Most pet parents have dogs or cats or birds but sometimes a creatures comes across your path that you just find so fascinating you have to learn more. For me, it’s the Madagascar hissing cockroach.
Thee large insects are native to the island of Madagascar and it is the only place where they can be found naturally. Unlike other cockroaches, they do not have wings but do have hooks on their feet and legs that enable them to climb smooth surfaces. Madagascar giant hissing cockroaches also communicate for various reasons, including mating or an alarm, using that loud hissing sound they are named for.
"They exhale air through their little sphericals which are their breathing holes," said Diana Sleiertin. "The hissing coachroach is actually the only coackroach that has at least eight different hisses to communicate with the pack."
Males can be identified by the large horns on top of their heads and if you plan to keep these large insects, it is wise to keep males separated. Madagascar giant hissing cockroaches can make fun, interesting pets because they do not bite, do not smell and are easy to care for. They grow to be two to three inches long and live on average two to five years. Their diet also makes them easy to care for pets because chances are you will always have left overs around they can eat such as decaying fruit and vegetable matter as well as smaller insects.