# first attempt at breeding locusts - photos



## tang soo do

I've got a beardie that loves locust so i thought i would have a go at breeding them. I have built a prototype locust factory and welcome any opinions or any improvements or just tell me if its a load of shite:lol2:

I don't need a massive colony so have started with a 20x14x12" box.


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## tang soo do

Ok temp was only getting to 80F so have added another heater now up to 100F. They have started buzzing their wings, is this like a mating call? and should the tub of damp sand be at the hot end or cooler end?


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## tang soo do

Locusts have been getting it on . My question is if i mist spray the sand only the top couple of mm get wet underneath is dry.

1 How do the rest of you keep the sand moist in those temps
2 How often do you spray
3 How wet do you get the sand
4 Do you still wet the sand once the eggs are laid.
5 Do you keep the sand at the cool end or hot end.

thanks in advance :notworthy:


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## Gemstone Dragons

I wet the sand daily then leave it to dry once they start laying.
I found wetting it after eggs were laid killed the eggs.
I have mine in cool end.

How do you change pots without them getting out?
I started with top opening fishtank and changed to front opening viv coza the above lol


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## tang soo do

thanks for the reply gemstone, its all a bit of a trial at the minute. If i'm successful then i will build something bigger. I dont think i am keeping my sand wet enough as it is very dry at the bottom.

Again thanks for the advise it is appreciated :2thumb:


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## Catfud

Hey tang soo do, congrats on your locusts getting it on lol.

I've been trying to breed mine for a month or so now and I've had no luck at all.

Is there an obvious colour difference between your males and females? 

I've read so many posts on sexing locusts and as far as I can tell mine all 'seem' to be female. But out of the 400 locusts I've been through I find it hard to believe that there's not one male in there!

To the best of my knowledge they take two weeks to mature and get their colour once reaching the stage with wings. Males being yellow females being beige.

I'm trying to establish if its a same sex problem or setup problem  I know you are new to this but you seem to have had more success than me! My temps are around 85 F so I think I'll try cranking up the heat in there.

I've just started over with a new batch of 100 that shed into adults about a week ago. Perhaps if I post some pics one of the pros out there could help me sex some?


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## tang soo do

Hi Catfud, i lifted a couple out that were on the job to get some photo's for you (feel like a perv now:blush. I too had the same dilema as you and didn't seem to have an obvious yellower male. However i bought a couple of boxes of adults (a dozen in all)from a petstore so it may be that the males are yellow when they first shed. The only difference i can see is that the males are smaller. You should have some out of the quantity that you have. I would raise your temps to 100F and see how you go.










You can see the males tail wrapped around underneath the females.










I'm new to this but hope this helps a bit


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## zmtab

*How to breed Locusts*

Housing
I use two large tanks (24x15x20", WDH), one for adults and one for grown on locusts that are near adults.
Once the Locusts have turned to adults they get moved into the adult tank to replace any that have died off.
Both tanks have full vented lids and egg cartons inside for extra ground space and to hang from during moulting.

Temperature/Humidity
I use a reflector bulb pointing down at one end of the tank to simulate sunshine and heat mats underneath and around the edges of the same end of the tank, the bulb is on from 6am to 8pm and during the night the heat mats do the work.
This holds the temperature at about 28c-30c 24 hours a day with a day/night cycle.
Keep the humidity as low as possible, which the full mesh top will help with.

Food/water
I feed my Locusts on bran and veg, any veg that I feed my BD's on is good,I make sure they they never run out of food.
I don't provide my Locusts with a water bowl, I've found that they drown and are perfectly OK with water obtained from their veg.

Breeding
Providing the temperatures aren't too cold I have found that adults will mate without any help.
Provide a few tubs with 10cm (4 inches) of soil for egg laying,ice-cream tubs are good for this, position these tubs over the heat mats and keep the soil moist but not soaking.
You can remove the tubs to separate incubating tanks if you want to (incubate at 28c) but I don't have the room so I leave them in with the adults and they do fine.
You should be able to see that eggs have been layed because there will be holes in the soil where the Locust has pushed the entire rear end if its body into the soil to lay the eggs, you may also see "spiderweb" looking white stuff on the surface of the soil, this comes out with the eggs and is normal.
Once the eggs have been layed it usually takes around 10 days for the baby Locusts to start digging their way out of the soil, I then collect them and keep them in cricket tubs with a piece of egg carton and feed them the same as adults.
Once the babies have got bigger they are either fed off to my animals or put back into the tub to become adults and lay their own eggs.

