

• You’re seeing slower growth or fewer babies

• There’s increased waste buildup or humidity issues

• You’re having trouble finding food that lasts more than 10 minutes

If your bin feels like a roach rave, it’s time to give them some breathing room.

What You’ll Need

• A clean, dry bin (we use 56 qt clear totes from Walmart. No lid needed)

• Fresh substrate (Eco Earth, coconut fiber, or plantation soil, about 1 inch)

• A few egg crates for hiding and climbing

• Optional: a spray bottle for misting and a thermometer/hygrometer to monitor conditions

How to Split the Colony

1. Pick your moment - Choose a calm time, ideally when you’re already doing maintenance or feeding. We're big on producing calm, healthy animals and we believe in keeping it as stress free as possible, even for Bugs!

2. Scoop and sort - Gently scoop out a mix of:

• Adults (both males and females)

• Juveniles

• A handful of nymphs. This gives your new bin a balanced population that can grow and breed naturally.

3. Transfer egg crates - Move a few egg crates over from the original bin. This brings familiar scent and structure, which helps reduce stress.

4. Add fresh food and mist - Give them a light mist and a small serving of fresh produce to help them settle in.

5. Monitor both bins - Keep an eye on humidity, temperature, and behavior over the next few days. If everyone’s eating, burrowing, and chilling, you’re golden.

Pro Tip: Clean as You Go

Use this opportunity to do a light clean of the original bin: Remove any moldy food, stir the substrate, and check for pests.

Splitting colonies isn’t just about space. It’s about keeping your roaches healthy, productive, and stress-free. Plus, it gives you a backup colony in case anything ever goes sideways.