The short answer: if you are keeping cockroaches for the first time in the UK, start with a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach or an Indian Spotted (Domino) Cockroach. Both are large enough to watch easily, slow enough to handle, undemanding about humidity, and simple to keep warm with one heat mat on a thermostat. Species that fly, such as the Cuban Cockroach, or species with narrow ventilation requirements, such as the Sapphire Flower Cockroach, are better as a second or third project once you have the basics in place.
Pet cockroaches still surprise people. Say the word and most of us picture a kitchen at two in the morning, not an animal you would deliberately keep in a display tub. The species in the hobby have almost nothing in common with the handful of pest species that give the group its reputation. They come from rainforest leaf litter, savannah, and in one case a single cave in Guinea. They are clean, quiet, cost almost nothing to feed, and several of them are more striking than anything else you can keep in a tub of the same size. Below are the ones I would actually recommend starting with, and the ones I would ask you to wait on.
The best beginner species
Madagascar Hissing Cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa)
This is the one almost everyone starts with, and for good reason. Adults reach 5 to 7cm, they are heavy-bodied and slow, and they tolerate gentle handling better than any other roach in the hobby. They are wingless, so there is no flight risk to worry about. The hiss is real and it is worth hearing: they force air through their spiracles, which is unusual among insects and quite unlike the stridulation you get from crickets. They are long-lived by invertebrate standards, often two to five years, so a group is a genuine commitment rather than a season's project.
The one thing that catches people out is climbing. Adults will walk straight up glass and smooth plastic without difficulty, so a secure lid is not optional. A smooth barrier of petroleum jelly around the top few centimetres of the enclosure is the standard solution and it works well. Beyond that they need very little: a deep substrate, plenty of stacked cork bark or egg crate for surface area, and a heat mat on a thermostat fixed to one side, which in a UK home is needed through the colder months and speeds up breeding the rest of the year. Our Madagascar Hissing Cockroach care guide goes into the detail, and you can see current stock on the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach page.
Indian Spotted or Domino Cockroach (Therea petiveriana)
If the hissing cockroach is the sensible first choice, the Domino is the one I think is underrated. Adults are a clean matt black scattered with bold white spots, and the effect really does look like something painted rather than grown. They come from dry scrub and forest floor in southern India, and they behave accordingly: nymphs spend most of their time buried, and adults come up to the surface to feed and wander.
For a beginner they are just as manageable. They do not fly, and although adults climb smooth glass as the hissers do, a close-fitting lid from the outset deals with that. Give them a deep substrate they can burrow into, damp below and dry at the surface, a leaf litter layer on top, and good ventilation, and they largely look after themselves. Have a look at the Indian Spotted Cockroach if you want something that looks unusual without adding difficulty.
Worth knowing about, but not first
Cuban Cockroach (Panchlora nivea)
Pale mint-green adults, and one of the prettiest insects you can keep. The reason it is not on the beginner list is simple: adults are strong, willing fliers, and they are small enough to find gaps you did not know your enclosure had. Keep them once you have your escape-proofing sorted rather than as a first attempt. Everything else about them is easy, and they are worth working up to. See the Cuban Cockroach page for what we have in.
Chrome Cockroach (Gyna caffrorum)
A good second species. Gyna are the porcelain roaches, named for the smooth, glazed finish on the adult wings, and caffrorum in particular matures to a muted silvery tone that photographs far better than it sounds on paper. They are African, they breed readily, and they are forgiving about most things.
The honest caveat is that adults fly, so this is a species where you close the lid before you reach in rather than after. If you are comfortable with that, they are otherwise straightforward and build steadily into a good-looking colony, though the colour takes months to arrive. The Chrome Cockroach page has the current details.
Emerald Cockroach (Pseudoglomeris magnifica)
Metallic green, hard-shelled and beetle-like, and probably the single most impressive-looking roach in the hobby. They are not difficult exactly, but they are slow. Colonies build gradually, and if you buy a small starter group expecting quick numbers you will be disappointed. Treat this as a display species you are keeping for its own sake. Our Emerald Cockroach care guide covers the specifics, and stock appears on the Emerald Cockroach page.
