I have some domino roaches, two male adults and ~20 mixed nymphs, who I want to move into an enclosure similar to their native habitat. They're from India, and they live in an environment something like a desert; sandy soil with organic matter mixed in, shrubs and small trees, plenty of hardwood leaves, seasonal rain. Mine are doing fine on coco fiber with a layer of pecan leaves, but it just looks like a generic enclosure, I'd like to make it look more like where they're from.
They'll be in an Exo-Terra with an 18x18 footprint, either 18 or 12 inches tall depending on what I can find on Craigslist. My plan is to use all the leaves and substrate they're already in, since I won't be able to find the nymphs. I'll mix a few big handfuls of coarse sand in to help the substrate drain easily and lighten the color a bit, and there'll be an area that's kept nice and moist, where the rest will be just slightly damp. It'll wind up as probably 4 inches of substrate with some pecan leaves mixed in and a layer of leaf litter about an inch deep on top. They'll have solid wood to climb and a goat skull to hide in/chew for calcium, and I'll replace the leaves once they start to break down. They'll be fed cat food with an occasional veggie, and I'll mist them often enough to keep that slight bit of moisture there. If needed, I can put in some rotting wood for beetles. Domino roaches don't like to be very wet, it's bad for the fuzzy nymphs, but I can keep the entire substrate lightly moist if needed.
What non-roach arthropods can I keep in an environment like that? The domino roaches are priority, so I can't have anything that'll eat the eggcases or bothers the nymphs. I'd like something that's nice and bold, bonus points if I can handle it without it getting hurt or escaping. I'd also like it to breed well enough to keep its numbers up with no additional care.
I've had someone suggest larger darkling beetles like Scaurus, Blaps, and Adesmia, and I especially like the Adesmia, but I haven't tried to keep them before. We also have some assorted native darklings, but I assume capturing those would have too high a chance of introducing parasites.
I'd love millipedes, but I don't know if it's too dry for them in a setup like this.
I especially like oddly colored, patterned, or shaped insects, large ones, and ones that are calm enough to handle without escape issues.
Pie-plate darkling beetles are really cool. If I set up a specialized patch of substrate that was mostly rotting wood and leaves, would that work to breed them in the habitat?
They'll be in an Exo-Terra with an 18x18 footprint, either 18 or 12 inches tall depending on what I can find on Craigslist. My plan is to use all the leaves and substrate they're already in, since I won't be able to find the nymphs. I'll mix a few big handfuls of coarse sand in to help the substrate drain easily and lighten the color a bit, and there'll be an area that's kept nice and moist, where the rest will be just slightly damp. It'll wind up as probably 4 inches of substrate with some pecan leaves mixed in and a layer of leaf litter about an inch deep on top. They'll have solid wood to climb and a goat skull to hide in/chew for calcium, and I'll replace the leaves once they start to break down. They'll be fed cat food with an occasional veggie, and I'll mist them often enough to keep that slight bit of moisture there. If needed, I can put in some rotting wood for beetles. Domino roaches don't like to be very wet, it's bad for the fuzzy nymphs, but I can keep the entire substrate lightly moist if needed.
What non-roach arthropods can I keep in an environment like that? The domino roaches are priority, so I can't have anything that'll eat the eggcases or bothers the nymphs. I'd like something that's nice and bold, bonus points if I can handle it without it getting hurt or escaping. I'd also like it to breed well enough to keep its numbers up with no additional care.
I've had someone suggest larger darkling beetles like Scaurus, Blaps, and Adesmia, and I especially like the Adesmia, but I haven't tried to keep them before. We also have some assorted native darklings, but I assume capturing those would have too high a chance of introducing parasites.
I'd love millipedes, but I don't know if it's too dry for them in a setup like this.
I especially like oddly colored, patterned, or shaped insects, large ones, and ones that are calm enough to handle without escape issues.
Pie-plate darkling beetles are really cool. If I set up a specialized patch of substrate that was mostly rotting wood and leaves, would that work to breed them in the habitat?