March 23rd Post out of Order

I did a mini experiment with Zeus and Hercules. I put dark paper on one side of a shoe box, and white paper on the other side. Then I dumped the cockroaches into the middle, covered the top with plastic wrap (w/ holes punched) to keep them in, and put a like over the black paper half. I left the cockroaches for 1/2 hr. When I came back black paper had fallen on top of Zeus and he was quite happy on the dark side. Hercules had stayed on the light side, but if you look closely he is in the shaded portion of it.
So, from this observation, I would conclude that cockroaches prefer dark or shady environments.

the experiment.

Attempt 1:

-both went straight for the moist area

-both explored both areas

-both stayed on the moist side the majority of the time

Attempt 2:

-Hercules went to the dry side and stayed in the corner

-Zeus went to the moist side and stayed

-Zeus drank the water on the wall

Attempt 3:

-both went to moist area

-Hercules went to the dry area and came back to moist

-both stayed at moist (majority of time)

Attempt 4:

-Hercules went to dry area

-Zeus went on moist areas

-both attempting to get out by climbing on the walls

Attempt 5:

-both went to the moist

-stayed in that area the whole time

-tried to climb out

-we put the lid on to keep them from climbing out

Relationship statement: When placed in between a dry and a moist area, the cockroaches choose the moist area 80% of the time.

research plan.

Research Question: Does the amount of moisture in the substrate affect which area (moist or dry) the cockroaches will go to?

Hypothesis: If given the choice between a dry or a moist area, the cockroaches will go to the dry area. (Because the cockroaches have been living in the dry environment, we think they will go to the dry area, even though Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches naturally live in a tropical environment.)

Constants:

-amount of substrate

-type of substrate

-size of area

-starting placement and time of cockroaches

-cockroaches facing in, with no preference of direction

-same number of cockroaches

I.V.: amount of moisture in the substrate

D.V.: which area the cockroaches will go to

Methods for data collection:

-5 cups of dry substrate

-container 40 by 25 by 16 cm

-100 sprays of water

-container divided into equal halves using a piece of paper strip

-placing cockroaches on the middle line at the same time

-cockroaches facing in, with no preference of direction

Data collection:

-place cockroaches in container

-observe for 4 minutes

-repeat 5 times

MVI 0259

Zeus eating fresh lettuce.

new roaches?

who are these cockroaches that i have received? they are completely different from the last time I had them. the very first day they were climbing on the walls, and have been caught doing so frequently since thursday. they also spend a significant amount of time outside the tube (on the tube on the outside and just out). and today, zeus was HUNGRY. i have never seen them eat before, and while herc was hanging from the tube on the outside, zeus ate the biggest of the lettuce pieces i put in their bowl (i changed and cleaned the whole cage), and parts of the other piece of lettuce as well. he just ate the whole thing in one sitting, holding on to it with all his arms and legs and just munching away. i could not take my eyes off him - it was extremely fascinating. i put some pieces of carrots in there, and am curious if they will eat that.

tomorrow i am bringing them to school with me, and i am anxious to see if any of the kids will hold them - cause i sure can't yet.

no tube.

I took the tube out of the cage and the cockroaches hated me. They were too exposed to the light, so they hid under the dirt stuff. The next day, I thought that they had escaped somehow, but they were actually under the food tray. I let them live without the tube for four days, and they did not like it at all. It was interesting to see them adapt to a new environment.

February 26

Not much of anything new going on. Zeus and Hercules spend most of their time happily hanging out in the toilet paper tube. I cleaned out their food dish yesterday and moved them closer to the window which made them even more shy. They definitely do not like the light. I may try giving them some apple tomorrow...

vampires?

i forgot to report that when i put the cage by the window, both of the roaches was in the tube, and the one that was facing the window turned around immediately. and really quickly. i have never seen any of them move so fast. so clearly, they do not like the light. and quite possibly, they could be vampiric.

Burrowing

Looking online, there is a giant burrowing cockroach, but nothing about cockroaches burrowing in general. I also did not put another tube in, and the two of them seem to have calmed down. Tomorrow they get to go home to Misty!!

