Blaberus giganteus
Sun, 2010-04-25 11:57 | 
Aaron Pauling Distribution:
West Indies and throughout Central and South America.
Description:
Blaberus giganteus a.k.a. giant cave roach. These are one of the largest roaches in the world. Both sexes have wings but are much to heavy to fly. They cannot climb smooth surfaces. Similar in appearance to their cousins Blaberus discoidalis, these have more transparent wings and are much larger.
Size:
4-5 inches, wingspans of 5-6 inches
Lifespan:
12-15 months
Difficulty Level:
Medium/Hard
Caging:
I like to house all of my roaches in rubbermaid or sterlite containers with screened lids. I suggest screening 80% of the lid as you can always cover part of it with a terry cloth towel to help retain humidity.
Substrate:
I use egg crates positioned vertically for additional floor/living space.
With these roaches I use a substrate of coconut fiber (bed a beast, coconut coir) and sphagnum moss. Other soil mixtures can be used as well. If you use any kind of substrate from a hardware store or garden shop, MAKE SURE IT IS CHEMICAL FREE!
Required Temperatures:
78-85 degrees. These roaches are know to inhabit caves as the name implies, which are more humid and cooler then the tropical climates the roaches are found in.
Humidity:
50%-85% You can keep a spray bottle handy to help keep humidity up in drier areas or soak the above mentioned terry cloth towel and place it over some of the screened lid. Wetting down the substrate periodically can help maintain proper humidity as well.
Food Requirements:
The Giant Cave roach will feed on ripe fruit and other plant materials, and probably the occasional animal material in the wild. I keep my home made dry roach food available to them at all times. When feeding any fresh fruits or vegetables, do not put in more then they can eat in 24-36 hour period to avoid problems caused by rotten food. I also provide water gel to my roaches as a water source at all times.
Maintenance:
Since these are a slower producing roach, cleaning is a rare thing.
Breeding Notes:
These are a slow producing roach, taking 9 months to achieve adulthood and then only reproducing every few months.
