Species Profile & Temperament

Safety Information

Allergy Warning: While they do not bite or sting, cockroaches shed proteins in their feces (frass) and old exoskeletons. Frequent handling or inhaling dust from their enclosure can trigger allergic reactions or asthma in some people. If you develop itchy skin or watery eyes, wear gloves when cleaning their tank.

Housing & Enclosure

Enclosure Type & Size

• Type: Terrestrial
• Size: A large Critter Keeper or small tank with floor space for the group. Ask our team for the right size.
• Escape Prevention (CRITICAL): Unlike Dubia roaches, Hissing Cockroaches are excellent climbers. They can easily scale smooth glass or plastic. You must have a tight-fitting, locking screen lid.

Substrate

• Recommended: Coconut fiber (Eco Earth) or peat moss mixed with leaf litter.
• Depth: Enough for them to dig. Ask our team for the depth. Deeper substrate helps hold humidity.

Décor & Enrichment

• Hides: They require dark places to hide during the day. Cardboard egg crates, curved cork bark, or half-logs work perfectly.
• Water Dish: Roaches are terrible swimmers and will drown in open water. Do not use a water bowl. Instead, use Fluker's Cricket Quencher (water crystals).

Temperature

• Heating: They are from tropical Madagascar. If your house is cold, stick a small reptile heating pad to the side of the tank (not the bottom, so they can escape the heat by burrowing).

Humidity

• Target Range: Moderate. Ask our team for the range to aim for.
• How to Maintain: Mist the walls and decor, not the roaches. The coconut fiber substrate should be damp to the touch, but never soaking wet or muddy.

Diet & Nutrition

Hissing Cockroaches are scavengers and thrive on a varied diet.

Primary Diet

• Fresh Foods (Provide daily): Apples, carrots, romaine lettuce, squash, and sweet potatoes.
• Dry Staples (Leave in tank): A commercial roach or feeder diet, used as the label says. Do not use dog or cat food.

Feeding Schedule

Foods to Avoid

• Avoid: Rotting food: Always remove fresh food before it molds. Mold is fatal to a roach colony.

Molting & Reproduction

Molting

• Like all insects, they must shed their exoskeleton to grow. A freshly molted roach will be pure, ghostly white. Do not handle them during this time. Wait until the new shell has hardened and turned brown/black.
• They will often eat their own shed skin to recycle the nutrients.

Breeding

• Sexing: Adult males have two large, prominent "horns" (bumps) on their pronotum (the shield behind their head). Females have a smooth pronotum. Males use these horns to headbutt each other for dominance.
• Livebearers: Females incubate an egg case internally and give birth to live babies (nymphs).

What We Use & Recommend

These are products we use and recommend for this species. Stock varies by store, so ask us what we have in store today.

Last updated: 2026-08-04

How We Keep Them at Critter Cabana & Gresham Pet Supply

• Damp, Not Wet, in a Dry Oregon Winter: When Pacific Northwest furnaces kick on from October through April, indoor air dries out fast. We keep hissers on coconut fiber with leaf litter that is damp to the touch but never soaking. We mist the walls and decor with RO/DI water, never the roaches. They get water from gel or water crystals, never an open water dish, because they can drown.
• Safe Room Heating in the Willamette Valley: If your home is cold, use a small heat mat on the side of the tank, on a thermostat. Never put it underneath, so they can burrow away from the heat. Ask us for the temperature range to aim for.
• Shopping at Newberg & Gresham: For enclosures, cork bark, substrates, springtails and feeders at Critter Cabana (Newberg) and Gresham Pet Supply, ask us what we have in store today.

Common Questions (FAQ)

How do I keep my Madagascar Hissing Cockroach warm and humid enough during an Oregon winter?

Keep the coconut fiber damp to the touch but never wet, and mist the walls rather than the roaches. Give water through gel or water crystals, never an open dish. If your home is cold, use a side-mounted heat mat on a thermostat, never underneath. Ask us for the exact temperature and humidity to aim for.

What size enclosure does a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach need?

Hissers climb smooth glass and plastic, so the tank needs a tight, locking lid. Give them floor space and dark hides like egg crate or cork bark. Ask us for the right size for your group.

Can I put isopods in a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach bioactive enclosure?

Around molting tarantulas and scorpions, skip big, hungry isopods and stick to springtails, so a soft, newly molted animal is never nibbled.

Where can I find Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, cork bark, and feeder insects in Oregon?

Ask us what we have in store today at our two exotic animal stores: Critter Cabana in Newberg (514 E First St, 503-537-2887) and Gresham Pet Supply (2185 NW Burnside Rd, 503-665-7606).