Frequently asked questions...
All about Discoids
What kind of enclosure do I keep my Discoids in?
Get a Bin from Walmart or some other place or maybe you even have one at home. Discoids can not climb glass, really smooth surfaces nor do they fly. Put in some egg crates. Discoids are burrowing roaches so they do great with some bed-a-beast compressed coconut fiber.
What temperature do Discoid Roaches thrive in?
Ours are thriving in temperatures between 83 to 95 degrees. If you want to read more about what type of equipment to use to keep the temperatures up please Check here
How fast do Discoids Roaches sexually mature?
Discoids sexually mature within 4-5 months and will get their wings at that point.
What do I feed them?
How many Babies can Discoids have in a month?
Discoids can have about 35 babies every 30 to 45 days. It doesn't mean they will, it all depends on your husbandry.
Do Discoids lay eggs or give live birth?
Discoid babies are born live after hatching inside of their mother. The female Roach will dispell the egg sack once the babies are born.
How do you tell Male and Females apart?
Males are generally smaller than females with his wings going past the tip of the abdomen while females wings are shorter than the abdomen. Females are much wider and thicker. The easiest and most effective way to sex them is by looking at their underside though. On the left hand side a Male Discoid and on the right hand side a Female Discoid Roach. Males also generally also more skittish than their counterparts.
Can Discoids fly?
No. They can flutter while they jump but they can not fly nor climb smooth surfaces.
How about Humidity requirements?
Don't my Roaches need to drink?
Yikes! What's wrong with my Roach!? There is something hanging out of it's Butt!
Sometimes the pregnant female roaches will hang out their egg sack (called the ootheca) to help it harden. If all is well she'll pull it back in and either breed again or get's ready to give birth. Please do not mess with it as you could severly injure your Discoid. If the Roaches are stressed you could find a dispelled egg sack. In that case check your husbandry and make sure your temperatures look good, that the roaches aren't overcrowded and are well fed.
Is a brown egg sack a failed one?
Do Roach Babies hatch?
Yes, but not like you would think. Discoid Roaches give live birth once a month (or can depending on your husbandry). When the egg sack is ready it turns brittle, the babies hatch inside the mothers womb, come out and look like little white dots before they turn into brown roaches and the egg case get's dispelled.
How often do you change the bedding?
We don't! Babies thrive in Frazz (Roach Poop) it's what they nourish on in the beginning and it gives them the nutrions they need as well as makes them resilient. Unless you have a mold issue from left over food or something or have a mite infestation, there is no need to change it.
The Full Setup!
We get a lot of questions after people receive their roaches about the Set ups our how to now breed roaches. I thought I would show you how we currently have our bins set up. We always change our setup based on observation over time on how our Roaches breed and interact in their current environment. This is what we're currently using and we're seeing optimal breeding performance.
2. We use Exo Terra Eco earth,
plantation soil or Coconut fiber husk - roughly an inch on the bottom.
3. We buy our Egg crates from here - they deliver fast and their egg crates are fantastic!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/30ct-Egg-Flats-70pcs/274372797536
but you probably want smaller amounts from here
https://www.amazon.com/Biodegradable-Fiber-Flats-MT-Products/dp/B073R964C9/
4. We feed our own dry food (we will be selling that once we move and are settled in) but mostly our Roaches get organic greens, fruits and veggies every other day. We simply put those on top of our egg crates (Because of the sheer number of roaches we have have, nothing ever lasts longer than 30 minutes in their bins before its devoured). Make sure some gets down to the substrate for the babies!
5. For water we do two things. a.) We wash anything we give the roaches thoroughly but DON'T dry it off. b.) We have a 3 gallon sprayer that we mist the insides of the bins with. The roaches will come up and drink the water droplets.
6. Given where we live and that our Roaches are in their own barn unless it's winter we don't need a heat source here. We do have 3 heaters in there that we use in the winter to assure the temps don't drop below 76 minimum. We also have an AC Unit that keeps them below 100 degrees in the summer. We monitor the Barn with
this and also have the router so we can get alerts whens we're NOT at home. Our AC unit is hooked up to Alexa so we can turn on the AC from afar as needed.
How do you deal with Bugs invading your bins?
We really don't have that issue. Our Barn is set up to prevent other animals from invading it by means of having most everything secured with screening on the actual building. That said, we DO have to go in and out of it and here is what we do should we find a stray critter:
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Anole - we chase it out of the barn or if we can catch it, relocate it to outside. -
Huntsman spiders - we catch and relocate to outside of barn. -
We had ants once after a Banana feast for the roaches and we ended up greasing the feed of our plstic shelving. The ants left within days since they couldn't get up the bins and we haven't seen them since. -
Fruitflies - So this we hear quite a bit from people. The best way to get rid of Fruitflies is to fill a Jar with Apple cider vinegar or some sort of apple or fruit juice. Take a bit of plastic/Seran wrap and put it tighlty over the jar opening with a ruibberband or whatever you have handy. Take a bbq skewer or toothpick and poke a few holes in the plastic. Big enough for them to get in but they won't be able to get out. -
Mites - Luckily and we consider ourselves lucky we never had to deal with this. Should you have been invested with mites, the best way to do is the following: 1. Clean the bin by clearing it out comepltely, clean it to remove as many mites and eggs as possible. 2. Shake the Roaches gently - wipe them off if you can. 3. Reduce the Humidity. 4. Clean ALL surfaces. 5. Vaccum 6. Wash everything. 7. Avoid re-contamination. Plan B: Add some Ladybugs to your Roach Bins. They WILL eat the grain mites.
