Hisser Lab
Buy on AmazonReal names behind every fact
No anonymous pet-care advice. A working research scientist runs this colony and writes every guide, grounded in the published literature. Here is who we are.
Who runs Hisser Lab
Ilya Finkelstein, Ph.D.
Founder · Associate Professor of Molecular Biosciences, UT Austin
Ilya started Hisser Lab and runs the breeding colony. His day job is leading a research lab at UT Austin, where his team studies CRISPR and how cells repair their DNA. He brings the same habits here: cite the source, check the number, and say so plainly when the science is unsettled.
FounderColony & care guides
To get the biology right, we spent time at the University of Texas Insect Collection, around two million specimens, getting to know Madagascar hissing cockroaches and their relatives up close.
How we verify a fact
- Drafts cite primary literature or university extension sources by name.
- Facts are kept identical across every page. If a number changes, it changes everywhere.
- Anything we can’t verify, we say so plainly (that’s what the field-note boxes are for).
Deep dives
Our published work: short, cited reads that back the care guide’s field notes with the actual literature. The first looks at the mites that live on hissers.
Our welfare & ethics stance
- Captive-bred animals only, from our own colony. Never wild-collected.
- Humane shipping: weather-appropriate packing, heat/cold packs, and seasonal holds when the forecast is unsafe for the animal.
- We treat every animal as something worth caring for, not disposing of.
- Never release a captive animal into the wild; we help with rehoming instead.
Field note · About the credentialsOur team’s degrees and training are their own. This site describes the people accurately and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the University of Texas.