roaches and silkies---need advice

Everything Blue Tongues! Have a question? Just got a BTS and want to introduce yourself? This is the place!
Forum rules
In this forum all are welcome to ask blue tongue skink-related questions, share information, ideas, tips, experiences, and pictures with fellow BTS enthusiasts.
If you are wondering if your BTS is acting normally or might be sick, this is where you can get help with that.
This is also where you can have some FUN while sharing the enjoyment you get from your blueys!
User avatar
aggiegirl
Bluey Addict
Bluey Addict
Posts: 807
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:19 pm
Country:

roaches and silkies---need advice

Postby aggiegirl » Sat Jun 23, 2007 2:45 pm

I just ordered some dubia roaches and silkworms for my lizards. Unfortunately, they were sent to my mailbox (metal, unshaded, summertime in Texas) instead of my house and many of the silkies died. (The Mulberry Farms' CS rep. took almost a week to respond and said the most they would do is to give a small discount to my next purchase. :evil: )
I am keeping the dubias in a 10 gallon tank (lidded as the nymphs DO clim!) and feeding them fruit, veggies, cereal, dog food, and fish food. How do I supply a little extra water without drowning the new babies? Do I need to buy that cricket gel, use a sponge, or what? How long til the babies become breeding adults? My kids have fallen in love with the roaches. I have self-portraits of them with their pet roaches on my fridge. I need to convince them that only mommies appreciate roach pictures (not in laws or teachers! :shock: ) We were at a restaurant one night and my daughter shouted "When we get home, can I hold the roaches?" The waiter almost poured the whole water pitcher into my cup. I keep waiting for CPS to visit our house. :oops:
The silkworms finished their chow and I am now stripping large quantities of mulberry leaves from a tree that hangs over our fence. (I asked the neighbor if I could do this and he just laughed---he has already deemed me insane and there is little I could do to suprise him.) I already have several chrysalises. How hard are silkies to raise? Must I heat, humidify, sterilize, and do all that other stuff? They make it sound like a pain. Has anyone here ever raised them? If it is too much trouble, I assume Pele' (my bluey) can consume the moths. (Yes?)
I thought my new Crested Gecko would eat the roach nymphs or baby silkies but he has other ideas---even when I smeared a silky in baby food. That means Pele' has been feasting on silkies for 2 weeks. I have been giving him veggies, etc. too but should I worry about feeding him too many? Varied diet does not apply to this week.
Any advice regarding keeping roaches and silkworms is welcome. Too bad none of you live close. I've already pawned a bunch of silkworms and several roaches on a lizard friend nearby. I suppose I should just get Pele' (who I am beginning to think should be Mia Hamm) a little brother or sister. I keep hitting the garage sales and hoping for a new aquarium. I'm going to start checking pet stores and craig's list a little harder. It's a shame for Pele' to have to eat all these munchies by himself! :roll:
User avatar
Leigh
Leigh of the Law
Leigh of the Law
Posts: 6695
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:23 am
Country:
Location: Bristol, England

Postby Leigh » Sun Jun 24, 2007 1:45 am

All I can suggest for water is, put a little bit of cotton wool in a bottle lid and make wet.I just feed mine juicy bits of fruit for liquid, I bought a tub of roaches for Blue but he lets them escape with a look of disgust, good job beardy loves them. I put an egg box in a critter keeper and they colonised that in 3 weeks.
MMMmmmmm... Something???????
drache
Bluey Beginner
Bluey Beginner
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 6:22 am
Country: USA

Postby drache » Sun Jun 24, 2007 2:23 am

wet cotton balls - make sure it's really cotton
those sponges they sell for hermit crabs work really well and last forever
any sponge might do
they will also get the moisture out of potatoes and other root veggies
rhea - future BT mom
User avatar
aggiegirl
Bluey Addict
Bluey Addict
Posts: 807
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:19 pm
Country:

thanks

Postby aggiegirl » Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:44 am

I've been using a damp paper towel in a shallow platic lid (like you use to cover a can of dog food with.) That dries out too fast and I wasn't sure if they use antibacterial chemicals on the store bought sponges. I think I will get one of the hermit crab sponges on my next trip to the pet store. For now, I'll try the cotton balls. As always, thanks for the advice!
User avatar
AneesasMuse
Bluey Follower
Bluey Follower
Posts: 266
Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 1:22 pm
Country:
Location: SF Bay Area
Contact:

Postby AneesasMuse » Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:35 pm

I use rehydrated water crystals.. like florists sell. They work great!
"Lots of people talk to animals. Not that many listen though. That's the problem."
- Piglet
NomadOfTheHills
The Scout
The Scout
Posts: 1342
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2004 2:07 pm
Country:

Postby NomadOfTheHills » Sun Jun 24, 2007 9:48 pm

Sponges/cotton= breeding ground for bacteria. Just feed them veggies and they will be fine. If you must, use the water crystals and change them before they get dirty.
User avatar
wilsoncc
Bluey Beginner
Bluey Beginner
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Jan 01, 2006 2:02 am
Country:

Postby wilsoncc » Sun Jun 24, 2007 10:43 pm

Dubia don't seem to need supplemental water - I haven't given mine liquid water in over a year, and they are doing great. Feeding fresh fruits and vegetables provides all the water they need. Apples, citrus, carrots, sweet potato and squash are all high in water content and eagerly eaten.

