Description

Halloween Hissing Cockroach

The Halloween Hissing Cockroach (Elliptorhina javanica) is a colourful, characterful species of hissing cockroach native to Madagascar. With striking orange, amber and black markings across the body, it’s easy to see how this unusual invertebrate earned its rather seasonal common name.

Smaller than many of the better-known Madagascan hissers, Halloween Cockroaches generally reach around 4–5cm as adults. They are completely wingless, relatively easy to care for and fascinating to observe, making them an excellent choice for both established invertebrate keepers and anyone looking for an unusual first pet cockroach.

Halloween Hissing Cockroach Care

Halloween Hissing Cockroaches appreciate a warm, well-ventilated enclosure containing plenty of places to climb and hide. Cork bark is particularly useful, creating the dark crevices they naturally seek during the day while providing textured surfaces for climbing and moulting.

A natural substrate such as coco fibre can be combined with leaf litter and decaying hardwood. Rather than keeping the whole enclosure constantly damp, providing a moisture gradient works well, allowing part of the enclosure to remain more humid while other areas are relatively dry. Good ventilation is particularly important.

A temperature of approximately 24–29°C is a sensible target, with consistent warmth particularly beneficial for active colonies.

Escape-Proof Housing

Don’t let the chunky little body fool you – Halloween Hissing Cockroaches are very capable climbers.

Both adults and nymphs can climb smooth surfaces, including glass and plastic. Their enclosure therefore needs a secure, well-fitting lid, and ventilation openings must be sufficiently fine to prevent smaller nymphs escaping.

Give them plenty of usable surface area inside the enclosure with cork bark, branches and other suitable hides. These also allow individuals to get away from one another and make the enclosure considerably more interesting to observe.

Behaviour and Handling

Halloween Hissing Cockroaches are generally docile and manageable, although individuals can be a little more reactive than the larger Madagascan hissers. They’re primarily nocturnal, becoming more active during the evening and overnight.

As their name suggests, they can also hiss. The sound is produced by forcing air through specialised respiratory openings and may be heard when an animal is disturbed or during interactions between individuals.

Gentle handling is possible, but they are best regarded primarily as animals to observe rather than something that needs regular handling.

Feeding

Halloween Hissing Cockroaches are omnivorous scavengers and thrive on a varied diet.

Offer a selection of vegetables and occasional fruit alongside a suitable source of protein. Carrot, squash, leafy greens and apple are good examples, while leaf litter and decaying hardwood can also form part of a naturalistic setup.

Fresh food should be offered regularly but remove leftovers before they spoil. Overfeeding moist foods in a warm enclosure is a particularly efficient way of starting a thriving fruit-fly empire, which probably wasn’t the invertebrate collection you had in mind.

Fresh water should also be available in a form that doesn’t present a drowning risk to small nymphs.

Keeping Halloween Cockroaches Together

Halloween Hissing Cockroaches can be kept in groups, making them particularly attractive for naturalistic or bioactive displays. Provide plenty of cork bark and hiding places so individuals can establish their own retreats.

If males and females are housed together, breeding is quite possible under suitable conditions. Females retain the egg case internally and subsequently produce live nymphs rather than depositing an exposed egg case within the enclosure.

As with other hissers, avoid mixing different species together where maintaining correctly identified breeding stock is important.

An Unusually Attractive Cockroach

Cockroaches aren’t generally famous for winning beauty contests, but Elliptorhina javanica makes a surprisingly convincing attempt.

Their contrasting orange and black coloration, manageable adult size and unusual hissing behaviour make Halloween Hissing Cockroaches excellent display animals. A group exploring cork bark in a naturalistic planted enclosure can be genuinely impressive – even if visitors occasionally require a little persuasion before agreeing.

For anyone tempted by the world of pet cockroaches but not quite ready for one of the absolute giants, the Halloween Hissing Cockroach is a cracking little species to start with.

If you have any questions about keeping the Halloween Hissing Cockroach (Elliptorhina javanica), please contact us and a member of our friendly reptile team will be able to advise you.

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