HISSING COCKROACHES (Gromphadorhina portentosa)
To guarantee that your hissing cockroaches remain at their utmost condition upon their being delivered to you, please follow these steps.
Prior to the delivery of your hissing cockroaches, prepare for their arrival. Set up an enclosure in which your hissing cockroaches will be housed and have the food and water sources that your hissing cockroaches require prepared ahead of time. Make sure that someone will be present at the time of delivery to accept and properly care for the hissing cockroaches, including the transfer of the hissing cockroaches from their shipping box into the enclosure that you have prepared.
Hissing cockroaches require a large, spacious, well ventilated, clean enclosure to be housed in. A 24 inch (60.96 cm) deep, 73 Qt, clear plastic Sterilite® container - - that has been washed with hot water to remove the plastic scum and dried - - will make the perfect enclosure for 100 hissing cockroaches of any size. Although hissing cockroaches can be cannibalistic and males territorial, hissing cockroaches of different sizes and sexes can be housed together as long as they are provided with sufficient space, food, and water. Hissing cockroaches can scale the smooth plastic walls of the enclosure; therefore, a 1 inch (2.54 cm) band of petroleum jelly or a commercially produced roach barrier can be smeared around the inside of the top of the enclosure to reduce the possibility of escape from the enclosure. A framed, metal mesh, insect screen can be placed directly on top of the enclosure to permit for excellent ventilation and to prevent the escape of hissing cockroaches from and the entrance of any foreign objects into the enclosure. Place the hissing cockroach enclosure in a dry, inside location that is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 and 29.4 degrees Celsius) and that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. The temperature within the enclosure should remain between 80 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 and 35 degrees Celsius).
Large quantities of clean, fresh food and water must be accessible to the hissing cockroaches at all times, for hissing cockroaches have voracious appetites and will cannibalize each other if they have no food. Freshly quartered oranges, apples, or squash are the perfect water source for hissing cockroaches. Baby cereal and ground oat meal (with no added flavors) are excellent food sources for hissing cockroaches. Commercially produced and marketed insect water gels and diets can also be offered to hissing cockroaches as water and food sources, respectively.
Hissing cockroaches are packed and shipped in cardboard boxes containing cardboard partitions and egg crates. When your hissing cockroaches are delivered, immediately bring them inside and transfer them into the prepared enclosure by opening the top of the shipping box, using a knife or razor blade to cut the tape along its top, and gently pulling open all of the top flaps. Once open, flip the box upside down, directly over the hissing cockroach enclosure, and remove one egg crate with any hissing cockroaches attached to it. Place it directly on the bottom of the enclosure and then smack and shake the bottom of the box with the palm of your hand until all the hissing cockroaches and box’s contents have dropped into the enclosure. Be sure to pull-up the box’s inside-bottom flaps to ensure that all the hissing cockroaches have been removed from the box. They will not be harmed by the smacking and shaking of the box, nor by their drop into the enclosure and onto the cardboard partition.
Once all the hissing cockroaches and box’s contents have been transferred into the enclosure, set the box aside, and shake each cardboard partition and egg crate within the enclosure to remove any remaining cockroaches from them. Once shaken, place the cardboard partitions and eggs crates outside the hissing cockroach enclosure and then tip, tap, and shake the enclosure so that all of the cockroaches will be forced to one end of the enclosure. Once all are at one end, lay the enclosure flat and reintroduce the cardboard partitions and egg crates to the other end and stack them on the floor in the same manner as they were stacked within the shipping box (i.e. egg crate – partition – egg crate – partition – egg crate). Allow the hissing cockroaches a few minutes to move to the stacked cardboard partitions and egg crates. As they move away from the end of the enclosure that they were forced to, remove any waste materials that may be present (i.e. dead hissing cockroaches or exoskeletons, feces, and/or uneaten potato), and dispose of them along with the empty hissing cockroach shipping box that has been set aside.
At the end of the enclosure opposite to the end that the cardboard partitions and egg crates have been stacked, place the water and food sources, side-by-side, directly on the floor of the enclosure. Quartered oranges, apples, or squash should be placed peel-side down. Replace the water and food sources daily, when they run-out, or when conditions become unsanitary.
Hissing cockroaches require excellent ventilation throughout the enclosure; therefore, do not cover the top of the enclosure with anything other than a framed, metal mesh, insect screen, which will prevent them from escaping or foreign objects from entering.
Place the hissing cockroaches on a flat surface in an inside location that is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 and 29.4 degrees Celsius) and that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. The temperature within the enclosure should remain between 80 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 and 35 degrees Celsius).
