Pet Cockroaches - How to care for Pet Cockroaches

Welcome to the Cockroach area. This section is divided in the introduction (this page) plus one page for each of the commonly kept cockroaches as there are some differences in keeping conditions that should be adhered to if you want your pet to live to a ripe old age - up to 10 years or more!

Introduction to Cockroaches

OK lets say it... Oer grrrrr.... yak. That, or something similar, is usually the first thing off peoples lips when ever cockroaches are mentioned. Yes, there are some which deserve this reaction and deservedly so. There are actually only about 30 species of cockroaches in the world which have been classed as pests, that's 30 species out of 4000!

The most common types of cockroaches kept as pets tend to be the large, heavy giants and the colourful ones. The majority of these come from tropical areas such as Africa, Madagascar, Australia etc and are available in a range of sizes and colours. Left: Madagascan Hissing Cockroach

Hissing cockroaches are by far the most popular pets as not only are they large at around 3 inches long but as the name suggests they hiss when disturbed. This hissing is a result of air being forced through breathing holes in the sides of the insect when it's disturbed. These holes are called spiracles and act in a similar way to a whistle when forcing air through them. Typically this type of cockroach is dark brown and easy to keep.

Other commonly kept types are the Golden Cockroaches, Green Banana Cockroach and to a lesser extent the Giant Burrowing Cockroach. These vary in size from 1/2 inch to over 3 inches long but some are quite rare out of their native country, such as the Australian Giant Burrowing Cockroach which is hard to come by, this is a pity as they are massive and docile.

Many cockroaches have a habit of producing a vile smelling substance when disturbed so this is often a deciding factor when choosing your pet! We have provided keeping information on the easiest and most commonly kept ones and not the stinking ones (they are mentioned below) as these are unlikely to be available to buy - even if you wanted to.