Common Name : Hissing Cockroach
Scientific Name : Gromphadorhina grandidieri

Size : Adult/Sub-adult
Status : Captive Bred

Food : Cockroaches will eat a range of fruit, veg, cereals and kitchen scraps. I feed all my cockroaches on my dried  'cockroach mix' (muesli, cat biscuits, fish pellets and bran - mixed together), plus a little fruit and veg. I generally feed the cockroaches once or twice a week.

Hissing cockroaches are very easy to keep, they will feed on almost anything, fruit, cereal, kitchen scraps. They need to be kept warm in order to breed. Hissing cockroaches make unusual pets, can become very tame and live for several years. Approximate adult size 6-8 cm.

How I keep mine

I love Hissing cockroaches, they are one of my favourite pet bugs and one of the first 'exotic' insects that I ever kept. My first Hissing cockroaches came from the London Butterfly House back in the early eighties (when I worked there, in the good old days). I keep my large colony in a big glass tank with a heat mat on the back and a light on during the day but as I say they are spoilt and a plastic box, without the light would be fine. They enjoy climbing and often sit under the light basking but again this is not essential just my personal preference. They are incredibly easy to keep and breed! You can of course just keep them in a plastic box as I do most of my other cockroach species. I feed them once or twice a week on my dried cockroach mix and pieces of fruit and vegetables. I find banana and cucumber are favourites. Hissing cockroaches are wingless but they climb well so a lid on your box or tank is always necessary. I use peat, coir or vermiculite on the base of their cage and provide pieces of bark or egg trays to climb on. They generally obtain enough moisture from their food but I do spray them with tepid water a couple of times a week. These cockroaches can let out quite a loud hiss but it is all bluff, they are completely harmless and make  great pet bugs or display animals. No 'show and tell' or creepy crawly exhibition is complete without them! (in my opinion)