Cockroaches as pets? Seriously, you have got to be kidding me. Jumping spiders, okay, you’ve convinced me those have their qualities as pets, but cockroaches? That’s where I draw the line. I had my suspicions before, but you really must be insane.
Those might be the very words running across your mind right now. But I would like to ask you, why? What’s so wrong about keeping cockroaches as pets? “Well they’re household pests, of course,” you might reply. Well, think about this. According to the Smithsonian, there are 4,500 species of cockroach in the world, but out of that staggering number, only 30 species are considered pests. That works out to less than 1%.
With that in mind, let me show you how to take care of cockroaches as pets, not pests. :)
Getting Your Pet
I recommend not collecting a species of cockroach found in your home as a pet, just because with the care you’ll be giving them they are likely to breed, and if they escaped that could be problematic. If you search “buy pet cockroaches,” in Google, you’ll find websites that sell them just for this purpose. Who knew, right? Now that you’ve gotten your pet whether through my recommended way, or not recommended way, you’re ready to set up the enclosure.
Housing
Kritter keepers work very well for keeping cockroaches, but many of them can climb smooth surfaces and a very young nymph cockroach (that’s what they’re called before they reach adulthood) may be able to fit through the ventilation slats at the top. To battle this, either find a container they can’t fit out of, or smear a good healthy portion (couple inches wide layer) of Vaseline around the top. When the ‘roaches hit the Vaseline, they’ll slip off. :) Make sure the they have plenty of room to roam. They are communal as well, which means you can house a colony of them together. Put several inches of moist peat moss or coconut fiber in the bottom of the kritter keeper, and add a few hiding places made out of bark (baked at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a half hour to get rid of uninvited guests). The peat moss must be kept moist so the cockroaches don’t desiccate. Sprinkle crushed up dead leaves around on the surface of the peat for the ‘roaches to munch, and add a food and water dish made out of bottle caps or jar lids. Make sure to put a few pebbles in the water dish so no one drowns! Also, make sure to make a vertical surface so the cockroaches can molt without incident.
Food
Cockroaches are very easy to feed. They will eat almost anything, from fish food to oranges, so be creative! Just don’t feed meat (although cat, dog and fish food is okay) because it will spoil very quickly. Mine favor cucumbers and lettuce especially, but I have heard of other people’s liking carrots, pear and apple too, just to name a few foods to get you started. :) Remove the food before it gets moldy.
And there you have it, cockroach care! I hope you’ve enjoyed. :) Below is a picture of how I keep my cockroaches. I apologize for the picture quality, it's just a photo I took on my iPad. The larger lid has lettuce in it now, and you can see one of the B. collosseus nymphs near the middle of the bottom of the picture, on the big piece of bark.
Those might be the very words running across your mind right now. But I would like to ask you, why? What’s so wrong about keeping cockroaches as pets? “Well they’re household pests, of course,” you might reply. Well, think about this. According to the Smithsonian, there are 4,500 species of cockroach in the world, but out of that staggering number, only 30 species are considered pests. That works out to less than 1%.
With that in mind, let me show you how to take care of cockroaches as pets, not pests. :)
Getting Your Pet
I recommend not collecting a species of cockroach found in your home as a pet, just because with the care you’ll be giving them they are likely to breed, and if they escaped that could be problematic. If you search “buy pet cockroaches,” in Google, you’ll find websites that sell them just for this purpose. Who knew, right? Now that you’ve gotten your pet whether through my recommended way, or not recommended way, you’re ready to set up the enclosure.
Housing
Kritter keepers work very well for keeping cockroaches, but many of them can climb smooth surfaces and a very young nymph cockroach (that’s what they’re called before they reach adulthood) may be able to fit through the ventilation slats at the top. To battle this, either find a container they can’t fit out of, or smear a good healthy portion (couple inches wide layer) of Vaseline around the top. When the ‘roaches hit the Vaseline, they’ll slip off. :) Make sure the they have plenty of room to roam. They are communal as well, which means you can house a colony of them together. Put several inches of moist peat moss or coconut fiber in the bottom of the kritter keeper, and add a few hiding places made out of bark (baked at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a half hour to get rid of uninvited guests). The peat moss must be kept moist so the cockroaches don’t desiccate. Sprinkle crushed up dead leaves around on the surface of the peat for the ‘roaches to munch, and add a food and water dish made out of bottle caps or jar lids. Make sure to put a few pebbles in the water dish so no one drowns! Also, make sure to make a vertical surface so the cockroaches can molt without incident.
Food
Cockroaches are very easy to feed. They will eat almost anything, from fish food to oranges, so be creative! Just don’t feed meat (although cat, dog and fish food is okay) because it will spoil very quickly. Mine favor cucumbers and lettuce especially, but I have heard of other people’s liking carrots, pear and apple too, just to name a few foods to get you started. :) Remove the food before it gets moldy.
And there you have it, cockroach care! I hope you’ve enjoyed. :) Below is a picture of how I keep my cockroaches. I apologize for the picture quality, it's just a photo I took on my iPad. The larger lid has lettuce in it now, and you can see one of the B. collosseus nymphs near the middle of the bottom of the picture, on the big piece of bark.
Update: the nymphs pictured above are all grown up, and measure 3 inches from head to wing-tip! They're also in a much larger kritter keeper, with babies of their own that are roughly 1 1/2 centimeters long.