Hisser care?

[Aracnoenthusiast]

I'm considering getting my 5yr old daughter a pet hisser, dont worry she's totally into bugs, I'm curious what the care would be. Kitchen scraps and roach food I'm aware of. But what are the moisture requirements for the substrate? Thank you all

 

[ilovebrachys]

I'm considering getting my 5yr old daughter a pet hisser, dont worry she's totally into bugs, I'm curious what the care would be. Kitchen scraps and roach food I'm aware of. But what are the moisture requirements for the substrate? Thank you all

Definitely get some - they make great pets especially for kids
Very easy to care for they do like damp sub(but not soaked) I mist ours a couple of times a week - they do love the kitchen scraps and roach food.. We keep ours with some rotten white wood and leaf litter/moss in their enclosure and they seem to do well
I know others may keep them different especially if they are being used as a feeder for Ts but I think if you are keeping as pets you can do the best you can for their enclosure

 

[m0lsx]

I keep my hissers without substrate. I use egg cartons for cover within the enclosure. They need moisture, so I use bug gel. For food, I use a mixture of porridge & cheap fish flakes, plus a slice or two of fruit.

 

[Gardez]

Hisser roaches are very good pets. They keep simple.
I keep them with coconut fiber. It hold some water very good. Also you shouldn't spraying too much because it can be mildew. Rather you spray 2 to 3 times per week and else keep it a little bit dry.

-I hope you understand my English-

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

Well, after a 5 hr round trip my daughter has her birthday present... a pair of female hissers. She's beyond excited.

 

[x_raphael_xx]

One of my females (Porthos) passed away yesterday, so I was a little bummed. But today I came down to find my other female (Athos) giving birth!

My females are a dark brown, my male is a lighter tan.
I can't tell from the photo, but does the one top on have horns? Although the antennae look thin.
Males have horns & fuzzier antennae.

My male, D'Artagnan

My female, Athos

I have another female called Aramis, who also looks pregnant. Hopefully I'll have another batch of babies in a day or two.

Mine love apples, oranges, carrots and cherry tomatoes.

 

[m0lsx]

The most reliable way to identify is using the plates under their tails. The males have three distinct plates compared to just one on the female & unlike the horns or thicker antennae. The plates are present even in immature male/females.

 

[x_raphael_xx]

The most reliable way to identify is using the plates under their tails. The males have three distinct plates compared to just one on the female & unlike the horns or thicker antennae. The plates are present even in immature male/females.

View attachment 59081View attachment 59082

Awesome, thanks this will help identify the new babies!

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

Both roaches still going strong. I suspect one is Male, seeing subtle horns. My daughter is doing some redecorating in one of their houses today , lego/IKEA maybe?

 

[x_raphael_xx]

Looking nice and healthy

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

My daughter is educating the roaches about other bugs

 

[rapidfire]

My 3 year old son keeps hissers. They are great for kids.

 

[m0lsx]

My 3 year old son keeps hissers. They are great for kids.

When my daughters were at high school, the school had some among it's school pets.

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

Question for you hisser experts. Do they molt on their backs like ts do? One of my daughters roaches has flipped over 2 times today. This morning my daughter flipped it back over on its feet before telling me. Now I see it is flipped over again so I've left it incase it's a molting behavior

 

[x_raphael_xx]

They split down the back of the head and wiggle out from there. I’ve only seen them do it standing up.
It doesn’t usually take very long.

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

Well, it wasn't molting behavior. Just died of old age I assume. They were adult when we got them and it's been a little over 2 years I believe.

It was a good teaching moment for my daughter. We talked about life cycles and death and she seemed to really accept and deal with it all very well.

Going to order a breeding pair and get a feeder colony going for our other pets

 

[Aracnoenthusiast]

The lone roach is enjoying a lego apartment. Haven't had a chance to get more roaches yet.

 

[x_raphael_xx]

Shame you’re not in the UK, I would have gladly given you a few of my hisser babies