Red runner roaches

[Tarantulaboy]

Hi guys from the forum what do u guys think about the red runner roaches For feed my tarantulas? Is good idea or have any problem with infestation of roaches if escape also I have dubias but I want to try with the smalles slings any help or comment thank you guys

 

[TBrian76]

Red runners are great. The nymphs are perfect for slings. They obviously run which attracts the tarantulas attention much better than Dubia. I use Dubia for bigger slings up to adults. Red runners aren't really big enough for large juveniles, or adult tarantulas.

 

[Mr. P]

I currently have dubias, crickets and red runners and here is what I have concluded.
The dubias are great for my bigger girls who will tong feed. I can feed them two large dubias a week compared to 10-12 crickets. The problem with dubias is if they are dropped in and not taken immediately they lay still and the T loses interest. Crickets and red runners move around but are not very big so you have to feed more.
I use crickets and red runners for my juvies as they will run around and my juvies will literally chase them. I tong feed the largeer dubias to my bigger girls as they act like statues and pretty much wait for everything to come to them.

 

[Tortoise Tom]

We have red runners living wild here. That's how I started my colony, in fact. I just went around at night and caught a couple dozen and put them into a bin. In Houston, I'm pretty sure they would survive outside, and I wouldn't be surprised to find them outside near you already. Of the 4000+ species of cockroaches only 6 are considered "pest" species. I've read that this one is considered a pest in some areas and a "semi-pest" in other areas. I've been using them for over a decade, and I feed hundreds of them to my cichlids every week too, and I've never had an infestation problem.

As far as using them for food, I know of nothing better to start baby tarantulas on. I hate crickets for a wide variety of reasons. Crickets all die off for no good reason, they stink, they are noisy, they are comparatively difficult to breed and raise, they will chew on your animals if left overnight or during a molt, even though you can't seem to keep them alive in a cage, they all seem to survive and thrive if they get loose in your house and they will certainly infest your house and make lots of noise all night long if they get loose. I stopped keeping insectivores for a time because of my hatred for crickets until I "discovered" roaches as a food source.

Dubia roaches are great for large animals, but newly hatched B. lateralis are the perfect size for tiny little slings, and the adult B. lateralis are great for larger slings and smaller species too. I feed one to my large adult female G. pulchra every once in a while just to give her something to do. I agree with the other posters here that the habit of these roaches to remain active and move around is a big plus too. I haven't had any problem with the other roach species, but B. lateralis is definitely more active than most others when you drop them into a spider enclosure.

I recommend them highly. One thing I've learned from keeping them over the years is to use clear sided tubs for them. Most of the opaque, colored tubs have some texture to their sides and this lightweight fast moving species can climb if there is any texture at all. Additionally, I did several side by side tests with this species, Blatta orientalis and Blaptica dubia, using clear bins right next to dark colored bins. I saw no difference in production. I prefer the clear bins because of their smoothness and because I can see what's going on inside and I know better when to halve the colony or unload the surplus to someone.

 

[MassExodus]

Love em. One thing, depending how you feed..I use a very fine set of tweezers to grab their legs. I put an assortment in a clear slick plastic bowl that they skid around on and just slide the tweezers over the leg of the one I want. Small thin tweezers don't seem to scare them. It makes it very easy to pick and pull and drop them into the enclosure without maiming them. Big tongs or tweezers, or even regular size, will just cause panic and crushed roaches in my experience.

 

[Tarantulaboy]

Thank you so much for everyone answering my post and yeah the only think I don't want to some red runner escape and infestation my house hahah

 

[Whitelightning777]

If you chill a Dubai in the fridge and remove the front legs only on each side, they won't dig but will walk normally with the 4 remaining ones.

If you get one of those laser toys for cats and flash them with a laser, they will start running around hysterically and blow their cover to the tarantula.

Only the green colored ones work but not the red ones. Just don't hit the tarantula with it.

This works especially well if they wedge themselves between the side of the enclosure and the water bowl.