These are only my own methods which I have found to work well and may or may not work for others.


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## zmtab

*Locusts*

This is a post that i found a good few months ago and iv breed my Locusts a few times now but didant remove the eggs lol before they hatched and was catching them for a few days after lol but hey we all learn


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## tang soo do

To be honest i have only got this one box so will prob just leave them in there until they are big enough to feed (depending on how many i get) Get me - counting my locusts before theyve hatched.:whistling2:


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## zmtab

lol 
i only ever had one small box with a heat under and they still breed in there so diffrent things work for diffrent people and i wish you all the luck in breeding them


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## Catfud

Thanks for posting the pictures Tang Soo Do, they have been really helpful. :2thumb:That is what mine look like and there is a noticeable size difference between some of mine.

I just have heatmats at the moment but I'm going to try and add a lamp tonight.

Zmtab, thanks for posting the guide, this was one of the guides I was attempting to follow


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## Gemstone Dragons

I have mine in a viv, the males glow yellow and the females are the same colour as the prev picture.

I put in a laypot which is kept damp but when the eggs are laid and holes start apearing i stop adding water to it.

I found keeping a large supply of fresh greens in there day and night made them develop quicker too as i was also worried the colour wasnt developing.

Once every 7-10 days i remove the laypot, put another in and the first in a faunarium sat ontop of the viv with tights glued over the vents, in here they hatch and are fed up, i add the next pot and so on.

Soon i will have a 2nd viv so once they have shed a couple of times they can go into there and like prev said any that shed into adults will go back into the main collony.


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## Catfud

I have an ice cream tub in mine at the moment for the laying which I have been misting every day or so. When you put yours on top of the vivarium is that for convinence or are they getting heat from that?

I also have two feeding dishes, one filled with a mix of oats and a little bug grub. And the other gets the left over fresh veg from that days dinner (the off cuts that is, nothing cooked!) They sure have been growing fast but no luck on the mating side of things. I bought a lamp today which I'll be fitting tonight to raise the temps.

They are in a large plasitc tub with egg crates and garden canes to climb over. I will probably build a viv for them once I have a successful breeding cycle.

How often do you clean yours out? And how do you go about it? Do you transfer your locusts to another tub/viv? Or just spot clean sheds? I recently fed all my locusts off so I could clean the tub as it was a major stinky poop fest in there!:devil: All the adults really went to town in that place.


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## Gemstone Dragons

I have them ontop of the locust breeding viv for heat as to incubate the laypots you should put them on a mat, the heat through the top of the viv from the basking light does the same job.
I will be buying a desklamp to shine over the faunarium soon but at 3 days old they have already shed and when abit bigger will go into another viv with basking light same a sthe adults to grow on.
I use plastic flower pots as laypots.
I transfered my locusts to a faunarium to clean them out and dont leave oats in with mine they get solely fresh greens everyday.


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## tang soo do

Ok an update, this evening one of the females has been going around the box and buried her rear end into about a dozen places. The problem is she seems to have laid her eggs in the poridge oats substrate and hasnt touched the sand. I have put a tub of oats in now but she dosnt seem interested. Guess i will have to leave the box alone for a couple of weeks and hope it dosnt get to smelly. Sorry pics are not very good as i tried to take them through the plastic


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## tang soo do

Got up this morning and she is laying in the sand :2thumb:


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## Gemstone Dragons

Brill congrats, the hardest parts i am told is getting them to lay (they lay on the floor if sand isnt quite right) and then getting them to hatch, once you are there your halfway done and just have to get them past 2nd shed


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## tang soo do

Gemstone, please expand - what are the pitfalls of getting them to second shed, bloody hell they are more time consuming than the beardie, in fact i think she is getting jealous of them


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## Blaptica

TSD are you aware you have _Locusta _not _Schistocerca ? _They prefer grasses to green veg. They are happier at lower temps, around 30-35c is fine.


