Harmful or not ?

[GarterGuy17]

Are common house roaches harmful to garters ?

[guidofatherof5]

I would say yes. They carry many diseases. I'm sure they could also bite a garter snake.

[EasternGirl]

Are they in with the snake or something??

[GarterGuy17]

Well today is the only time this has happened , I saw a small roach on the side of the tank when I came in the room and I grabbed a paper towel and killed it. apparently there was another one which fell inside the tank when I moved it to kill the other one , this was the second time today. The first time was removing the lid this morning. both roaches that got in were killed before they came in contact with jade just the really has me uneasy , I have everything out of her tank and she is sleeping in my shirt pocket. I am very very hesitant in putting her pack in until I have a solution , I thought about going out tomorrow and buying some double sided tape to put around the outside of the tank so it will stop them from climbing up. Good or bad idea ?

[EasternGirl]

Hmmm...well I would definitely deal with the roach problem in your house. Get some roach motels or something and put them in your room or call an exterminator...cause...yuck. If an exterminator comes, make sure to get Jade out of the house if he sprays for roaches...or just far away from any fumes. I don't see how double-sided tape on the outside of the tank could harm her as long as she couldn't get out and anywhere near it...how did the roach get into her tank? If the roaches only got into her tank because you moved the lid...they shouldn't be able to get into the tank if the lid is secure enough that she can't get out.

[GarterGuy17]

I'm with you on the whole yuck thing I have been living in this apartment for about 7 years and never had this problem. The second one was in already I just couldn't see it since it was on the high edge of the tank I saw it fall when I nudged the tank. Only part of my tank is completely secure since I don't have enough clamps. even so I feel the double sided tape will not allow bugs of any kind to get into the tank which means I will go out and buy some tomorrow morning.

[EasternGirl]

If you don't have enough clamps, it would be best to set heavy things on top of the parts that are not clamped down. I do it with Seeley's tank. Just take some really heavy books and put them on the edges of the tank and that way Jade can't get out where it isn't clamped down. Get the double sided tape for the outside for the roaches and get some roach motels...if you notify the landlord of the roach problem...make sure you know exactly what he is doing about it and when...so if he sends an exterminator, you can get Jade out so she doesn't breathe in the fumes. You can't sleep with her in your pocket all night though...what are you going to do with her when you go to sleep?

[infernalis]

The big risk with double sided tape, if the snake gets out and comes into contact with the double sided tape, it gets ugly real fast.

[GarterGuy17]

well I did a bit of a sweep of her tank I ended up putting the aspen back in since I wont be feeding inside her tank anymore. Until tomorrow morning comes my light will be on , they don't come out in the light. The part about escape proofing the tank jade cant get very high up since the highest thing is the branch and it still only goes to the middle of the tank. I'm going to be thinking of other things to keep bugs out of the cage tomorrow until this problem is resolved.

[katach]

You should call an exterminator. Those little beasties can not only carry bacteria like strep and staph, but the feces can cause respiratory problems.