Why keep Cockroaches as pets?

I get a lot of strange looks and nervous laughs when I say I have five Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches.

Many people then jump to the conclusion that they are for feeding to another pet, e.g. my leopard gecko but this is not the case. My cockroaches are as much pets to me as my other pets; I house them, feed them, clean their enclosure and handle them as I do for all of my pets. The only difference is that they are not what a lot of people would consider cute.

So why do I keep them as pets? At first admittedly though I was interested in them, I had no real intention of keeping any. However, it being my nature to feel empathy for any 'unwanted' animals I adopted them from an animal unit when they could no longer keep them. Originally I had only three; Amber, Rusty and Norman and I housed them in a half gallon tank with a coconut hide. Soon after I gained two more roaches - Betty and Barney - from a friend and added them to the enclosure. So I now had five cockroaches.


'Why would you want cockroaches as pets??' - I usually get asked. In fact I was even asked this in the pet shop I bought the enclosure from! My reply as always, 'I like them.' Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are incredible animals - here's some facts...

• Like all other pets, they have their own personalities. Of my roaches Amber is confident, Norman is grumpy and so on. They have varying personalities similar to those of snakes, lizards and tarantulas.
• The 'hissing' sound is produced not from the mouth of the cockroach but via air tubes running down the thorax - it's an amazing sound!
• MHC's are surprisingly resilient insects - though they originate in the Madagascan rainforests they can easily adapt to life here in the UK. Whilst they may not breed if temperatures are lower, they are happy to live among us. 
• They are very easy to keep as pets as they will eat almost anything. Foods suitable for roaches include fruit, vegetables, cat/dog biscuits, hamster muesli, fish food, bread, cereals, plants, meat and even smaller insects - so you can just feed them on scraps. They require only a small enclosure as they are fairly inactive animals.
• They can live for up to five years in captivity - which is a longer lifespan than many popular pets such as dwarf hamsters and mice.

Lastly, the most endearing aspect of cockroach keeping is their socialisation with each other and their keeper. Cockroaches are very sociable creatures and are happiest living in a group. All five of my roaches snuggle up inside their coconut hide and sometimes sleep and rest one on top of the other. When transported to a larger, open container they will automatically group together in the corner...it's very sweet. Cockroaches are also great to handle and enjoy it if handled correctly. Unlike other small pets they are calm and eager to doze off in the palm of your hand.

If you need any more convincing, cockroaches are also incapable of hurting their handler - their teeth are for grinding foods only. Moreover Madagascar Cockroaches, unlike some roach species, are wingless and therefore less capable of escaping when being handled!

I also happen to think they are cute, even if they aren't cuddly!