Pet Cockroaches

[petcockroaches]

I put a plastic beetle into the tank for fun. Here are a couple of girls snuggling with it...!

[petcockroaches]

Dorothea has claimed the strawberry

[petcockroaches]

I got my current oldest roach, Dorothea, three years ago. She was fully grown when I got her, which means she is probably at least three and a half years old, maybe even four. She was missing one tarsus (insect hand/foot) by the time I got her.

Recently, I noticed that ALL of her tarsi were gone. All of them, like they had just dropped off, at the same time. And I am totally puzzled. Is this something that happens to older bugs? Do their hands and feet just kind of drop off? I find it highly doubtful any of my roaches would have ripped them off as they’re usually pretty peaceful, especially towards the females.

She’s coping with her disability just fine as she lives in a safe environment, but sometimes she falls over and needs help getting back up (I helped her immediately after filming this!).

[petcockroaches]

So I can safely say hissing cockroaches won’t bite as an offense or defense mechanism... but today, I discovered that they can nibble you if your fingers are covered in banana goo and they get excited and think you’re a banana!

(Banana time always means party time in my terrarium. They absolutely love it.)

[petcockroaches]

Here’s a group picture from my latest tank cleaning. I counted 20!

Unfortunately, they haven’t given me any new baby roaches for a long time, and I’ve even started finding discarded egg sacs, so I’m trying to figure out what might be wrong. I’ve started changing their diet a little, and introduced some new roaches from a different breeder to broaden their gene pool. Fingers crossed!

[petcockroaches]

The biggest freshly molted roach I have ever seen!

I know they’re fragile at this stage and I shouldn’t touch them, but... he was so special I had to hold him.

[petcockroaches]

I went to the “Kimoi Ten”, or “Gross Exhibition”, at Tokyo Sky Tree this weekend. It was... adorable. It’s quite funny to me how they try so hard to hype these totally normal, harmless animals as super gross.

The first exhibition was the “gross tunnel” where “only the bravest heroes dare enter!!” It was literally a tunnel made out of glass domes filled with mealworms. Daring, indeed. It’s like walking through a tunnel of kittens.

Among various unconventionally attractive animals, they had two species of cockroaches, Madagascar hissing cockroach, and Turkestan cockroach. Very beautiful displays. The hissers were huge! I’ve never managed to raise hissers that gigantic.

Overall I have... mixed feelings. It was a beautiful exhibition, but I get very tired of my favorite animals, animals that have been proven to be harmless and beneficial, even, getting painted as disgusting and villainous.

[petcockroaches]

2/2

What followed was this tender embrace. I’m not entirely sure as I am still new to millipedes... but I think this might have been some kind of attempted mating ritual?

[petcockroaches]

1/2

The following is a pair of videos I randomly got while making snapchats of my millipedes; if I knew that something interesting was about to happen, I would naturally have tried to get better shots. Oh well. If you squint, you might be able to make out what’s happening.

Romeo carefully prodding Douglas, before sort of tackling him and wrapping himself around him.

[petcockroaches]

I let Romeo explore my desk, and he would not completely let go of my hand the whole time. Roaches are deeply unsettled by open, unnaturally flat spaces, so I’m thinking millipedes probably feel the same way.

[petcockroaches]

The thing about millipedes is that they’re actually really strong. I’ve tried to hold Romeo’s head in place a few times in order to get a good picture, but he ends up using his little snoot to roll himself out of the way with great force.

[petcockroaches]

Are the millipedes easy to care for? I've always wanted one.

Super easy! They need a fairly roomy tank* and moist substrate to dig around in. They feed mostly on fruits and greens, but I might also try to add some of the fish food flakes I use for my roaches to their diet.

*I actually worry that mine might be a little too small, so I would appreciate opinions if anybody has any. I’ve seen it be recommended that millipede tanks are at least three times as long as the millipedes themselves, but mine is only a few centimeters longer...! My millipedes do seem comfortable as it is, but it’s hard to know what an arthropod is thinking.

[petcockroaches]

Fed my roaches banana for the first time in a while and they were very excited! I think I also managed to capture some of their incredible neck flexibility in this video.

[petcockroaches]

Sorry! Didn't mean to offend you. They are beautiful, but also creepy (to me). 😬

Undeserved negative reactions to our pets is really common in the arthropod owner community, and I’m just really tired of it. So thank you so much for coming forward to apologize, it means a lot to hear!

[petcockroaches]

Not cockroaches, but I think people who appreciate cockroaches will appreciate them… my new giant millipedes!

They’re very hard to photograph since they keep their faces buried while in the tank, and they’re always on the move when I hold them. I’ll keep trying, though!

[garuda-dreams-of-rain]

Why are they different colors? Oh, and ew. 😃

[petcockroaches]

Animals come in different colors sometimes... also, rude. :(

[petcockroaches]

do your millipedes have names? theyre so cute i love them

I’m considering Romeo (first name to randomly pop into my head) and Douglas (first name I got through a random baby name generator) but I’m not 100% sure if I’m feeling them... but if I can’t think of anything better, these might stick.

(Side note, sorry for not answering asks in like... forever. I have anxiety issues so it’s not you, it’s me! I’ll try to get better!)

[petcockroaches]

Not cockroaches, but I think people who appreciate cockroaches will appreciate them... my new giant millipedes!

They’re very hard to photograph since they keep their faces buried while in the tank, and they’re always on the move when I hold them. I’ll keep trying, though!