Pictured: A shy little hisser nymph.
I recently began keeping hissing cockroaches, as well as a few other species of invertebrates. I started with one pair, both of an unknown age. After a while of waiting, the female of the pair—whom my boyfriend and I affectionately named Auburn—gave birth to several little roachlets of a still yet to be determined number.
Pictured: The beloved Auburn. Not pictured: The very hissy male who isn't fond of handling.
I wasn't there for the birth, but during a routine check-in on my roaches, I noticed Auburn’s abdomen seemed uncannily short, whereas in the past month she had looked like she was bursting at the seams. I made the connection and sifted through the enclosure. Lo and behold, I was greeted by the awesome sight of many tiny roachlets huddled together beneath a large catappa leaf. Hissing cockroaches are ovoviviparous—they keep their ootheca (egg case) inside their abdomen until their eggs are ready to hatch, and once they’re ready, they push out an already opened ootheca full of squirmy babies, which resembles a live birth. Feel free to go ahead and google that yourself if you don't have a sensitive stomach.
Pictured: While there are a bunch of cute baby roaches in these photos, but I can't help but focus on how they hadn't decimated all the plants yet. Eventually, I'll experiment with pothos and spider plants.
Their tank is on the small side but it has an ample amount of crevices, caves, and cork bark for them to disappear into. For a while, I was convinced I only had around seven nymphs. I recently counted at least twenty out and about! Hissers are light-avoidant creatures, so you'll get the best look at them when it's been dark in their enclosure.
Left: Auburn enjoying her Repashy Bug Burger.
Right: A pregnant ghost shrimp eating a Hikari pellet. It's interesting to watch the globs of food flow inside their body as they eat. Smudge lurking in the background adds quite a bit of drama to this gif.
Outside of hissing cockroaches, I don’t keep many other inverts, but I’d like to. I currently keep three species of isopods: “Dairy Cow” (Porcellio laevis), “Panda King” (Cubaris sp.), and “Magic Potion” (Armadillidium vulgare). I keep ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.) with a couple of my betta fish. Eventually I want to get a vinegaroon, I’ve seen them at Repticon but I don’t have space for one right now.
That's all, hope you've enjoyed reading a little bit about my hissing cockroaches! :) They're very forgiving starter pets if you're someone interested in keeping insects. They don't fly or bite, but they can hiss, and sometimes "buck" in response to touch. Each hissing cockroach has a unique personality, so some are more comfortable with handling than others. Since they're relatively predictable and mild-mannered, they're a great way to overcome a fear of insects or teach kids and adults respect for bugs.
Pictured: Cubaris sp. "Panda King". Cubaris isopods are very cute but like to burrow, so you don't see them at the surface much. There is an orange variant of the same species called "Red Panda".