The daily removal of any dead hissing cockroaches, exoskeletons, feces, and/or uneaten water sources, and/or food within the enclosure will reduce the presence and growth of mold, bacteria, pests and pathogens, all of which are detrimental to the health of hissing cockroaches. In addition to this daily removal, the enclosure must be washed, using hot water and an antibacterial soap (e.g. Liquid Dial® Soap) weekly, or when conditions become unsanitary. It is imperative that the enclosure is free from any soap residue and has been allowed to dry thoroughly prior to the reintroduction of any hissing cockroaches.
Hissing cockroaches will become dormant in cold temperatures; therefore, when hissing cockroaches are delivered in temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), immediately bring the hissing cockroaches inside and place the unopened box directly next to a constant heat source of approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 degrees Celsius) that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. Allow the hissing cockroaches to warm up in the unopened box for 3 hours. After 3 hours, open the top of the box by cutting the tape along the top and pulling open all four of its top flaps. If all the hissing cockroaches are completely active (i.e. the hissing cockroaches are climbing around the inside of the box), they can be transferred to their housing container as described in step #4. If after 3 hours of having been allowed to warm up, all the hissing cockroaches are not completely active (i.e. they are moving slowly, are motionless, or appear dead and lying on their backs), close and re-tape the box and return it to the heat source to warm up for another 3 hours. Repeat the warm-up process until all the hissing cockroaches have become completely active, which may take up to 24 hours.
The shipping box is constructed for the transportation of hissing cockroaches, rather than for their housing. Once packed within the shipping box, the hissing cockroaches will attempt to escape by looking for any openings, which they will create by chewing through the walls of the box. Not only will male hissing cockroaches fight, but also both sexes will cannibalize each other once they have consumed any water and food source provided. It is for these reasons that hissing cockroaches should not be housed within their shipping box, but rather be transferred to an enclosure. However, if they are to be housed within their shipping box it is imperative that it be done for the shortest period of time possible, and that the hissing cockroaches are kept in a well ventilated, dry, inside location that is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 and 29.4 degrees Celsius) and that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. It is also imperative that they be provided with a fresh, clean water and food source on a daily basis. A quartered potato or apple works well for their hardness prevents them from turning to mush and they are resistant to mold and bacteria growth. To provide the boxed hissing cockroaches with the water and food source, place the box on a flat surface and open the top, using a knife or razor blade to cut the tape and gently pulling open all of the box’s top flaps. Once the top has been opened, quickly remove and discard any uneaten food within the box’s inside corner cavity and replace it with the water and food source. Quickly close and re-tape the box and return it to its original location.
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HISSING COCKROACHES (Gromphadorhina portentosa)
To guarantee that your hissing cockroaches remain at their utmost condition upon their being delivered to you, please follow these steps.
Prior to the delivery of your hissing cockroaches, prepare for their arrival. Set up an enclosure in which your hissing cockroaches will be housed and have the food and water sources that your hissing cockroaches require prepared ahead of time. Make sure that someone will be present at the time of delivery to accept and properly care for the hissing cockroaches, including the transfer of the hissing cockroaches from their shipping box into the enclosure that you have prepared.
Hissing cockroaches require a large, spacious, well ventilated, clean enclosure to be housed in. A 24 inch (60.96 cm) deep, 73 Qt, clear plastic Sterilite® container - - that has been washed with hot water to remove the plastic scum and dried - - will make the perfect enclosure for 100 hissing cockroaches of any size. Although hissing cockroaches can be cannibalistic and males territorial, hissing cockroaches of different sizes and sexes can be housed together as long as they are provided with sufficient space, food, and water. Hissing cockroaches can scale the smooth plastic walls of the enclosure; therefore, a 1 inch (2.54 cm) band of petroleum jelly or a commercially produced roach barrier can be smeared around the inside of the top of the enclosure to reduce the possibility of escape from the enclosure. A framed, metal mesh, insect screen can be placed directly on top of the enclosure to permit for excellent ventilation and to prevent the escape of hissing cockroaches from and the entrance of any foreign objects into the enclosure. Place the hissing cockroach enclosure in a dry, inside location that is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 and 29.4 degrees Celsius) and that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. The temperature within the enclosure should remain between 80 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 and 35 degrees Celsius).
Large quantities of clean, fresh food and water must be accessible to the hissing cockroaches at all times, for hissing cockroaches have voracious appetites and will cannibalize each other if they have no food. Freshly quartered oranges, apples, or squash are the perfect water source for hissing cockroaches. Baby cereal and ground oat meal (with no added flavors) are excellent food sources for hissing cockroaches. Commercially produced and marketed insect water gels and diets can also be offered to hissing cockroaches as water and food sources, respectively.
