How to care for Madagascan Hissing Cockroaches - Gromphadorhina portentosa

Welcome to the Hissing Cockroach area. This section contains all the information you need to successfully keep the Madagascan Hissing Cockroach

Introduction to Hissing Cockroaches

This species of cockroach is called the Madagascan Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) as it hisses when disturbed or picked up, this is a defence mechanism and the insect wont bite you. The hissing comes from air being forced through the breathing tubes in the side of the insect. As the name suggests it is naturally found on the island of Madagascar just off East Africa where it shares it's home with other tropical insects and plants such as insectivorous Nepenthes, orchids like Angraecum and tropical amphibians such as Mantella frogs. This island really is productive in terms of animals and plants kept in the home.

Housing Pet Cockroaches

The Madagascan Hissing Cockroach is a ground dwelling insects and spends its life rummaging through leaf litter in the tropical forests in search of food. You will need to keep them (you can keep several together) in a a tank of some description, a good choice would be a fish tank or or plastic tank (for up to 12) of 10 inches long x 8 inches high x 8 inches wide, you can of course use whatever size is available of around those dimensions as there are no requirements for the tank to be larger than this , use their standard size in this range. 

In captivity you need to provide a similar environment to their home in order to keep them healthy, the easiest way to accomplish this is to use either course vermiculite (is sterile) or a special jungle type bedding. Both will allow the creatures to burrow in to it for cover.

In addition to the substrate mentioned, the insect requires some hiding places and good ones can be easily provided by adding some 6 inch long x 3 inch wide pieces of cork bark to the tank base or some small artificial reptile caves.

The tanks substrate will remain fairly clean for a long time but should be totally cleaned out every 2 to 3 months or so, if you have young cockroaches present them keep your eye out for them!

Temperature & Humidity for Hissing Cockroaches

As Madagascar is a tropical island the temperature rarely drops below 18°C at night and 25°C during the day so you will need to reproduce this in your tank. The simplest method is to use one of the under tank heating mats with a thermostat fitted. The small heating mat should be placed under one end of the tank so that there is a cooler area available if the insects wants it. The temperature in the tank needs is in the range of 18°C to 25°C at soil level so place the thermostat control about an inch above the heater.

Humidity requirements are fairly simple, the Madagascan Hissing Cockroach isn't too fussy about humidity levels but is should be on the lower (dryer) side rather than being over damp. A simple light spray with a hand sprayer over the substrate once a day with clean, fresh water will be quite adequate although a box filled with damp moss would be appreciated.

Lighting Hissing Cockroaches

Most cockroaches shun the light and you need not provide any supplemental lighting unless you wish to do so for cosmetic reasons. If you keep them too bright they will not come out of hiding

Feeding Hissing Cockroaches

Cockroaches require a balanced diet which must be high in calcium. Faunology Cockroach Chow is specially developed to be a single source food supply and contains everthing cockroaches need except water. Cockroaches are omnivorous though which means they can eat virtually any type of food you want to give them. The best way to keep your pet healthy is to provide a wide and varied diet based around the staple dry food and should include some of the following items

Cereals include (serve dry!)

• Cornflakes - usually contain extra vitamins and minerals
• Muesli - contains oat flakes as well as fruits
• Bran flakes

Fruits include

• Apples
• Peaches
• Banana

Vegetables include

• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber

Supplemental treats

• Dry type dog food - Ringos are good
• The odd chocolate button!

As you can see, they really will eat almost anything! Try to vary the diet from week to week and change the ingredients. For best results you should put the food in a shallow dish (around 1 inch) and put it in a corner. Water should always be provided and so long as there are no small nymphs around it can be up to 1 inch deep, I have never lost a decent sized cockroach to drowning in a normal water bowl. If nymphs are around then the water should be much shallower as they can get stuck in the surface tension of the water.

Breeding Hissing Cockroaches

Hissing Cockroaches will usually only begin to breed if kept in a colony of 3 to 5 as this stimulates them to breed. This type of cockroach doesn't lay eggs, it produced an egg case which is kept within the body cavity until the eggs begin to hatch. It will then give 'birth' to live, white cockroaches which will darken over the following day. The male of this species can be distinguished from the female as the male has a 'horn' or raised bump on the front of its head, the female lacks this fighting horn.

Provided you have kept ample food available there is no need to remove the 20 to 50 young produced as they will eat the same food as their parents. If food is scarce then they may be eaten!

The Madagascan Hissing Cockroach will moult several times over the following 9 months before becoming adult. Each time it moults its body will become white and will darken over the following day. During this time they should not be disturbed as their bodies are soft and vulnerable to damage.