Carrot Craze

Stacey and I got Mama and Papa on Tuesday, September 27 (my birthday!). We took them home and started observing. We noticed that most of the time they stayed down under the soil when it was bright out. When we would come into the room and it was dark and then turned the light on they would be up on top of the soil moving around. We frequently caught them with Papa on top of Mama during those times. At night they would stay out even when the light was on in the room but during the day they stayed under the soil almost the whole time.

We kept giving them the green food (it looks like jello and smells like pears). I started to wonder though if they might like a change so I broke a baby carrot in half and stuck in there. They were both out on top of the soil that night (September 29th) and I stuck the carrot next to Mama. She moved her antenna around touching the carrot. Then her head emerged and she went crazy! I hadn't seen her head yet. She ate a large portion of the carrot half that night and it continued to dwindle over the next few days. I never say Papa eating it. Mama used what looked like pincers by her head to grab the carrot and eat it.

Unfortunately my camera and my photography skills are not even close to equal to Meredith's but I did get a few pictures of Mama eating the carrot.

Pics.

Here is where Mama & Papa live! Mama is the one standing up, giving a pose. Papa is the one under the Earth. He likes to be underground more than Mama does.

Honeymoon Stage

I went to Animal Ark on Saturday, September 17, 2011, ready to bring our new critters home!!!! Everyone was excited and hopeful of a happy future. The nice lady escorted me to the cockroach drawer, and there were SO MANY to pick from, I couldn't decide! I wanted them ALL! Their cuddly little scaly bodies, their multiple legs and wiry antennas were calling my name, saying, "pick me! pick me!". Alas, I made the decision of picking Mama (lighter brown, smaller) and Papa (darker brown, spots).

Well, Mama & Papa Roach are sitting on my shelf right now, adjusting to their new life. For the first 48 hours they were burrowed underneath the surface of the "earth", keeping warm. The lady at Animal Ark told me that they like humid/warm climates, so I sprinkled some water in there and let them have their space.

They stayed under the surface of the soil occupying opposite corners of the terrarium. It wasn't until yesterday evening (Monday, September 19) that I saw them above the surface and noticed some of the food gone. Right before I went to bed, I noticed that Mama & Papa were no longer on opposites sides but a good 2 inches apart from each other (no doubt engaging in family home evening/prayer).

I woke up today (September 20), and saw Mama Roach resting on top of Papa Roach. Upon coming home @ 2:45, they had resumed the same position. What does this mean? Time will tell...

All in all, these guys are great. They watch TV with us, listen to our jokes, engage in political debate, and of course, sing along to the tunes of Justin Bieber & Selena Gomez. Until next time!!!