Hissing cockroaches are packed and shipped in cardboard boxes containing cardboard partitions and egg crates. When your hissing cockroaches are delivered, immediately bring them inside and transfer them into the prepared enclosure by opening the top of the shipping box, using a knife or razor blade to cut the tape along its top, and gently pulling open all of the top flaps. Once open, flip the box upside down, directly over the hissing cockroach enclosure, and remove one egg crate with any hissing cockroaches attached to it. Place it directly on the bottom of the enclosure and then smack and shake the bottom of the box with the palm of your hand until all the hissing cockroaches and box’s contents have dropped into the enclosure. Be sure to pull-up the box’s inside-bottom flaps to ensure that all the hissing cockroaches have been removed from the box. They will not be harmed by the smacking and shaking of the box, nor by their drop into the enclosure and onto the cardboard partition.
Once all the hissing cockroaches and box’s contents have been transferred into the enclosure, set the box aside, and shake each cardboard partition and egg crate within the enclosure to remove any remaining cockroaches from them. Once shaken, place the cardboard partitions and eggs crates outside the hissing cockroach enclosure and then tip, tap, and shake the enclosure so that all of the cockroaches will be forced to one end of the enclosure. Once all are at one end, lay the enclosure flat and reintroduce the cardboard partitions and egg crates to the other end and stack them on the floor in the same manner as they were stacked within the shipping box (i.e. egg crate – partition – egg crate – partition – egg crate). Allow the hissing cockroaches a few minutes to move to the stacked cardboard partitions and egg crates. As they move away from the end of the enclosure that they were forced to, remove any waste materials that may be present (i.e. dead hissing cockroaches or exoskeletons, feces, and/or uneaten potato), and dispose of them along with the empty hissing cockroach shipping box that has been set aside.
At the end of the enclosure opposite to the end that the cardboard partitions and egg crates have been stacked, place the water and food sources, side-by-side, directly on the floor of the enclosure. Quartered oranges, apples, or squash should be placed peel-side down. Replace the water and food sources daily, when they run-out, or when conditions become unsanitary.
Hissing cockroaches require excellent ventilation throughout the enclosure; therefore, do not cover the top of the enclosure with anything other than a framed, metal mesh, insect screen, which will prevent them from escaping or foreign objects from entering.
Place the hissing cockroaches on a flat surface in an inside location that is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 and 29.4 degrees Celsius) and that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. The temperature within the enclosure should remain between 80 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7 and 35 degrees Celsius).
The daily removal of any dead hissing cockroaches, exoskeletons, feces, and/or uneaten water sources, and/or food within the enclosure will reduce the presence and growth of mold, bacteria, pests and pathogens, all of which are detrimental to the health of hissing cockroaches. In addition to this daily removal, the enclosure must be washed, using hot water and an antibacterial soap (e.g. Liquid Dial® Soap) weekly, or when conditions become unsanitary. It is imperative that the enclosure is free from any soap residue and has been allowed to dry thoroughly prior to the reintroduction of any hissing cockroaches.
Hissing cockroaches will become dormant in cold temperatures; therefore, when hissing cockroaches are delivered in temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), immediately bring the hissing cockroaches inside and place the unopened box directly next to a constant heat source of approximately 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 degrees Celsius) that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. Allow the hissing cockroaches to warm up in the unopened box for 3 hours. After 3 hours, open the top of the box by cutting the tape along the top and pulling open all four of its top flaps. If all the hissing cockroaches are completely active (i.e. the hissing cockroaches are climbing around the inside of the box), they can be transferred to their housing container as described in step #4. If after 3 hours of having been allowed to warm up, all the hissing cockroaches are not completely active (i.e. they are moving slowly, are motionless, or appear dead and lying on their backs), close and re-tape the box and return it to the heat source to warm up for another 3 hours. Repeat the warm-up process until all the hissing cockroaches have become completely active, which may take up to 24 hours.
The shipping box is constructed for the transportation of hissing cockroaches, rather than for their housing. Once packed within the shipping box, the hissing cockroaches will attempt to escape by looking for any openings, which they will create by chewing through the walls of the box. Not only will male hissing cockroaches fight, but also both sexes will cannibalize each other once they have consumed any water and food source provided. It is for these reasons that hissing cockroaches should not be housed within their shipping box, but rather be transferred to an enclosure. However, if they are to be housed within their shipping box it is imperative that it be done for the shortest period of time possible, and that the hissing cockroaches are kept in a well ventilated, dry, inside location that is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 and 29.4 degrees Celsius) and that is free from draft, direct sunlight, pesticides, fumes, smoke, and/or pests. It is also imperative that they be provided with a fresh, clean water and food source on a daily basis. A quartered potato or apple works well for their hardness prevents them from turning to mush and they are resistant to mold and bacteria growth. To provide the boxed hissing cockroaches with the water and food source, place the box on a flat surface and open the top, using a knife or razor blade to cut the tape and gently pulling open all of the box’s top flaps. Once the top has been opened, quickly remove and discard any uneaten food within the box’s inside corner cavity and replace it with the water and food source. Quickly close and re-tape the box and return it to its original location.