To say the least some people in this world can have some very weird tastes when it comes to the different things that they are willing to share their household with and their lives as well.

I mean, come on, we all understand it when people bring that cute little puppy or kitten home (they are just irresistible), and it can even be understood some peoples’ fascination with snakes and lizards, they just touch that inner something that fascinates us (usually men). But what are we to say when a person is found that likes and raises cockroaches, and not only that, when he keeps them as pets?


The most popular type of cockroach pet is the Madagascar Hissing cockroach, also called the Hissing roach or Hisser, this is one of the biggest species of cockroach and it can reach a length of 4-5 inches when full grown! As their name suggests they can be found off the coast of Africa on the Island of Madagascar. Their favorite place to live is in rotting logs, they are wingless but do not let that fool you because they can climb smooth glass with ease! The females carry the eggs inside of her until they are hatched and then she releases the little nymphs after they have hatched; they usually spend some time with the mother after they are born.

One of the things that helped make these little guys such a popular pet was the fact that they hiss, not to mention their big size and ferocious appearance. The hissing noise is in itself unique, they can make it through forcing air through some breathing pores that they have on their abdomen; it is believed that the Madagascar Hissing cockroach is the only insect on the planet that is able to make a hissing noise like this!

Almost all other insects make their hissing noises by rubbing different body parts together. These hisses are used by the cockroaches in two different ways, the first is the disturbance hiss, it is only cockroaches that are in the fourth molting phase that are able to make this particular hissing noise. All males can make the second hiss which is known as the fighting hiss; when they start making fighting hiss noises at each other, one of them will back down signaling the end of the fight.

This type of cockroach is very popular with the crowd in Hollywood, or better said the Hollywood movies, they can be found in the 1975 movie called "Bug" as roaches that make fires by rubbing their legs together, they are also in Dalmatian Alley (1977), in this movie they were portrayed as mutant killer roaches. Fun huh?

These little guys have even been turned into jewelry; they have been used on necklaces and broaches, expensive necklaces and broaches! They have been the driver of a roach-mobile and as everybody should know, these are the cockroaches that grossed us all out in the Men In Black movie (1997).

One of the things that simply amazed me was when I heard that the amusement park called Six Flags Great America has made an announcement that anybody that could eat a live Madagascar Hissing cockroach would get line jumping privileges (it was a Halloween thing). But not only that, the contestant that could eat over 36 cockroaches in 1 minute would receive season passes for four people! Now that is really something, I take my hat off to the person that was able to do such a gruesome thing!
One thing that’s worth mentioning, is the fact that there is a certain mite species called Gromphadorholaelaps schaeferi that lives on this kind of cockroach.

When keeping one of these bugs as a pet, you can rest assured that they do not bite, if fact they will try to hide from you if you disturb them. Coconut fiber or tree bark is the best thing to use for bedding, keep some branches in their rank to keep them happy and climbing…it is also a good idea to keep a heating pad under part of the tank so that they can choose the temperature that they like the most. If your roach seems to be kind of sluggish it is because it has been exposed to lower temperatures. Make sure that there is food in the tank for your pet at all times. Dried dog, cat or mouse food will do nicely and fresh veggies are a favorite of the roach. Keep a soaked sponge in a corner of the tank for the roaches’ water.