Thailand's latest pet craze
August 22, 2002 10:44 AM Subscribe
Thailand's latest pet craze The Thai government is cautioning people against a new fad sweeping Bangkok - raising giant African cockroaches as pets - saying the bugs could become a health risk if let loose.
'Express mail with "Live Delivery Guarnatee" $18.00 Shipping and Handling.
Priority Mail with "NO Live Delivery Guarantee" $5.50'
I'm curious - if you're ordering a number of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches from a breeder, chances are you probably want them alive, no? Why would you even choose the "NO Live Delivery" option? What the hell would anyone do with a bunch of big dead cockroaches?
On second thought, I don't want an answer to that last question.
posted by starvingartist at 11:08 AM on August 22, 2002
Priority Mail with "NO Live Delivery Guarantee" $5.50'
I'm curious - if you're ordering a number of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches from a breeder, chances are you probably want them alive, no? Why would you even choose the "NO Live Delivery" option? What the hell would anyone do with a bunch of big dead cockroaches?
On second thought, I don't want an answer to that last question.
posted by starvingartist at 11:08 AM on August 22, 2002
the Thai gov't is also going to ban elephants from city streets in order to help protect them. Not really related, but I heard both during the same news story on NPR this morning.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:18 AM on August 22, 2002
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:18 AM on August 22, 2002
The world's largest roach, which lives in South America, is 6 inches long with a 1-foot wingspan.
Oh. My. God.
posted by thewittyname at 11:25 AM on August 22, 2002
Oh. My. God.
posted by thewittyname at 11:25 AM on August 22, 2002
I would have thought the world's largest roach would be in Jamaica.
posted by skyscraper at 11:34 AM on August 22, 2002
posted by skyscraper at 11:34 AM on August 22, 2002
I had a roomie with a pair, her scorpions ate them ... she was distraught.
posted by rotifer at 11:38 AM on August 22, 2002
posted by rotifer at 11:38 AM on August 22, 2002
What the hell would anyone do with a bunch of big dead cockroaches?
On second thought, I don't want an answer to that last question.
posted by starvingartist at 11:08 AM PST on August 22
"Don't get on the ship. The book, To Serve Roaches, IT'S A COOKBOOK!"
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:39 AM on August 22, 2002
On second thought, I don't want an answer to that last question.
posted by starvingartist at 11:08 AM PST on August 22
"Don't get on the ship. The book, To Serve Roaches, IT'S A COOKBOOK!"
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:39 AM on August 22, 2002
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are a commonly kept pet bug in North America. I know a lot of reptile keepers who use them as food for their lizards, or who keep them because they like them. They're apparently quite tame.
posted by mcwetboy at 12:09 PM on August 22, 2002
posted by mcwetboy at 12:09 PM on August 22, 2002
I prefer my pets to squeal when I accidentally step on them, not crunch when I accidentally step on them.
posted by alou73 at 12:18 PM on August 22, 2002
posted by alou73 at 12:18 PM on August 22, 2002
Years ago I had bought 2 of these creatures as pets after seeing and touching them at the Orkin Insect Zoo in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. My kid got to hold one there and he thought it was the coolest thing. I thought they would make cool pets since they were easy to feed, did not bite, and moved slowly. So I found a pet shop that sold them (in Maryland), and brought them back to Illinois with me.
I'm not sure what possessed me at the time to get a male and a female (which I named Bill and Hillary), but within 2 months I noticed about 50-60 offspring in their screened-in 10 gallon aquarium. At first they looked like tiny brown Pill Bugs, but they moved much more quickly (only the adults are slow). Luckily it was cold outside at the time, so I was able to take the tank and separate the babies because the cold slowed them all down.
I put the babies in a large jar with a hunk of tree bark for them to climb on. Within 3 days, they had eaten the bark and reduced it to almost nothing. I then realized what a problem they would pose to my home if they had escaped!
Additionally, they would turn white and shed their skin every few days and come out bigger than before. They were all growing FAST!
I decide to separate about 10 out to keep, and then I killed the rest with roach spray. Before those ten grew into adults, I gave them away (yes, some people other than myself actually wanted them), but I never gave anyone a male/female combination. Eventually I was reduced to 2 males, which died about a year later.
To this day (and as I write this) I still get a queasy, uneasy feeling just thinking about all of those babies and fearing that some had escaped and were eating away the wood frame of my home. The whole experience was quite...icky.
