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We’re always trying to find interesting and unusual animals for children; here’s one of them! Native to Australia, the Giant Burrowing Cockroach is a great micro pet for children, whether in a school, childcare centre or home.
The Burrowing Cockroach is a low maintenance pet that can be kept in an enclosure with eucalyptus leaves to eat and sandy soil to burrow in. They grow to approximately 75mm and can live up to 10 years! 2-3 pet cockroaches can be happily housed in an enclosure measuring 30 x 30 x 30cm, easily maintained by misting for moisture and refreshing the soil every 3 months. They do not bite and can be handled gently.
Not many insects are available as pets! The Burrowing Cockroach is a unique and interesting pet, easy to look after and inexpensive. Why have an ant farm when you can up-scale to giant burrows? Search for Giant Burrowing Cockroaches on Youtube to see how people across Australia love their pet cockroaches!
And what can children learn from these pets? With their large size children can see up close the structure of an exoskeleton, and the process of growing and shedding one (they turn white!). The life cycle of the Burrowing Cockroach is unique to the insect, as their young are born live and parents provide for them for up to 3 months in their burrows.
For your home, childcare centre or school a terrarium of Burrowing Cockroaches will intrigue children, and can easily be transported for holiday care.