# New Live Food Housing Build Roaches & Locust :D



## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

As people may remember I made a build to keep my locust in, basically an exo terra but I did this to the back ground










Build thread here: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/968719-my-locust-background-tank-build.html

Any how whilst this did me to begin with I found it quite a drain cleaning them out and even trying to breed so I had to try and think of something else!

I needed some type of false floor which would make it a lot easier to clean. After searching the net I come across a thread which gave me the idea of my build 

(pic taken from thread)









Thread: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/feeder/529862-first-attempt-breeding-locusts-photos-14.html

As im anal about things looking great I didn’t just want to make it out of mdf or ply wood so again I went on to the net and ended up on Ikea 

I wont go through the whole build process but ill explain a little with pics.

Another thing im starting is breeding my on dubia colony again I didn’t just want a RUB sat in the corner of my room looking unsightly. I wanted it hidden away this was also solved with units from Ikea.

Anyhow here are some pics  Here it is in all its glory



Each unit is from Ikea’s besta range in a dark brown finish measuring 600mm wide x 640mm tall and 400mm deep it comes with 2 shelves for £25 so I stacked one of top of the other to give the unit measuring 1280mm tall x 600mm wide x 400mm deep

I knew I wanted the bottom unit for the roaches and with Ikea’s besta range they supply doors of various colours, obviously to match the viv I built I went for a gloss black door (still has the protective film on) the door was £35 and comes with hinges and bolts straight on.

Whilst I was at Ikea I looked at RUBs (which are bloody cheap) worked out what size I could fit in there and this is the out come



I plan to have the bottom one for breeders and the top for feeders. I know some people say don’t separate them but at least this way I don’t have to disturb the breeders to get feeders out everyday!

I did buy one big rub which will fit in there just incase the 2 separate ones don’t work out!

My total Ikea spend come to £103 with the 2 units (4 shelves), the gloss door and 3 RUB’s (with lids)

On to the top

As I got 2 shelves with each unit I had one left over from the bottom unit, which gave me 3 altogether for the locust part.

I set the shelve height I wanted which will allow a hoover or brush to get in to sweep the crap out, then with this in position I worked out the height of the dividing wall and cut the shelve to fit.

I then cut a square out of the base shelve to allow the crap to fall through but my jigsaw skills are not amazing and if im honest the cut edges did’nt look great plus the inside of the shelves are hollow!! As I didn’t want locust getting in to the shelve and to hide my poor cutting skills I went to b&q and bought some plastic sliver trim to cover the edges also whilst there I bought some mesh for the base.





Also you may have noticed the runners along the top and bottom of the locust unit, these were bought of ebay and stuck down, I bought some Perspex for £18 for a sheet 600mmx1200mm which will provide sliding doors  

This is where I am up to the moment i just need to fix the bulb inside for the locust and buy heat mats.

My plans have changed slightly and im unsure on wether ill breed locust as they seem a lot harder than roaches, even tho I haven’t tried properly but ill see how it goes. The idea of the dividing wall is so I can have the babies in plastic containers on the right heated by a heatmat on the back wall and then adults can stay in the left hand part. Exactly like in the photo that gave me the build idea.

One question I do have though is would it be possible to stick one big heat mat on the back wall of the cupboard to heat the roaches rather than individual ones on or in the rubs? Just to save me buying 2 thermostats, if not then ill have to!

Any comments appreciated will update once I get feeders in there!

Lewis


----------



## ConnorTrussell (Apr 5, 2012)

I like it a lot, never been a fan on locust but would love the whole roach rack thing you have going on, I'd love to have a big rack like that (like 6 high) with all different types of roaches breeding in:mf_dribble:


----------



## exoticsandtropics (Mar 11, 2007)

like it. fairly simple and a nice plan. good luck with it all


----------



## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Thanks for the kind comments 

Any advice on the heat mat issue?

Lewis: victory:


----------



## ConnorTrussell (Apr 5, 2012)

lewkini said:


> Thanks for the kind comments
> 
> Any advice on the heat mat issue?
> 
> Lewis: victory:


I personally believe you get better results when the heat hat is underneath, but others say they get better results from the side, as long as the room is moderately warm it shouldn't matter anyway. The heat from the locust will also provide bonus heat


----------



## vukic (Apr 9, 2010)

If the top ones are feeders I'd only have a heat mat underneath the bottom breeding roach colony.. In a cupboard like that it'll keep the heat in, and with heat raising the top colony would still stay warm.. 

Tiger

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


----------



## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

Really nice mate. I recommend giving the locusts another shot at breeding, the amount of offspring they produce is great. If you provide the heat then it's not difficult. I provide a deep laying jar of sand/soil and simply water every few days like you would a plant. The top will dry out but it will stay moist below. It's all about patience, if the adults are breeding and not discarding eggs across the tank then they will be laying in the tub, 2-3 weeks later and boom, there will be loads. Personally I wouldn't bother separating the babies, too much hassle and work. They're fine in with the adults and then just remove when they're a good size for feeding which won't take long with the temps of the main tank. 

Regarding the heatmat for the dubias I agree with vukic. If the top is for feeders they'll survive fine with the ambient temp of the cupboard and the mat below the breeder tub will do the job.


----------



## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Thanks for the replies and poistive comments! 

That great about the dubia tub saves me buying 2 stats and 2 mats!

Just sorting out how to hang the bulb for the locust and shortly be cutting the perspex then they can move in!

I hear you tom ill try another go, hopefully in this new setup it will be easier:2thumb:

Lewis


----------



## Sjames (Apr 8, 2013)

Looks wicked fairly play I could do with something like that! Don't give up on the locusts I just started trying last week with a little advice from Tom and things seem to be doing well two lots cooking as we speak.


----------



## TWreptiles (Dec 21, 2011)

if your two heat mats are the same size and wattage they can run off the same stat.

you'd want them underneath ideally as heat rises and that will give the most to the tubs.

ideally you want the breeders at the optimum and i guess the feeders can 'suffer' as they only need to be heated enough to grow/digest/be gutloaded.

obviously the cabinet isn't airtight meaning the heat will rise inside it making the top tub ambients hotter than the lower, i don't know much about roaches but i assume they need a thermal gradient so they don't cook? was just going to say it might be worth measuring temps and then provide/or not provide ventilation duely. or of they are alright you can buy a 12v cpu fan off ebay for a few quid a wire it to an old phone charger which will circulate air in the lower cabinet giving it a more equal temperature 

i wish you the best of luck, i plan on breeding dubia and possibly locust soon, tom 

(oops, just realised when this thread is from)


----------

