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UPDATED - I went to a maintenance conference for work and an entomologist gave me some Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world to c/dull_mens_club@lemmy.world
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EDIT - We have confirmed ootheca! I'm reporting my own post.

The cockroaches themselves aren't really all that dull, if you ask me, but the way they came into my care feels like classic dull man happenstance.

I got 2 males and 3 females; I've separated them, but I'm pretty sure two of the females are already impregnated.

Fun facts about Hissing Cockroaches:

-They can reproduce every 2 months, but usually no more than 3 times per year.

-They give birth to 10-40 live babies (called nymphs) at a time.

-They do this by laying an egg case (called an ootheca) INSIDE THEIR OWN ABDOMEN. After a few weeks, the case ruptures and they push it and their babies out the backside of their abdomen.

-While pregnant, they will often open the rear of their abdomen and allow the ootheca some fresh air.

-When born, the nymphs are only a few millimeters in size, but they can grow to over 3 inches (~7cm) long.

-Nymphs can reproduce after 6 months.

-They can live for up to 4 years on average!

-Other than a few sharp little spikes on their legs, they are completely harmless.

-Contrary to popular belief, they are VERY CLEAN. They feed on decaying wood, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and the occasional meal of dead meat, but they prefer the fresh stuff.

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[-] Ledivin@lemmy.world 28 points 2 days ago

This is not nearly dull enough for this sub

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 24 points 2 days ago

I was at a conference for section 8 housing maintenance men, if that helps at all. Other than the bugs it was very dull.

Well, the bugs, and the HVAC instructor left his mic on while he was talking dirty on the phone with his wife. But that's only 2 things over a 4-day conference.

[-] Botzo@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

I did HQS inspection training once upon a time and that definitely would have made it memorable!

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago

Last year one of the maintenance managers got highly inebriated, made a bit of a fool of himself, and then fell down a flight of stairs.

They're sending me to learn about safety, heating and cooling, and pest control, and I'm learning how to raise roaches and be a phone sex operator - although to be fair I did learn a lesson about responsible drinking and handrails, so I guess they got me on that one.

[-] tacotroubles@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

I agree I learened way too many cool facts for this post to be dull!

[-] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 16 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I know the name of the community is dull, but it has some of the most interesting shit posted here.

[-] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 9 points 2 days ago

He gave you? Like infected you? Nasty.

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

Behind a Denny's. Classic!

[-] GrantUsEyes@lemmy.zip 12 points 2 days ago

Cool! I keep a cockroach farm to sustain my arachnids. When they air out the eggs it always makes me feel kinda icky XD ootheca is such a cool name tho , happy to have learned something new today!

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

I have only known these roaches for a weekend, but if anything ever happened to them, I'd kill everyone in this room and then myself. That being said, the eggs make my skin crawl and I go "ewweweweeee" like a little citygirl.

[-] GrantUsEyes@lemmy.zip 10 points 2 days ago

the eggs make my skin crawl

Understandable, this is some alien type shit!

[-] snoons@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 days ago

Literally the only cockroaches I can tolerate.

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

They're so cool! Like little scratchy puppies. With no floor pissing!

(I also have a dog and some cats, so I'm not hating)

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 3 points 2 days ago

dint realize how big the pest ones can be until i saw them 2 one time in a subway station one was on its back struggling to get up, and the other on the wall. i assumed it hitchiked on a homeless mans belongings and it dropped of somehow, we have ton of homeless people. and then are tiny roaches that infest produce. mice are probably worst, because they are so destructive.

[-] GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Hissing roaches are so cool! They're such calm, docile little guys until you poke 'em. Absolutely wonderful little critters. I'm happy for you, OP.

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Thanks :-D I'm really excited

[-] plactagonic@sopuli.xyz 8 points 2 days ago

Just so you know they are edible when you feed them correctly. Not so good as other edible insects (too much chitin shell) but quite ok. I had it once more than 10 years ago so don't remember that much about it anymore.

So just a tip for the eventuality of overbreading.

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

I've already been eyeballing images of them after a molt and thinking about whether or not I can convince myself it's a prawn or something, lol. But I really don't want to do that unless I'm starving - not because I think it's gross, but because I don't really wanna kill them unless necessary.

[-] plactagonic@sopuli.xyz 4 points 2 days ago

It only looks good an a plate and what I remember smaller critters were better. If you don't try it you won't loose that much.

[-] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 9 points 2 days ago

I'm terrified of cockroaches, so thank you Bombin for inspiring Me to learn more about Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches and conquer a little bit of My fear.

I kind of want some too now. What are they like as pets?

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago

I've only had these for a few days, so I can't say that the experience will be the same for everyone, or that it won't change over time, but so far they are AWESOME!

They have little personalities, and the pregnant ones are so cute because they just grip your finger and hold as close to you as possible, and it honestly reminds me of a cat pressing its paw into you and extending its claws ever so gently.