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## tang soo do

Blaptica, no i wasnt aware thanks for that. How can you tell the difference?


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## Blaptica

I have bred both species for many years in the past, and I currently breed _Schistocerca_. If you keep them for long enough it becomes as easy to tell them apart as telling apart say a dog and a cat. Both have a similar shape, whiskers, four legs tail etc ! 

But one easy way to tell is that adult Schistocerca have stripey eyes. The larvae are very different. Normally _Schistocerca _are basically yellow & black, while _Locusta_ are burnt orange & black. When you get used to them you notice the shape of them is quite different. _Locusta _stay smaller and the larvae have very large heads compared to the body.

Try this. Get some wheat seed from a pet shop. Put a couple of centimetres of peat free compost in a seed tray. Add a single thick layer of seed. Add enough compost to just cover the seed. Water and wait ten days, leaving the tray on a window sill. Then you will have what Locusta will consider food fit for the gods. It makes a very good gutload for locusts (both species) and also crickets. 

If you sow a little wheat into say an old cricket tub you will have fresh food that will last a few days when you the locusts hatch. They grow fast that way, always having fresh food, while the cabbage/lettuce dries out.


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## Catfud

Congrats on making it to the next step Tang Soo Do :2thumb:

I've still had no luck! :banghead:

I added a bulb and that raised the temps to around the 100 mark and they are loving basking under the bulb. The only problem is the only action I'm getting from them is fighting for the best tanning spots lol.

I don't really know what else I can try. hmmmmm


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## Catfud

Took some pics of my setup, I'm open to suggestions on improvments / things I'm doing wrong.


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## Gemstone Dragons

They all look like girls :S


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## Catfud

Gemstone Dragons said:


> They all look like girls :S


That would explain my troubles!

Any suggestions on how to get some boys into the mix? I've been through 400 odd already and they have all looked the same.


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## Blaptica

Its extremely unlikely you would have only females, but from the colour (pink ) they have another week or so before they will start to mate and lay eggs. They are just too young.


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## tang soo do

Think it may just be a waiting game, i actually didn't put 5th hoppers in and wait, i bought adults which may have been older. I took my egg boxes out because of the :censor: all over them and have added a branch for them which is easier to wipe clean.(nothing to do with breeding though)


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## Catfud

Blaptica said:


> Its extremely unlikely you would have only females, but from the colour (pink ) they have another week or so before they will start to mate and lay eggs. They are just too young.


How long does that usually take, these guys shed to their wings 2 and a half weeks ago.

Also the batch I had before stayed in this state for over 4 weeks, with no colour change. I recently raised the temps, is it possible the previous batch didn't mature at all because it wasn't warm enough?


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## Catfud

tang soo do said:


> Think it may just be a waiting game, i actually didn't put 5th hoppers in and wait, i bought adults which may have been older. I took my egg boxes out because of the :censor: all over them and have added a branch for them which is easier to wipe clean.(nothing to do with breeding though)


When I first started I had a sack of 100 4ths for feeders and and I bought a box of adults which where to be my test breeders. The adults where in there for ages and eventually just died out. Since then I've been buying sacks of 100 6ths and they have very quickly turned into adults. But even after weeks of them being in there no luck 

Yeah these guys sure do like to poop! I've seen some setups where they have a wire mesh floor for the poop to fall through. If I have any breeding success I might look to build something like that.


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## Repidge

*Keeping sand damp*

If ur having problems keeping the sand wet try mixing it with vermiculite, you can get it from any reptile shop and its really cheap. I used it for my locust, it just holds the moisture in a bit better . Just use 1 part vermiculite to about 6 parts sand.
Hope that helps


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## tang soo do

Question to you experts, should these lay holes have a white substance plugging them like i have read on here or are they just test holes.


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## tang soo do

Catfud, hows it going the only other thing i am doing is loads of food, also are you keeping it up to temp 24 hours a day, other than that you are doing exactly the same as me. Could try viagra:whistling2sorry not funny hope you have a result soon)


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## Catfud

Hahaha I may have to try slipping some into their food dish at this rate! Either that or some music to set the mood.

