The Turkestan Roach, also known as the Red Runner, Rusty Red and Blatta Bug, is a mid-sized, shiny, warm weather roach that is native to Asia. (Here is an interesting article from Wikipedia)
The Turkestan Roach is fast moving, which helps stimulate reptiles who are attracted to moving prey. Red Runner Roaches cannot climb which makes them ideal if you to not want to use Bug Boundary in liquid or Grease form (Sorry for the shameless plug).
Turkestan Roaches are a beautiful roach that is fun to watch. Red runners do not give live birth. They lay egg cases which hatch out under the right conditions of heat and humidity. They prefer a warm home so be sure to keep them by your furnace or above your refrigerator in winter, or in a heated enclosure where you can keep the temperature above 80 degrees. They will breed like crazy at around 85 degrees.
They are easy to feed with carrots, lettuce, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Be sure to remove any food before it molds.
This is an easy to breed roach if you are looking for feeders that only grow to about a 1.5 inches.
I was able to get our Red Runner Roaches on video depositing egg cases a couple of years ago. Check it out and please let me know your thoughts on these great roaches.
Are there pitfalls, watch outs or tricks that you know of? Let’s hear them.
Thank you!
Ken Chiarella
