# Breeding locusts



## Wills (Sep 10, 2009)

i know the basics behind this but would like to try and understand harvest sizes etc, i wish to grow them for feeding to my collection so some will need time to grow out.

i have around 1.8 of work top space so was thinking of using the 45cm exo terra and having 4 of them and using the 60cm tall ones, having on for laving, and 3 for growing out, what sort of numbers would you keep to each tank ?

also in the large tubes people tend to use for roach breeding how many does each tub hold in adult terms roughly, as i understand your looking for around 10 female roaches to each bearded dragon so trying to figure out how many buckets to run


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## Wills (Sep 10, 2009)

no one breeding to supply many animals then ?


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## mrhoyo (Mar 29, 2007)

> i know the basics behind this but would like to try and understand harvest sizes etc, i wish to grow them for feeding to my collection so some will need time to grow out.
> 
> i have around 1.8 of work top space so was thinking of using the 45cm exo terra and having 4 of them and using the 60cm tall ones, having on for laving, and 3 for growing out, what sort of numbers would you keep to each tank ?
> 
> also in the large tubes people tend to use for roach breeding how many does each tub hold in adult terms roughly, as i understand your looking for around 10 female roaches to each bearded dragon so trying to figure out how many buckets to run


For roaches have a look at the link in my signature, I have absolutely tonnes of them in that tub. For each egg position in an egg tray I would say there are at least 15 medium nymphs, double the number if they're small and about a third of it if they're adults.
I have about 8 egg trays in there and could fit at least a couple more.
So, for a tub the size I use you could fit at least 1500 or so adults. I reckon I've got a couple of thousand mixed in there now, minimum.
Exo-terras aren't ideal, they're really expensive just to use for locusts. You would probably be better off looking at some of the locust threads on here and constructing a few wooden vivariums yourself. 
Wood is easy to drill and cut to increase ventilation, a mesh top and a few side vents should do nicely. If you wanted to make a mesh false floor to stop build up of poo that would be good too.
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## Wills (Sep 10, 2009)

mmmm will give it some thought on the locusts tanks, i thought that glass would be better than wooden vivs, i can get them at a decent rate and they will be on display in the reptile house so they want to look smart  stupid i know lol


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## mrhoyo (Mar 29, 2007)

Wills said:


> mmmm will give it some thought on the locusts tanks, i thought that glass would be better than wooden vivs, i can get them at a decent rate and they will be on display in the reptile house so they want to look smart  stupid i know lol


Even if they weren't really expensive they would still not be ideal. The locusts couldn't climb the sides either so you would have to think of other ideas to increase the surface area.
This one is good, not as tidy as I would like but the principle is the same:









This is a proper locust breeding tank:









As is this:









I saw a really good one on a zoo programme the other week but I can't find any pictures of anything like it.


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## Wills (Sep 10, 2009)

i hadnt given thought to the issue of climing, i was just planing to make a frame of java wood as surface for them to be on that lifted out and thought the mesh ontop would be good for humidity and that the glass is nice and easy to sterilize between grow on stages 

the room will be spaced heated to maintain all the animals backround temps anyway so heat loss wont be an issue, and was thinking of using a 36" by 18" by 24" for the main adult tank and then just placing pots in there on a regular basis for breeding and growing them out in the other tanks, i guess i could do it with wooden vivs though

the units i had at school {many moons ago lol} where stainless steel i dont remember them climbing them either to think of it


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## mrhoyo (Mar 29, 2007)

You might find that locusts can get out of the vents/gaps in the doors of an exo-terra.
You seem to have your heart set on them though so just get some and see how it goes. 
Read one of the many locust breeding guides and get some hot temperatures and you should be fine.


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## Wills (Sep 10, 2009)

no not at all, they point of escape makes another good point  

i might get some wooden vivs built with upper and lower glass to allow me to change food easily etc, can make them taller to allow more space as well


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## xxpaintxx (Mar 16, 2009)

can i say i have succsefully bred my locusts in an exo terra and dont get escapes. just move any new hatchlings that emerge to their own privat lodgings. surface area is not a prrob here as they enjoy hanging out on the mesh lid, and easily climb the glass.


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## swift_wraith (Jan 4, 2009)

Heres what I use, made out of marine ply. mesh floor with wooden floor underneath. Looks a lot different now i have laying medium, egg crates etc in it now. Had my first 2 succesfull hatchings last week.

Also on bottom panel, as well as all the frass dropping onto it, i use this area in conjunction with a heat mat and put the laying medium on once it has eggs in it. 10-14 days later ... babies!

if you need a more up to date pic, give me a shout.


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