I have the heatmat running 24 - 7 and the bulb on a 12 hour cycle. I think I may have possibly spotted one today that has matured into a boy and changed colour, I'm not 100% sure though. I'm gonna give it another week or so and just see how things go.

What are you using to heat your setup?

Keep the pics coming on your progress


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## Gemstone Dragons

their layholes, their not always covered in the webby stuff.

i only use a bulb no mat and its turned off at night.


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## tang soo do

Cheers Gemstone, just that i couldn't see any eggs down there.:notworthy:
Catfud i am using 2 x 30w heaters that are used in electrical control panels and some tape heating on the floor. Only really used them because the were free :whistling2:. Try leaving it on 24 hours its worth a try. What you using on the floor, i use poridge oats and i do see them munching on them.


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## Catfud

Previously I was using sand, this time around i have paper towels, one of their feeding dishes contains porridge oats the other fresh veg. I also have a flooring tile over the heatmat, it conducts the heat really well. Next time I clean them out i'll try oats for substrate.


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## Blaptica

Catfud said:


> How long does that usually take, these guys shed to their wings 2 and a half weeks ago.
> 
> Also the batch I had before stayed in this state for over 4 weeks, with no colour change. I recently raised the temps, is it possible the previous batch didn't mature at all because it wasn't warm enough?


It takes I think around 2 weeks for them to start mating. They go from that pink colour to a straw yellow colour. I can't think of another explanation other than too cold for the lack of colour change you had.


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## Blaptica

tang soo do said:


> Catfud, hows it going the only other thing i am doing is loads of food, also are you keeping it up to temp 24 hours a day, other than that you are doing exactly the same as me. Could try viagra:whistling2sorry not funny hope you have a result soon)


I have a very good German book on breeding livefood and that says that _Locusta _do well when kept warm 24 hrs per day, but it is not necessary at all, they just grow faster that way. While _Schistocerca _should be cooled at night. I have my lamps on for around 12-14hrs per day for my Locs and let them go cold over night, down to around 15c or cooler. They breed very well like that. 

I also use a home made cage for the adults and that has a mesh false floor that helps to keep it all clean. There are trays at the bottom to collect the frass, and plastic boxes slide into the bottom for the egg laying. I took some pics yesterday but they were pants. 

Be careful not to allow too many eggs to be laid in a box or NONE of them will hatch. Change it every few days for a fresh one.


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## tang soo do

Cheers Blaptica, trouble is i havn't got anywhere to put the boxes that have been used by them, i was just going to leave them in there to hatch. I figured if the females thought the conditions were ok to lay then they would be ok to incubate.

I will leave the temps on 24 hours for now as i seem to be getting somewhere and if they hatch i will take your advise on board and try 12 hours a day. I am not ignoring your experience but i don't want to change anything at the moment in case it upsets the apple cart :2thumb:


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## Blaptica

It is likely that the laying box will dry out before the eggs hatch. It is difficult to add water later as it is very easy to add too much and then the eggs die anyhow. In my experience it is much better to keep different ages of locusts in different cages. I know that is difficult to do on a small scale. Eventually you end up with too much frass on the bottom and it si very difficult to clean out with baby locusts in the cage not much bigger than ants !


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## Gemstone Dragons

So which species are the ones with bright flourescent yellow males?

My breeders temps hit 114-120f (digital) at the top of their viv and the small dial thermemoeter in with hatchlings sat on the top is reading 80f.

My 2nd shed faunarium is also at 80f and with plenty of fresh greens i am getting 2 sheds a week out of them :2thumb:


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## Blaptica

Gemstone Dragons said:


> So which species are the ones with bright flourescent yellow males?
> 
> :2thumb:


Schistocerca gregaria, the one generally found in the UK trade.


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## Will-2k9

You'll probably find that it will take quiet a while for the male's to start changing colour, i was the same as you gemstone in the fact i was confused for ages about the locusts colours, i had them from the fifth instar and it took about a month or more from them shedding to change colours. They were mating and still hadnt changed. But now im inundated with baby locusts. At all different ages now. Just yesterday i had about 100 hatch.