How long until your babies become adults really depends on the size they start and the temperature you keep them at. I keep mine between 75 and 85, which is relatively cool, and I'm guessing they're taking about 9 months to mature. The males seem to mature more quickly.

Baby roaches are kind of cute, and female discoids are about as pretty as a roach gets. I'm not real fond of the males though - they seem too much like the pest roaches. Fortunately my geckos seem to find the adult males particularly delectable, so I don't keep too many of those around.

My skink used to eat roaches, but hasn't really shown any interest for the past six months.

Colin
User avatar
Zach
Grand Cicada
Grand Cicada
Posts: 7550
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:38 pm
Country:
Location: Orygun
Contact:

Postby Zach » Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:12 pm

Don't have much advice for you, but I've been talking about starting up my silkworm project for probably years. I WANT TO DO IT THIS SUMMER! I need guinea pigs here the states to send samples to to perfect a successful shipping method.....

+ 2.2 Irian Jaya (Slurpy, Nona, Sassy, Cool Moe Dee)
+ 1.1 Eastern (Eugene, Enzo)
+ 1.2 Northern (Niko, Pearl, Peach)
+ 1.0 Tanimbar Island (TQ)
User avatar
Leigh
Leigh of the Law
Leigh of the Law
Posts: 6695
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 4:23 am
Country:
Location: Bristol, England

Postby Leigh » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:40 am

Zach wrote:Don't have much advice for you, but I've been talking about starting up my silkworm project for probably years. I WANT TO DO IT THIS SUMMER! I need guinea pigs here the states to send samples to to perfect a successful shipping method.....


MY my, I would never of thought you got silkworms from guinea pigs :lol: :lol:
MMMmmmmm... Something???????
User avatar
PICJESS
Chunka Burnin Love
Chunka Burnin Love
Posts: 207
Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2005 1:06 pm
Country:
Location: Seffner, FL
Contact:

Postby PICJESS » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:52 am

Zach wrote:Don't have much advice for you, but I've been talking about starting up my silkworm project for probably years. I WANT TO DO IT THIS SUMMER! I need guinea pigs here the states to send samples to to perfect a successful shipping method.....

I'm sure we wouldn't mind being your guinea pigs!!
Jess
2 Gigas : Mr. Booger and Chunka
2 Cats : Storm and Cali
1 Mutt : Jetta (black pointer mix)
1 husband : Rock <3
1 baby girl : Daisy <3
User avatar
aggiegirl
Bluey Addict
Bluey Addict
Posts: 807
Joined: Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:19 pm
Country:

tell me more

Postby aggiegirl » Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:47 am

So. I will just rinse my veggies and fruit before I give them. I think that will make it easier for me to keep a clean roach tank anyhow. We give new veggies/fruit every other day (remember, kids think these are pets :oops: ) and so I think they will stay moist enough. Just don't want to deal with the drama (my kids' reactions) if they start cannabalizing.
So. Guys, how hard is it to raise silkies? I have 5 chrysalises already. I have pawned off as many worms as I can and Pele' thinks he has entered Heaven because worms keep falling from the sky. (He woke up before my son this morning and was already begging! :lol: ) I'm just going to let things run their course and see if I get any fertile eggs or if any of them hatch. I will try doing several different things to different batches---maybe I'll get lucky! If anyone has done this, please respond here or pm me. I really would like to do this but I don't want to invest in an incubator, etc. Everyone makes it sound tough. Is it?
Zach, if you lived nearby, you would have a load of silkies on your front door step at this very moment!!!! :)
NomadOfTheHills
The Scout
The Scout
Posts: 1342
Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2004 2:07 pm
Country:

Postby NomadOfTheHills » Mon Jun 25, 2007 3:02 pm

Just get them some pet hissers!
User avatar
Zach
Grand Cicada
Grand Cicada
Posts: 7550
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 8:38 pm
Country:
Location: Orygun
Contact:

Postby Zach » Thu Jun 28, 2007 12:39 am

wilsoncc wrote:Dubia don't seem to need supplemental water - I haven't given mine liquid water in over a year, and they are doing great. Feeding fresh fruits and vegetables provides all the water they need. Apples, citrus, carrots, sweet potato and squash are all high in water content and eagerly eaten.

How long until your babies become adults really depends on the size they start and the temperature you keep them at. I keep mine between 75 and 85, which is relatively cool, and I'm guessing they're taking about 9 months to mature. The males seem to mature more quickly.

Baby roaches are kind of cute, and female discoids are about as pretty as a roach gets. I'm not real fond of the males though - they seem too much like the pest roaches. Fortunately my geckos seem to find the adult males particularly delectable, so I don't keep too many of those around.

My skink used to eat roaches, but hasn't really shown any interest for the past six months.

Colin



How's it going, Colin?

:hithere:

+ 2.2 Irian Jaya (Slurpy, Nona, Sassy, Cool Moe Dee)
+ 1.1 Eastern (Eugene, Enzo)
+ 1.2 Northern (Niko, Pearl, Peach)
+ 1.0 Tanimbar Island (TQ)

Return to “General Discussion and FAQ”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 205 guests