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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eighth Eye Blind" data-source="post: 242019" data-attributes="member: 49683">Collect some egg sacs (ootheca) from an existing colony of red runner roaches. Place them in a container with some food/cosmetics grade diatomaceous earth for a couple of days. The diatomaceous earth will desiccate and kill the mites and nematodes and their eggs outside the sac. The hardened ootheca protects the eggs inside pretty well, however, so you just sift out the ootheca, rinse them off, and put them into a clean container with some moist paper towels at 85°F/30°C for a few weeks to hatch.Et voilà!: parasite-free roaches. Some of the eggs won't make it through the process but if you start with at least 10-15 egg sacs you should get plenty of nymphs to generate a new colony with.The hard part is keeping them from being re-infected.Their containers and food/water dishes need to be thoroughly washed with an insecticidal soap between uses and all of their substrate (if you use any) has to be baked at 250°F/120°C for 30'. You also can't give them any fresh food that can carry in a new infection. I only give mine baked poultry layer pellets (16% protein, 3.5% calcium) plus water in acrylamide gel ("water crystals"). I'm not a believer in gut loading but if you like to do it only use dry, baked supplements - not fresh fruits and veggies.The colony container also needs to be kept sealed - no air vents - which means that you need to have some activated carbon/zeolite aquarium media in there to soak up the ammonia and other waste gases that get produced. I personally give them a thin layer of coir mixed with 10-15% Marineland Diamond Blend pellets (baked, as well) that's changed out each time I clean the container.Finally, you can't use egg crates for hiding spaces. Those things are like free public transportation for parasite eggs. I give the colony reusable plastic nesting pads (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/JIANWEI-Chicken-Nesting-Washable-Chickens/dp/B0FKGHKN6Q/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20" target="_blank">LIKE THESE</a>) that have been washed in insecticidal soap but there are lots of other options depending on how creative you want to be with your roaches' living arrangements.Now all you have to do is keep them at 85°F/30°C for a couple of months to let the nymphs mature and start making new, parasite-free babies of their own. Easy, eh?Like I said, I'm not sure all of this is worth it. I would normally only do this for feeder colonies in the lab where a parasite infection can mean losing years of work. Since I'm used to all the hassle already, though, it's really not a big deal for me to do it at home. It's certainly a lot more work than most people will be willing to justify for a small hobby collection of T's.Good luck again with your little guy!</blockquote>

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