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## Catfud

Hey Will-2k9,

What kind of setup do you have for your locusts then?


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## Will-2k9

I have a small Vivarium, about 1.5ft x 0.5ft and a foot tall. with small twiggy branches all over the place, i have a 100 watt spot bulb in place at the top of the viv with the laying tub directly below it with a mixture of sand and soil in an ice cream tub. i leave it in there for about a week for them to lay and then put it in a RUB with a 15w heatmatt underneath it.

The bulb is only on during the day from about 07:00 - 11:00 the room is warm on a night in the baby tub i have the heat mat on all the time.


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## Catfud

Will-2k9 said:


> I have a small Vivarium, about 1.5ft x 0.5ft and a foot tall. with small twiggy branches all over the place, i have a 100 watt spot bulb in place at the top of the viv with the laying tub directly below it with a mixture of sand and soil in an ice cream tub. i leave it in there for about a week for them to lay and then put it in a RUB with a 15w heatmatt underneath it.
> 
> The bulb is only on during the day from about 07:00 - 11:00 the room is warm on a night in the baby tub i have the heat mat on all the time.


How long does it usually take for the eggs to hatch once you have added it to the RUB?


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## Will-2k9

Around 2 weeks from when they get laid, Somtimes less, sometimes more. I think the key to getting the locusts to lay is getting a good consistancy, the good thing about using soil and sand is that the sand holds the water well and stays damp for a lot longer than the soil, but the soil hold its shape better and doesnt collapse the same as sand does. 

Feel free to ask as many questions as you need BTW. If there isnt anything your not sure about dont be afraid to ask.


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## Catfud

Unfortunately I can't even get mine to mate, let alone lay or hatch! I have vermiculite in my ice cream tub at the moment but I also have sand and soil about the house, so I can change that if I can get them to mate.

If this batch doesn't mate before they have died out I think I'm going to have to start over with my setup. I was hoping I might have some success and experince under my belt before building them a viv.

What size is your RUB for the hatchlings?


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## tang soo do

I bought some 5ths to feed Rocco whilst waiting for the squillions of babies to be born :lol2:. I decided to put a couple of them in with the adults my reasoning was that some of the adults are probably on their last legs and these two could develop and shed in there. I was going to start adding a couple of 5th every week to keep a supply of adults. The problem is one looks like it is half way through its shed and is being bullied and the other one has been eaten by some of the adults :gasp:. Didn't think they would do this, has this every happened to you Gemstone or Will, should i let them shed and then add them to the brothel. 

P.S They are laying again tonight but i'm worried im not seeing any results.


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## Will-2k9

If there turning cannabalistic then this is sign that your not giving them enough food. Make sure you have a constant supply of food for them, dont forget if you run out of veg you can feed them grass, i tend to feed my adults mainly on grass with some greens added in.


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## tang soo do

Cheers will there is always plenty of veg. I was wondering whether the two 5ths were males and as they are breeding they killed them being the week ones. Would you let them turn to adults before adding them or try and put some more in, how do you all keep your breeding stock up.


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## tang soo do

Catfud, are there the pitter patter of tiny feet yet.


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## Catfud

Nope no success yet. Most of them have now changed colour though, which I'd never experienced previously but they are still not getting down to 'the business' :bash:

I'm not sure whether to completely overhaul my setup. I ordered a 100watt spot bulb and another heatmat which both arrived today. But im getting around 95F on my temps as it is.

I mocked up a design for a viv I might build them. (2ft x 1ft x 1.5ft) It would have opening front doors, removable top, mesh floor and a removable draw for getting rid of the poop! Pretty Cheap to build too £12 for the wood and £6 for the mesh.










How are yours getting on? Are they laying eggs now?


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## Will-2k9

Tang, one thing you could try is to swap the plactic lid for tights, as they can use the tights for shedding, this may help with the problem, as its most likely overcrowding, either that or just start feeding off some of your adults. 

Catfud, i wouldnt say you need it any hotter than 95F that should be fine, if there only just changing colour than id carry on playing the waiting game and be patient. As long as you have enough food, perching and heat then they will do it all on there own.