Sapphire Flower Cockroach (Eucorydia yasumatsui)
Tiny, around 10mm, and a deep iridescent blue that only appears after the final moult; the nymphs are drab and give no hint of what is coming. Ventilation is the make-or-break factor with this species, and drier with more airflow beats a humid, stuffy box every time. That is a slightly counterintuitive lesson to learn on your first colony, which is why I would not put it first, but it is a lovely animal for a keeper with a bit of experience.
What you actually need to set one up
Roaches are cheap to house, which is part of the appeal. A clip-lock tub with generous cross-ventilation drilled into the sides does the job for most species; a 9 to 15 litre box suits a starter colony comfortably. Fill the bottom with several centimetres of substrate so the burrowing species and the nymphs have somewhere to go, then fill the airspace with stacked cork bark, cardboard tubes or egg crate. Surface area matters more than floor space with roaches, because they naturally pack into tight crevices.
Feeding is refreshingly simple. Fresh fruit and vegetables a couple of times a week, something dry and protein-based available constantly, and a shallow source of moisture such as damp sphagnum or water crystals. Most species will also work through leaf litter, and a layer on the surface helps hold humidity while giving them something to graze.
On heat, every species here does best in the mid to high twenties, around 24 to 28°C, and a British room sits well below that from autumn to spring, so a low-wattage heat mat on the side of the tub, controlled by a thermostat, is part of the setup. In summer a typical UK home, around 21 to 22°C, keeps them going without it, though they grow and breed more slowly than at 24 to 28°C, so leave the mat on if you want a busy colony and keep the tub below 30°C in a heatwave. Never put a mat under the tub; it heats exactly the layer the burrowing species and nymphs retreat into.
Keeping them where they belong
One point I would ask every new keeper to take seriously. Almost every species in the hobby is tropical or subtropical and would not survive a UK winter outdoors, but releasing non-native invertebrates into the wild is both irresponsible and, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, illegal. Good escape-proofing protects your colony and takes the question off the table entirely: a well-fitting lid, fine mesh over any ventilation holes, and a smooth barrier for the climbing species.
Frequently asked questions
Are pet cockroaches legal to keep in the UK?
The species kept in the hobby, including all of those above, are legal to buy and keep in the UK and need no licence. The legal obligation that does apply is on release: you must not let non-native species escape into the wild.
Do pet cockroaches smell?
A well-kept colony does not. Odour comes from damp uneaten food and a substrate that has gone sour, not from the animals themselves. Remove fresh food after a day or two and keep ventilation generous and you will not notice them.
Do pet cockroaches bite?
No. None of the species kept in the hobby bite, and they have no interest in defending themselves against something your size. The hissing species will hiss at you and try to walk away, which is the extent of it.
How long do pet cockroaches live?
It varies a lot. Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are the long-lived end at two to five years as adults. Most of the smaller species are shorter-lived individually but breed steadily, so the colony carries on even as individuals turn over.
Can you keep just one cockroach?
You can, and a single hisser will do fine as a solitary animal, but it is not how I would recommend keeping them. These are gregarious insects that pack together in crevices, and a small group behaves far more naturally and is more interesting to watch.
Do pet cockroaches need a heat mat in the UK?
Yes, through the colder months at least, because every species here does best at around 24 to 28°C and a British room sits well below that from autumn to spring. In summer a typical home keeps them going without one, but the extra warmth makes them breed faster. Always control the mat with a thermostat and fit it to the side of the enclosure rather than underneath it.
What is the easiest cockroach to keep?
The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, without much argument. It is large, slow, wingless, tolerant of handling, undemanding about humidity, and forgiving of the mistakes everyone makes in their first few months.
If you want to see what is currently available, everything we have in is on our cockroaches for sale page. If you are still deciding, start with a hisser or a Domino, get a season under your belt, and then move on to the fliers and the fussier species with some confidence behind you.
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