Therea spp.

Housing:

Something like a gallon container works well for a starter culture, eventually as their numbers rise, you'll want to move them to a larger enclosure, something 5-10 gallons large. Adults can climb, so a tight lid is recommended. Moderate to high ventilation is recommended.

2-3 inches of substrate should be provided, preferably coconut fiber, potting soil, peat moss, etc., sand is highly advised against. On top of the substrate, you can also provide a 1-2 inch layer of decaying hardwood leaf litter if you want, Therea nymphs will definitely consume leaf litter, however recent evidence suggests this is not a necessity.
No hides are needed, as nymphs and adult females spend most of their time underground, and adults will usually burrow if frightened, especially females. However, some branches and such for the males to climb around on during the day might be appreciated.

These roaches prefer a humidity gradient, with half of the substrate being kept dry, and the other half pretty humid. Both vertical or horizontal gradients work, it's up to you, however ooths do hatch best when kept humid, so a vertical gradient is more likely to keep more ooths humid than a horizontal one. To achieve a vertical humidity gradient, simply pull back the top half of the substrate, and heavily mist or pour water onto the lower half.


Diet:

Dog/cat/chick feed should serve as the staple diet, leaf litter can be offered as well for the nymphs. Most fruits and veggies have gone ignored in my experience.


Temperature:

These roaches will breed when kept anywhere from 70-85F°, but breed best when kept at 75-85F° IME.


Breeding/Life cycle:

Adult Therea typically live for 3-6 months, but apparently female T.olegrandjeani can make it to 9 months* under extraordinary conditions, though by then they've lost their reproductive ability. Females lay oothecae roughly once a week, with T.regularis being the least productive. Each ooth contains around 10-15 eggs, and the females deposit them directly in the substrate. The ooths take around 3-5 months to hatch, and the resulting nymphs take 7-12 months to mature, all depending on how warm you keep them, and how much protein they have access to.

While the nymphs take quite a long time to mature, it's worth it to see the beautiful, yet short lived adults! And eventually, once the colony reaches a decent size, there should be some generation overlap, which means you'll be seeing adults in the enclosure year round. Overall these roaches are pretty easy to care for and breed, and are a good choice for beginner and seasoned Blatticulturists alike!

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*Erik Olsen, ACS Special Publication #2, 2016