I had about another 50 babies hatch into the adult cage yesterday so im slowly becoming overrun by the little fellows, might end up needing to buy another heatmat and RUB to grow them on, in.


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## tang soo do

Catfud the viv you are going to build looks good, make sure you post pics. Just one thing, why don't you have a flap on hinges and a poop tray that you slide out that way you wouldnt have to worry about escapees as you will when you slide your draw out. Not a critisisum though it looks a good idea so may pinch your idea :whistling2: if i have success. (Oh they are breeding and laying like mad but none hatched yet)


Just re-read your post. see you would have a mesh floor so ignore above about poop tray.


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## Catfud

Will-2k9 said:


> Catfud, i wouldnt say you need it any hotter than 95F that should be fine, if there only just changing colour than id carry on playing the waiting game and be patient. As long as you have enough food, perching and heat then they will do it all on there own.


Yeah that sounds good to me, I'm not gonna do anything more with these guys until they have all died / been fed off.



tang soo do said:


> Just re-read your post. see you would have a mesh floor so ignore above about poop tray.


I was just in the middle of replying to your post when I noticed your edit lol. I have another image somewhere of the flat boards and all the cuts when I get a chance to add all the measurements to the image I'll post it up.


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## tang soo do

Cheers Will, i think i am going to take a few of the smaller ones out (assume they are the males) and feed them to Rocco


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## tang soo do

I was just in the middle of replying to your post when I noticed your edit lol. I have another image somewhere of the flat boards and all the cuts when I get a chance to add all the measurements to the image I'll post it up.[/QUOTE]


I'm sure we will sort breeding these critters between us :2thumb:


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## Catfud

:2thumb: Well I woke up this morning and thought i'd check on my locusts and they where finally shagging! :2thumb:

I could clearly see the colour difference too the male was smaller and a glowing yellow and the female was a dusty beige. I think thats my first female to mature i've seen lots of the males over the last day or so. That girl has got her work cut out for her the boys will be lining up :mf_dribble:

:lol2:


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## Will-2k9

Catfud said:


> :2thumb: Well I woke up this morning and thought i'd check on my locusts and they where finally shagging! :2thumb:
> 
> I could clearly see the colour difference too the male was smaller and a glowing yellow and the female was a dusty beige. I think thats my first female to mature i've seen lots of the males over the last day or so. That girl has got her work cut out for her the boys will be lining up :mf_dribble:
> 
> :lol2:


Brilliant news, now its just a case of waiting for them to lay. So make sure you have a few laying pots ready 

Also, i uploaded some pictures to facebook yesterday, you can have a look of my set-ups here. http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=446150&id=527160592


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## Catfud

I checked out your setups, nice job 

Do you only keep your breeders in the viv then and all your feeders in the RUB? Also whats the big round thing in your RUB that goes right to the top?

Your beardie and dog look awesome too btw :2thumb:


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## Will-2k9

The large black thing in the RUB is a laying pot, its very deep as you can see but did the job. 

Yeah, i keep the breeders in the viv and the feeders in the RUB... Although i did have some babies hatch into the adult tub which i didnt want... but they seem to be fine. 

And yeah, Sadie is an awesome dog, its my fiance's as rocky and the locusts are round hers.


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## trig81

Hey everyone, I recently read this http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/14/2/187.pdf and on page 10 it explains that they have been found to not breed below 40% or above 80% humidity! The humidity of my setup is around 50% and they are breeding like... well, locusts!! :lol2: 
So far I, ve got 2 jars of eggs incubating, and another 2 in my setup already with some oothecas in there!

Hope this helps everyone!


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## tang soo do

Nice one Catfud :2thumb:


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## Catfud

Thanks tang soo do, they are still going at it, now I just need to see if they start using my laypot. Have you had any hatchlings yet?

Nice one on the pdf post trig81, I knew high humidity killed them but didn't realise too low humidity could also be a problem. Do you have any pics of your setup?


