Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

A single small colony of 10 to 20 roaches is comfortable in a 19 to 38 litre (5 to 10 US gallon) glass tank or opaque plastic storage bin with a tight, ventilated lid. These roaches climb glass and smooth plastic effortlessly, so a secure lid is essential and a 3 to 5 cm smooth petroleum-jelly band around the inside top rim is a proven escape barrier. Use 3 to 5 cm of loose, non-aromatic substrate such as coconut fibre (coir) or plain wood chips or peat; never use cedar or pine, whose aromatic oils are toxic to invertebrates. Furnish generously with hides: stacked cardboard egg-crate, cork bark, or bark slabs give them the dark, tight crevices they instinctively wedge into. Include a shallow dish with water-gel crystals rather than open water, which prevents drowning and damp-substrate problems.

These are generalist detritivores and eat almost anything plant-based. Staple: a rotating variety of fresh fruit and vegetables (leafy greens, carrot, squash, apple, banana in moderation), plus a dry high-fibre base such as grain meal or fish flakes. Protein supplement: a small amount of high-protein dry pellet, most commonly dry dog or cat kibble, offered a couple of times a week and not as the sole food. Hydration comes from water-gel crystals and light misting, not a water bowl. AVOID: cedar or pine bedding; any produce with pesticide residue; moldy or rotting food (a leading cause of mite outbreaks); heavily salted, oily, or seasoned human food; and, conservatively, onion, garlic, and other strong alliums and large amounts of citrus, which are irritating to many invertebrates. Always remove uneaten fresh food within a day or two before it spoils.

Keep the ambient daytime temperature at 24 to 28 C. If you provide a warm zone with a heat mat on one side, the hot spot may reach about 30 to 31 C, but avoid sustained temperatures above 32 C, which approach the upper survivable limit; at roughly 35 C they become distressed and flee the heat. A natural night drop to 18 to 20 C is fine and normal; never let the enclosure fall below about 10 C. Maintain humidity at 70 to 80 percent (up to about 80 to 90 percent encourages breeding), sustained by light misting every other day, balanced against enough ventilation to prevent mold. No UVB or special lighting is needed: this is a nocturnal, light-avoiding species, so a normal room light cycle and plenty of dark hides are sufficient. A heat mat controlled by a thermostat is the safest way to hold temperature in a cooler room.

This is a semi-social, gregarious species that does best kept as a colony rather than singly; in the wild and in captivity they cluster tightly together in shared crevices. Sexing is straightforward in adults: males carry two prominent horn-like bumps on the pronotum (the shield behind the head) and have thicker, hairier antennae; females have a smoother, flatter pronotum with reduced or absent horns, thinner antennae, and are generally the larger, broader-bodied sex. Males use their horns to shove rival males. If you keep both sexes together they will breed prolifically (females carry eggs internally and give birth to live nymphs), so separate the sexes if you do not want a population explosion. Handling is well tolerated and they do not bite.

Enrichment for this species is about substrate and structure. Provide a complex three-dimensional habitat of stacked bark, cork tubes, and egg-crate so they can climb, wedge, and forage, which mirrors their natural leaf-litter and log-crevice behaviour. Scatter-feeding small pieces of food across the enclosure rather than in one dish encourages natural foraging. Gentle, occasional handling on a flat hand provides low-stress interaction and is part of why they make good educational animals. A modest day-night light rhythm supports normal nocturnal activity.