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HomeAny CategoryLive InsectsPet InvertebratesMadagascar Hissing Cockroach SEXED PAIR (Gromphadorhina portentosa)

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach SEXED PAIR (Gromphadorhina portentosa)

Live Arrival Guarantee Out of Stock

$7.98

5.0 out of 5 stars

 (7)

About This Product

LIVE ARRIVAL GUARANTEED if your temps fall within our LAG (read here). Please check your temps before ordering!

This is 1 Male and 1 Female Hissing Cockroach. These insects are easy to breed and make great pets!


Defining Characteristics:

  • Great Beginner Bug
  • Easy to Care For
  • Bold
  • Large
  • Interesting
  • Good in Groups

WE CANNOT SHIP ROACHES TO FLORIDA, DUE TO STATE LAW!


Name: Hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa), also known as Madagascar hissing roaches or hissers, are relatively large insects that are known for their ability to make noise and their ease of handling. Hissing cockroaches make ideal insect pets, as they are easy to care for, inexpensive, and make interesting captives.

Recommended Vivarium Size: Hissing cockroaches are very easy to house - they certainly do not need much room! 1-2 hissers can be housed in something as small as a 1/2 gallon container, as long as it has adequate ventilation. A group of hissing cockroaches should be housed in a 10 gallon or large habitat.

A screen top is a must, in order to prevent escapes - these roaches can easily climb glass. Some may prefer to place a layer of petroleum jelly along the top inside rim of the enclosure, to keep the hissers from reaching the top. 

At Josh's Frogs, we use coconut fiber, kept slightly damp, as a substrate. We also provide a piece of cork as a hide and climbing obstacle for the roaches. Coupled with a small food and water bowl, your hissing cockroaches are sure to thrive! We strongly recommend housing your pet hissing cockroach in a Josh's Frogs Hissing Cockroach Kit.

Temperature: Hissing cockroaches are fine at room temperature, but will grow and breed much faster if kept warmer, up to 95F. You may wish to use a heat pad or heat lamp in order to provide them with warmth.

Humidity: We recommend keeping hissing cockroaches at 50%+ humidity if at all possible. Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches will survive at lower room humidity, but will thrive in the 60-70% humidity range. Keep the coconut fiber bedding damp, and mist frequently.

Size: Hissing cockroaches start life as 1/4" nymphs (baby roaches), and can reach adult size at 5-6 months of age under the proper conditions. Large adult males may measure up to 4 inches in length, and weigh almost an ounce! Hissing cockroaches will grow throughout their lives, and shed their exoskeleton when they do so. Young roaches will shed much more frequently than older animals. After your pet hisser sheds, it will be soft and white for several hours. The hissing cockroaches sold by Josh's Frogs are about 2-3 months old, and from 2-4 inches in length.

Age: Hissing cockroaches typically live 2-3 years, but can live up to 4 or 5 years with excellent care. The hissing cockroaches sold by Josh's Frogs are about 2-3 months old, and from 2-4 inches in length.

Feeding: Hissing cockroaches are not too picky about their diet. We recommend Josh's Frogs Roach Rations. Fresh fruit, such as banana, should be offered a few times a week.

Sexing: Male Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches have large horns on their heads, while females have a much more round head. The sexual dimorphism is visually apparent at 3-4 months of age.

Social Behavior: Magagascar Hissing Cockroaches do fantastic when housed in groups. Adult males may fight with each other, but this will just result in more hissing, and not any physical damage to the insects. Often, a pair will slowly become a colony as offspring grow up.

Breeding: Well, you put a male and a female together and . . . they have babies! There really is not much to breeding hissing cockroaches. Hissers can reach sexual maturity at 3 months of age, although 5-6 months is more typical. A female will have up to 3 litters a year, with each litter consisting of 2-3 dozen little nymphs. The female hold eggs inside her body until they hatch, about 60 days after the hissing cockroaches mate. Josh's Frogs recommend keeping hissing cockroaches warmer (80F - 90F) if you wish to breed them.

Natural Range: Hissing cockroaches are from the island of Madagascar, where they live in a tropical/subtropical climate in rotten logs and the leaf litter on the forest floor.

Links of Interest:

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Care, from about.com. A very basic care sheet.

Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches: Information and Care. One of the best resources out there on hissing cockroaches. Excellent ideas for using hissers as teaching aids in the classroom.

Hissing Cockroach Care Sheet. A basic care sheet from Petco.

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Wikipedia article with some neat information, including hissing roaches in the movies

Still not sure if Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches from Josh's Frogs are the right pet invertebrate for you? Read the reviews below and see what other customers are saying!

Shipping

This product ships to your doorstep. Most orders placed before 2pm ET on business days will ship out the same day.

Import/export restrictions on this product require that it can only be shipped to destinations within the United States.

Restrictions on this product that prohibit shipping to the following states: FL, HI.

Live Arrival Guarantee

This product is covered under our Live Arrival Guarantee. If your insect/animal does not arrive in good health, we'll make it right, provided the following criteria are met:

  • If shipped Two Day, the temperature experienced during shipping must remain between -20 and 120 °F.
  • If shipped Ground, the temperature experienced during shipping must remain between 0 and 85 °F.
  • If shipped Next Day, the temperature experienced during shipping must remain between -40 and 120 °F.

You'll be notified during the checkout process if your purchase qualifies for our guarantee.

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars

Based on 7 reviews

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Reviews

AlishaV

5.0 out of 5 stars

Got Them For Pets, Ended Up with the Best Feeders

It's been a long, wild ride since I ordered my original sexed pair of Hissers a few years ago. The first pair I was sent arrived dead, but a quick call in and the LAG had me getting a new pair right away. I put them in a Kritter Keeper and enjoyed their interesting behavior. They were already pretty large and the didn't seem very frightened of humans so they were great for watching. Eventually they produced some little baby Hissers and I found out they can easily scale those walls and slide right out of a Kritter Keeper. I lost a few discovering this, but most stayed right on the outside of the tank. I cut off a stocking and slipped it over the lid to act as a screen. It worked well enough that all of those babies grew up and started producing their own babies. Since I originally got them as pets and they are very personable it would was tough, but eventually I started using them as feeders. They were far surpassing the dubia in breeding and ease of care. Now, I have several bins worth of Hissers and that's after selling a bunch and feeding them off. I've grown so fond of them that I've started adding them to bioactive tanks and they've started adding themselves to isopod colonies. While I have screen lids and a vaseline barrier I've had a few escapees, but luckily they don't seem able to survive the average room. They may find their way into a comfortable enclosure, but they can't just live loose because it's too dry. The pair of Hissers is definitely one of the best purchases I've made.

d5a5n5a5

5.0 out of 5 stars

Always reliable!

Every few years I order Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches for my classroom. Josh's Frogs has always sent me healthy bugs ready to educate/scare my teenagers. :-)

Clear

5.0 out of 5 stars

It’s worth it!

First,low price and now...so cute! It’s super worth it for insect lovers!

rarms47

5.0 out of 5 stars

nice roaches

good looking pair of roaches. packaged individually. arrived safely and in good condition despite the box showing signs of rough handling. very pleased with this purchase.

Catherine

5.0 out of 5 stars

healthy and alive

One pair, alive and healthy and great packing.

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