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## KarlW

Catfud said:


> Nope no success yet. Most of them have now changed colour though, which I'd never experienced previously but they are still not getting down to 'the business' :bash:
> 
> I'm not sure whether to completely overhaul my setup. I ordered a 100watt spot bulb and another heatmat which both arrived today. But im getting around 95F on my temps as it is.
> 
> I mocked up a design for a viv I might build them. (2ft x 1ft x 1.5ft) It would have opening front doors, removable top, mesh floor and a removable draw for getting rid of the poop! Pretty Cheap to build too £12 for the wood and £6 for the mesh.
> 
> image
> 
> How are yours getting on? Are they laying eggs now?


It looks very good.

Do you build vivs for other people, or just yourself, as i could do with some.

Karl


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## tang soo do

Went down to Dover castle on Friday and have just got back and ive got loads of baby hoppers :2thumb::2thumb::2thumb:. Trouble is i opened the lid to put some food in and the little blighters are everywhere.:gasp:


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## Catfud

KarlW said:


> It looks very good.
> 
> Do you build vivs for other people, or just yourself, as i could do with some.
> 
> Karl


Hey KarlW, I recently built my first viv for my bosc monitor. (picture below) I needed a large viv and thought it would be cheaper to build my own. It cost me around £130 for a 6ft x 2ft x 3ft viv and took about 2 weeks to complete. If you have all your measurements you can get homebase / wickes to make all your cuts. Feel free to drop me a PM if you have any questions.


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## Catfud

tang soo do said:


> Went down to Dover castle on Friday and have just got back and ive got loads of baby hoppers :2thumb::2thumb::2thumb:. Trouble is i opened the lid to put some food in and the little blighters are everywhere.:gasp:


hahah congrats on the hoppers! If they are escaping from your tub when you lift up your lid you can put a line of vaseline around the sides and they can't climb on that.


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## KarlW

The problem with locust hatchlings, they can jump like mad, so will still possibly escape.


----------



## trig81

Catfud said:


> Nice one on the pdf post trig81, I knew high humidity killed them but didn't realise too low humidity could also be a problem. Do you have any pics of your setup?


Yeah certainly! My setup is really bog standard, not got a mat or a bulb, its just on top of my viv with a lamp in front for light! Seems to keep em happy!


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## tang soo do

Well the experiment was a success 16 days from setup to hatchlings all in a plastic box from B&Q, porridge oats on the floor a branch to hang off (removed the egg cartons from the first pic) and a couple of butter tubs full of sand.

For anyone out there breeding locusts for the first time i would give this advise (which i am sure Catfud for one would agree with).
PATIENCE!!! at times it seems like you are doing something wrong but PATIENCE 


Lessons learnt - I will buy another box and put the lay tubs in there once ive seen the adults lay as the hatchlings are impossible to catch. I was trying to minimise the amount of boxes, heating costs etc but i think it will be easier this way. I will also experiment with reducing the temperature a little and the hours that the heating is on.


----------



## KarlW

tang soo do said:


> Well the experiment was a success 16 days from setup to hatchlings all in a plastic box from B&Q, porridge oats on the floor a branch to hang off (removed the egg cartons from the first pic) and a couple of butter tubs full of sand.
> 
> For anyone out there breeding locusts for the first time i would give this advise (which i am sure Catfud for one would agree with).
> PATIENCE!!! at times it seems like you are doing something wrong but PATIENCE
> 
> 
> Lessons learnt - I will buy another box and put the lay tubs in there once ive seen the adults lay as the hatchlings are impossible to catch. I was trying to minimise the amount of boxes, heating costs etc but i think it will be easier this way. I will also experiment with reducing the temperature a little and the hours that the heating is on.


How deep are the butter tubs? i read somewhere that laypots need to be 5 inches deep, but if this is wrong, it could make it alot easier for me to find some better pots.


In regards to the heating time, i have a polybox, and in this warm weather, the stat'd mat is barely ever actually on. For the main adult enclosure, the heat light is only on 8am-10pm, giving them an artificial nighttime (the room is still fairly warm) and they still lay fine.


Karl


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## Catfud

tang soo do said:


> For anyone out there breeding locusts for the first time i would give this advise (which i am sure Catfud for one would agree with).
> PATIENCE!!! at times it seems like you are doing something wrong but PATIENCE


Yup lol this is very true. My initial problem was that my locusts wouldn't mature no matter how long I waited (I'm gonna blame low temps). Since raising the temps and being patient they finally matured into their colours and then eventually began doing the business!