The hissing is funny sometimes, because it's almost like a little kid throwing a tantrum. I was trying to clean out the jar they were in temporarily before I got home, and every time I'd try to move this particular male, he'd be like "NO!" and scurry about 4 mm, and I'd go to pick him up again, and he'd go "NOOOO!!" XD

And because I know it's coming - the males have small, I call em, "proto-horns" on the back of their heads, and their antenna are fuzzy.

Not the best angle for the situation, but you can see the bumps there on the head, and if you look closely you can see the thick-yet-fine fuzz on the antenna. Compare it to the image in the main post, and you'll notice the difference in the horns.

[-] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 3 points 2 days ago

Can you feed them dead leaves and twigs from the ground? Do they like eating those?

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yup! Although as mentioned elsewhere, you wanna be somewhat careful about mites, I wouldn't go tossing random stuff directly into the enclosure, but of you have, like, a feeding station or something, or if you're just walking around with one in your shirt pocket or whatever, go for it!

A lot of owners feed them fruit and vegetables - potatoes, carrots, strawberries, grapes, etc.. - and also leaves and wood from non-aromatic trees and plants - fresh aromatics like cedar can be deadly. They also feed them dry pet food for protein - stuff like fish food, or kibbles n bits - or even fresh meat, but it's not preferred to do so.

They typically feed on forest floor detritus in the wild, so stuff like fallen leaves and branches, the occasional tiny dead gecko. Stuff like that.

I fed em some raisins and a fortune cookie and they went nuts! lol

[-] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 3 points 2 days ago

Can they safely eat eucalyptus leaves?

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 3 points 2 days ago

eucalyptus has evolved to have very flammable leaves due to oil content, and theya re also likely allelopathic means they have compounds in thier leaves which prevent other plants from growing under them. so they are likely to be poisonious. to insect. as an invasive in cali, i dont see anything even harming them, other than cutting them down, no diseases, hurts the tree, they also grow faster than the native trees here.

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I'm going to guess probably not without aging at the very least. Eucalyptus seems like it would fall into the same category as cedar in my mind. Lemme Google this... Yeah that's what I figured - it contains a lot of aromatic oils that can be toxic. The aging/composting is going to be your best bet with anything like that, because it allows the oils to break down and the volatile compounds to turn into gas. That being said, don't feed your bugs anything just because I said it may be ok. I'm just a guy who did a bunch of research in a hotel bed.

[-] GardenGeek@europe.pub 2 points 2 days ago

Important note: Other than Archimandrita tesselata they can walk on glas.... you can guess how I figured that ouz eventually.

[-] nathan@piefed.alphapuggle.dev 8 points 2 days ago

My sister and I had some of these as pets, given to us by one of the professors at the local university. Her office was covered from floor to ceiling with animal habitats and had just the most amazing vibe in there. Wish I remembered her name. The university has since torn that building down and I'm sure she's no longer working there

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

I've always been kinda interested, but never really thought I'd actually end up with any. I just happened to be outside when the lecturer was leaving and asked to see them again and he said "You can have them if you want," and I was like "YES OK PLEASE" lol

Then I spent my first morning back home baking soil and mulch to make sure there were no mites XD

[-] Grail@multiverse.soulism.net 5 points 2 days ago

Are the mites parasitic to the cockroaches?

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

Some of them are, but most of them just pose more of a stress/nuisance problem. Depending on the species, they can live up to a couple of months, lay 2-10 eggs every couple of days, and go from egg to reproducing adult in 1-2 weeks, so they have the possibility to massively explode in population if they are introduced.

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 2 points 2 days ago

mites can be phoretic , they just use the roach as hitchikers, some are predatory like attack the eggs, most will just eat the dead stuff, droppings. the predatory mites are more likely to be found in the wild hunting other mites.

[-] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 days ago

Are they social and intelligent, like rats?

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago

There's some debate on this, but the current consensus seems to be that they are more akin to ants: they recognize their colonymates, and they have social hierarchies; they recognize their handlers over time.. they're not quite as intelligent as rats, but it's a closer race than you might think.

Rats are really smart, though. It's like comparing a dolphin and a goldfish:

Goldfish can be trained to do simple things like ring a bell for food, but dolphins do ocean dmt and then use their prehensile genitals to choke turtles and then laugh about it.

[-] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

😂 yeah, dolphins are in a category of their own. They are intelligent enough to do some diabolical stuff. Rats are just smart enough to be adorable.

Anyway, it’s nice that these insects are capable of recognising you. I wonder if they do it by smell.

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

That's something I haven't looked into. I can either Google this now, or experiment on my own blindly to see if my results match those that exist, if any.

I'm gonna do the second. I'll let you know o7

[-] Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz 6 points 2 days ago

As far as I know, most insects rely heavily on chemical markers. That’s how ants communicate too. Dragonflies hunt by eyesight, but they are exceptional in so many ways.

If you have sweaty hands, it should be able to identify you easily. If you’ve just washed your hands with soap, it could be harder. At least that’s my hypotheses for the time being.

BTW how do you know you’ve been identified? Will it just run away from strangers?

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

I guess I'll have to establish a baseline for their reaction to my presence after a couple of months or so, and then just note if I see any difference when I start masking my chemical markers 🤷🏻‍♂️

this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
131 points (100.0% liked)

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