The moral of this story is Don't get them as pets!!! Especially not a male AND a female named Bill and Hillary!
posted by Sal Amander at 12:24 PM on August 22, 2002
I'm not sure what possessed me at the time to get a male and a female (which I named Bill and Hillary), but within 2 months I noticed about 50-60 offspring in their screened-in 10 gallon aquarium. At first they looked like tiny brown Pill Bugs, but they moved much more quickly (only the adults are slow). Luckily it was cold outside at the time, so I was able to take the tank and separate the babies because the cold slowed them all down.
I put the babies in a large jar with a hunk of tree bark for them to climb on. Within 3 days, they had eaten the bark and reduced it to almost nothing. I then realized what a problem they would pose to my home if they had escaped!
Additionally, they would turn white and shed their skin every few days and come out bigger than before. They were all growing FAST!
I decide to separate about 10 out to keep, and then I killed the rest with roach spray. Before those ten grew into adults, I gave them away (yes, some people other than myself actually wanted them), but I never gave anyone a male/female combination. Eventually I was reduced to 2 males, which died about a year later.
To this day (and as I write this) I still get a queasy, uneasy feeling just thinking about all of those babies and fearing that some had escaped and were eating away the wood frame of my home. The whole experience was quite...icky.
The moral of this story is Don't get them as pets!!! Especially not a male AND a female named Bill and Hillary!
posted by Sal Amander at 12:24 PM on August 22, 2002
Amazing. Here I spent over a hundred dollars on an exterminator to rid my basement of roaches, and all this time I could have been selling them on the internet as pets.
But the thought of actually having one as a pet - BLECH! I hope this fad doesn't catch on the way Pokemon cards did, my kids are going to want them too.
posted by MountainGrl at 1:01 PM on August 22, 2002
But the thought of actually having one as a pet - BLECH! I hope this fad doesn't catch on the way Pokemon cards did, my kids are going to want them too.
posted by MountainGrl at 1:01 PM on August 22, 2002
The moral of this story is Don't get them as pets!!! Especially not a male AND a female named Bill and Hillary!
It is not your fault, you could only assume they would have one offspring, and then never touch each other again.
posted by thirteen at 1:42 PM on August 22, 2002
It is not your fault, you could only assume they would have one offspring, and then never touch each other again.
posted by thirteen at 1:42 PM on August 22, 2002
Excuse my ignorance, but how do you tell boy cockroaches and girl cockroaches apart?
posted by panopticon at 2:03 PM on August 22, 2002
posted by panopticon at 2:03 PM on August 22, 2002
Sexing cockroaches.
"The Sexing Cockroaches" would be an excellent band name.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:11 PM on August 22, 2002
"The Sexing Cockroaches" would be an excellent band name.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:11 PM on August 22, 2002
Arrrghh...I just had a flashback to some scenes in a Martin Amis novel involving cockroaches (London Fields, I think it was).
Somehow, the thought of importing un-cute multiple-legged non-mortgage paying residents ("without fur" subcategory) into my house does not thrill me. OTOH, my cats might enjoy chasing them...
posted by thomas j wise at 2:42 PM on August 22, 2002
Somehow, the thought of importing un-cute multiple-legged non-mortgage paying residents ("without fur" subcategory) into my house does not thrill me. OTOH, my cats might enjoy chasing them...
posted by thomas j wise at 2:42 PM on August 22, 2002
I suppose it's all fun and games until the cockroaches start to spell out words like "we" and "live" on your bedroom wall.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:24 PM on August 22, 2002
posted by soundofsuburbia at 3:24 PM on August 22, 2002
Excuse my ignorance, but how do you tell boy cockroaches and girl cockroaches apart?
By lifting their legs, of course!
Actually, the males have Horn-like extrusion on the plating just behind their heads. The females are smooth (like females should be).
posted by Sal Amander at 3:29 PM on August 22, 2002
By lifting their legs, of course!
Actually, the males have Horn-like extrusion on the plating just behind their heads. The females are smooth (like females should be).
posted by Sal Amander at 3:29 PM on August 22, 2002
Whenever I think of cockroaches I'm reminded of the movie Pacific Heights. I guess this guy was the casting agent for the roaches in the movie.
posted by debralee at 3:32 PM on August 22, 2002
posted by debralee at 3:32 PM on August 22, 2002
I read giant and for a millisecond imagined human sized ones.
posted by Saima at 6:44 PM on August 22, 2002
posted by Saima at 6:44 PM on August 22, 2002
The U.S. Army once accidentally unleashed bags full of the giant roaches on the town of Natick, Mass. See Attack of the Mutant Giant Madagascar Cockroaches.
posted by agaffin at 8:17 PM on August 22, 2002
posted by agaffin at 8:17 PM on August 22, 2002
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joined the fad today!
posted by DailyBread at 10:45 AM on August 22, 2002