Do I need to wash the food I feed my Roaches?
I have a Roach that has lost all of or part of his antenna. Will it be okay?
Absolutely. Did you know Discoids can also re-grow some limbs? If you're interested on more of this topic there is an interesting scientisfic read right here
How do you keep the egg crates from getting wet if you use Eco Earth or Coconut Fiber substrate?
Most Eco earth or Coconut fiber husk is sold in a Brick that you have to add water to. Rather than using a Gallon of water to expand the brick, start off with 2 cups, break it up some with your hands once it is soaked in. Add more water as needed per cup until you have the desired result. If your substrate in the end is too wet just let is dry in the bin. To dry we simply mix ours up for a few days until it dried out.
Can I have a bioactive setup for my roaches?
We haven't played around enough with that to say yes or no. Since we breed to sell them it wouldn't make much sense for our purposes since we would have to dig out the roaches and would essentially destroy that setup in the process.
Can I leave the Dry Food in their bin?
We have had no issue doing that but we also have a massive amount of roaches. Remember not to overfeed and you shouldn't have any problems with mold.
Should I separate my roaches by size?
You certainly can. We do not. All of our roaches of all sizes live together in bins. The only time we take some out is to fulfill an order or to start a new bin due to it being overcrowded.
Do I need a Cleaner Beetle colony?
To that "WE" will answer a resounding NO! Cleaner beetles eat left over food and frazz as well as decaying matter. We'e already answered why we believe Frazz should never be removed. Left over food should also not be an issue if you remove the left overs after 12 to 24 hours. The only benefit we could see is for them to remove the shed piece or any dead roaches but we hand pick those out of our bins.
Does the size bin I get matter? Will they breed less in a big bin?
The short answer is no. The "REAL" real estate are the egg crates. As long as you have some room for your colony to grow you're good to go and if you can't get a bigger bin when needed add some extra living space by adding more egg crates.
How can I tell if a female is pregnant?
They turn into big fat heavy pillows LOL They'll be bigger and rounder!
Do the Babies burrow or hide?
A previously mentioned, Discoids are a burrowing roach and if you ever feel compelled to pick up a handful of substrate or frazz you're bound to find a load of babies in there!
Do I have to change the egg crates?
We change our out when they look chewed up or "icky".
I read they bred better if I feed them Oranges, is this true?
Oranges are like an "Aphrodisiac" to Roaches. If you feed oranges stick to Navel ones because they have the lowest citric acid content and wait 3-4 days before feeding those roaches to your reptiles to assure they have properly digested it. We wouldn't recommend more than once per week. Also be VERY VERY sure that you SCRUB the oranges before giving them to your roachesthe peels are full of pesticides that dont hurt us but are lethal to your colony. That goes for anything fresh - always throughly wash anything fresh you give them! We've heard of entire colonies being wiped out because the owner gave them fresh food but didn't wash it.
Shipping
What days do you ship?
We ship Monday through Thursday We do not ship Friday or Saturday so we can assure that the Roaches do not have "additional lay over" before delivery since the Post office does not deliver on Sunday.
Do you ship oversees?
No, unfortunately we do not.
Do you have weather shipping restrictions?
WINTER: We will not ship if the temperature is below 40 degrees. Also if we do ship in colder weather please be sure someone grab your package upon arrival or we can arrange for the Post Office to hold it there for pick up.
What is your Shipping policy in case something goes wrong in transit?
Of course we're going to work with you, above all your happiness and that of your reptile is the most important to us!
What can I do from my end to assure my Roaches remain alive?
Track your package online so you are prepared to receive it!!
I'm local, can I pick my Roaches up?
Hello fellow Floridian! If you're local just message us or leave us a note in your order and we'll make arrangements to meet up with you in Hastings at our Property but be sure to leave your number so we can reach you via Text. We now also send you an email when your Roaches are ready for pickup in addition to the above should they be done before the agreed upon pickup time.
When should I purchase an add on Heat Pack?
Anytime the temperatures are below 50 degrees you'll need to add a heat pack to your order. We sell them as add on's right where you can buy the Roaches in the shop. If it is below 50 degrees we can NOT guarantee live arrival and you may end up with a loss. We put a lot of love and effort into breeding our Roaches and we don't want them to perish during transit over something that is entirely avoidable so please add that Heat pack if your Temperatures are too cold.
Ordering made easy!
How do I know which post office to pick up my "Hold for Pickup" order from?
Unfortunately we do not have any more information than you do from tracking and will not be able to tell you where to pick up your order. We suggest the following: