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Little Kenyans

MassExodus

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Location
Outside San Antonio, TX
Has anyone ever used these as feeders? All I know is that they only reach around a half inch, full grown. I'm ordering some regardless. I've discovered as your collection gets larger, your feeders start to feel it..my lateralis are decimated, and I want to try something a little slower and less invasive and prone to escape at any opportunity. I've been leaving my dubia colony alone, after feeding them down to about 200 left. My sp ivory colony won't be ready for some time, I don't have adults yet, but any day now... The surinams are thriving, and multiplying quickly..anyway, I'd love to hear about anyone's experience with little kenyans. Do they breed fast? Are they easy, slow moving feeders? Do they climb alot? Burrow? I've gotten used to using lateralis nymphs, and there's always hundreds running around in there. If I use dubia nymphs, it's actually more of a pain collecting the right sizes. They don't congregate together quite as much as lats do, so there's a lot of picking through the colony. With lats, tap an egg carton against a slick plastic cup, voila! Sling buffet, and you can actually just use tongs and kind of pour/slide a nymph into each enclosure. They are invasive, and fast, and the males jump, but they are hardy, breed better than any other species I've seen, trigger hits like crickets, and there always seems to be more nymphs than adults in the colony, by a very huge margin. This means better prey size selection for someone with a lot of slings/scorplings, and easier/quicker feeding. How did this turn into a lateralis commercial..Jesus..But yeah, little kenyans..anyone? Or does anyone have a different favorite feeder species for slings? Let's hear it :)
 

kormath

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3 Year Member
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3,565
Location
Idaho
i use lats. i keep hearing the males jump but i've never seen any of my adult males jump. They fall quite well though. I've had a few fall and use their wings to slow the descent, but they can't fly. It's the best they can do so they don't splat when the land ;)

The best part is it slows the descent so you can get a catch cup under them and not lose one.

I'm at the point in my colony i'm waiting for the ooths to hatch and the middle sized ones to grow so the big T's will have sub adult/adults to eat. Right now i have 4 T's maybe 5 that eat the pinheads still, but they'll be molting soon and moving up to the next size larger lats.

None of mine will eat dubia, although now that hte LP has molted he's big enough to eat the dubia i have so maybe he will eat them.

I'm looking for another non-climbing roach species i can start a colony with to give my T's a bit of variety in their diet and hopefully hold balance out the feeding and populating in the lats :)

Orange head roaches (E. posticus) seem to be a good choice. Anyone use them?
 

kormath

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
3,565
Location
Idaho
Has anyone ever used these as feeders? All I know is that they only reach around a half inch, full grown. I'm ordering some regardless. I've discovered as your collection gets larger, your feeders start to feel it..my lateralis are decimated, and I want to try something a little slower and less invasive and prone to escape at any opportunity. I've been leaving my dubia colony alone, after feeding them down to about 200 left. My sp ivory colony won't be ready for some time, I don't have adults yet, but any day now... The surinams are thriving, and multiplying quickly..anyway, I'd love to hear about anyone's experience with little kenyans. Do they breed fast? Are they easy, slow moving feeders? Do they climb alot? Burrow? I've gotten used to using lateralis nymphs, and there's always hundreds running around in there. If I use dubia nymphs, it's actually more of a pain collecting the right sizes. They don't congregate together quite as much as lats do, so there's a lot of picking through the colony. With lats, tap an egg carton against a slick plastic cup, voila! Sling buffet, and you can actually just use tongs and kind of pour/slide a nymph into each enclosure. They are invasive, and fast, and the males jump, but they are hardy, breed better than any other species I've seen, trigger hits like crickets, and there always seems to be more nymphs than adults in the colony, by a very huge margin. This means better prey size selection for someone with a lot of slings/scorplings, and easier/quicker feeding. How did this turn into a lateralis commercial..Jesus..But yeah, little kenyans..anyone? Or does anyone have a different favorite feeder species for slings? Let's hear it :)
from Roach Crossing - Adults of this species are less than a half inch long! They are steady reproducers that enjoy burrowing but won’t dig straight down when placed on a substrate. The adult males can climb, however, the adult females and nymphs cannot. Males can be told apart from females by their short wings, whereas females have ridiculously tiny wings (microptery). They are livebearers, and the females will excavate birthing chambers on the bottom of the container if sufficient space is provided.

Looks like they come from eastern Africa so i'm guessing raised like the dubia, warm and humid.
 

MassExodus

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
5,547
Location
Outside San Antonio, TX
i use lats. i keep hearing the males jump but i've never seen any of my adult males jump. They fall quite well though. I've had a few fall and use their wings to slow the descent, but they can't fly. It's the best they can do so they don't splat when the land ;)

The best part is it slows the descent so you can get a catch cup under them and not lose one.

I'm at the point in my colony i'm waiting for the ooths to hatch and the middle sized ones to grow so the big T's will have sub adult/adults to eat. Right now i have 4 T's maybe 5 that eat the pinheads still, but they'll be molting soon and moving up to the next size larger lats.

None of mine will eat dubia, although now that hte LP has molted he's big enough to eat the dubia i have so maybe he will eat them.

I'm looking for another non-climbing roach species i can start a colony with to give my T's a bit of variety in their diet and hopefully hold balance out the feeding and populating in the lats :)

Orange head roaches (E. posticus) seem to be a good choice. Anyone use them?
I have it from a very good source, that E posticus are fantastic feeders, and that they stink like you would not believe..E sp ivory are supposed to be all the best of them, with no smell or wingbiting. My colony grows:)
 

kormath

Well-Known Member
1,000+ Post Club
3 Year Member
Messages
3,565
Location
Idaho
so no on those then, i can't really stand the smell my lats have when i put off cleaning the enclosure for a week lol I had to order some medium/large lats last night, i ran out and didn't know it until my son told me. Also emailed roach crossing to find out about prices/availability for the Little Kenyans. They'll be perfect for my rosea, since she's maybe 1/2" now and will only eat the smallest pinheads. Still waiting to hear back from them.
 

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