Cleaning Antennae

Today I got Hercules on my hand. I used the stick again, but I pulled it out from under him. He still held on tight with two claws (really strong grip) but eventually I got that away from him too. While he was on my hand, he used his mouth and leg to pull his Antennae down by his mouth one by one, where he rubbed them in his mouth. I would assume this means he was cleaning them. It was fun to see him clean both of them.

My youngest brother then wanted to pet him, but was kind of nervous. I showed him how, but it make Hercules hiss and I almost dropped him. He doesn't hiss when I touch him in the box, but I think he's more nervous on my hand. He won't go on it unless he has to, and he doesn't grip my hand that tightly and is always edgy.

Do Cockroaches Burrow?

Tuesday 15, 2011
After I spooked Hercules when trying to get him on my hand, he burrowed under the dirt as best he could. I need to look up if that is a survival technique cockroaches usually use.

Zeus Upside Down

Tuesday February 15, 2011
When I shook him out of the tube, he climbed up the wall and sat in this position forever. Hercules did this the other night too. They seem to really like it.

Hercules Eating His Veggies (liked celery, not tomato)

Tuesday February 15, 2011

Never Thought I'd Say This......Cute!

So I used a stick to get Hercules up on my hand. Once he had a grip on it, he wouldn't let go. I had a little tug of war with him, but he held on so tightly that I couldn't shake, pull or flick him off without making him land on the floor. He actually looks kind of cute in the second picture holding on tightly to his stick. Like a little baby with its toy.

Wednesday February 16, 2011

They had fight!

So, I'll be posting pictures tomorrow, but when I cam home today my sister and brother informed me that during the day they heard crackling hissing noises, peeked in the tube, and saw Zeus and Hercules wrestling. They worried that Hercules was dead because he wasn't moving, but then he started moving around. I think for the rest of their visit, I might squeeze a second tube into the box and see if that does them any good.
Last Night Zeus puffed up, started shaking and hissed at Hercules while he was eating. No idea why, but I wonder if it had anything to do with today's fight. Really hope they can calm down.
My other sister said it sounded like they were fighting in the tube when she drove them home in the car on Monday.
Zeus strikes me as a bit of a bully :(

moving butt.

i'v been trying to get the two critters to do stuff by tipping the toilet roll on the side, but they lead a boring life i've discovered. i've also been poking them lightly with the eraser end of a pencil to get them to hiss, but in vain. however, at one point, hercules started backing out of the roll, and zeus kept moving his antenna and almost looked like he was cleaning himself. i was hoping they were getting ready for a fight, but alas it seemed like they were just being boring again. then i tipped the roll on the side, and they were now face to face, so when i poked zeus's butt, he hissed. i was excited. the roll was again put down, and the cockroaches were still face to face, and after a few minutes i noticed that zeus's butt was going up and down. don't know what this means, but tomorrow i intend to investigate further. more to come.

I blew inside the tube to see if they'd react. Zeus twitched his antennas a little bit, but Hercules didn't move at all. Hercules is definitely more less maintenance and not as feisty. They got into a fight the other night, and it was Zeus who was causing all the raucous. Zeus is frequently sitting on top of Hercules.

I put the cage by the fire last night to see if they'd like the warmth --- neither of them came out of the tube. But when I woke up this morning, Zeus was stuck half-way between the tube and plastic wall; they seem to have a hard time coming out of the tube. Maybe I'll cut it down and then they will come out more. Truthfully, they rarely come out, only in the dark.

January 28

Getting territorial today!

Both were right next to each other in "the tube" this morning and started hissing back and forth at one another. The hiss was loud and a little different from the hiss they they do when I try to pick them up.

Masagascar Hissing Cockroach eating

Both climbed out of "the tube" and ate today. This is the first time I have seen them eat.

January 22 - January 23

- Both cockroaches are male.
- Zeus is larger and has a darker head.
- Hercules is smaller.
- They live in a 5in wide x 8in tall x 6in high cage.
- They have a thin layer of substrate in the bottom that retains a little moisture to mimic the tropical climate they are used to.
-They have a food dish and I have been giving them romaine lettuce.
-They also have a toilet paper roll to hide in.

Both are very sluggish and don't move much. The temperature in my house is generally around 73 F which may be too cold to see much activity.

I have not seen any evidence that they have eaten yet. They spend most of their day in the toilet paper roll hiding.

*I added carrots and some dog food to their dish on January 23.