I'm still trying to decide how my final setup is gonna work, I want it to be the least amount of hassle possible lol

Yeah Id also like to know the size of your laypots as that is a big factor that will determin my final setup.


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## tang soo do

I've just used two standard size (500g) i cant believe its not butter tubs (i'm not posh they were obviously bogof in tesco :lol2

They are about 3" max deep but are handy because you can fit a few in there. They have also been laying in the poridge oats which is only a couple of inches deep (although not sure if these ones are hatching)

Now i'm sorted i will experiment with different tubs.


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## KarlW

so a 3" deep laypot is working for you?


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## tang soo do

Karl, yes the butter tubs are working for me :2thumb:


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## KarlW

Sounds good. 

I may have to do a rethink of what i am setting up at the moment.


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## tang soo do

Have you done your setup yet? How was you going to do it?


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## KarlW

The last one i did, consisted of a 5 inch deep plastic cup filled with sand, adn then adults in a 45x45x60 exo. I had 250-300 hatchlings born, but they werent secure enough in the cup (with plastic over the top) and escaped, so i am now got a new idea.

Going to use boxes (ice cream tubs or cheap boxes) for laypots, and then put them inside a RUB with a air vent (from the side of a livefood box) glued to the top to let the air circulate.

Once they are born, ill move them onto a shelf with a heatmat underneath.

This way i can keep the production moving (as i can fit about 16 RUBs onto my bookcase) with a range of sizes depending on what i need. Any spare will end up in classified (no way am i going to need all 500-1000/week that i will likely hatch)

Anyone know anywhere that would want them in bulk?:lol2:


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## Catfud

I think I'm gonna try using tubs like these, assuming I can find suitable laypots that will fit inside! I should be able to get quite a few on my heatmat. So instead of one tub for all my hatchlings each batch will have it's own tub. Once each batch has grown a bit, I can move them to the feeder viv, clean at the tub and add the next batch to it. This is the theory anyway but in practice... who knows


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## Haggis

I am going to try this

just to get a small cricket and a small locusts colony on the go

thewife is not too keen on me keeping them in the house so gonna try them in the shed

and hope they survive the cold

or maybe a rub on top of the viv


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## tang soo do

Good idea Catfud, i was thinking of moving my laypots when is see they have used it, ive got a big box so i might partion it off and put a laypot in each compartment (i could partion it as wide as my butter tubs so would get a few in) You dont mind me knicking your idea :Na_Na_Na_Na:

was thinking of a heat mat on a stat in the incubator, but do i leave it on all the time or for twelve hours. Also i will have to keep it in the garage (i dont think my significant other will have yet another box in the living room :devil so do the hatchlings need light or can they be kept in the dark and if so up to what age


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## Catfud

tang soo do said:


> Good idea Catfud, i was thinking of moving my laypots when is see they have used it, ive got a big box so i might partion it off and put a laypot in each compartment (i could partion it as wide as my butter tubs so would get a few in) You dont mind me knicking your idea :Na_Na_Na_Na:
> 
> was thinking of a heat mat on a stat in the incubator, but do i leave it on all the time or for twelve hours. Also i will have to keep it in the garage (i dont think my significant other will have yet another box in the living room :devil so do the hatchlings need light or can they be kept in the dark and if so up to what age


Haha go for it mate, I was thinking that this would save me having to seperate the different sizes from different batches.

I have a 7w heatmat that doesn't get that hot if left on all the time but I'm planning on using on a 20w thats bigger and will get hotter so I'll probably put that on a 24 hour timer socket (3 for 9.99 from homebase) so it doesn't get too hot. During the winter when its colder i'll probably have it on all the time. A mat stat would be better but I don't really want to shell out for one of those atm. I think i'll run mine 24-7 to start with, I belive that speeds up growth.

Also when I was using my 7w I found that if i put kitchen floor tiles on top of it, the mat didnt need to be on as often as the floor tiles hold the heat really well. The ones I have are 30 x 30cm so I might use some of those on top of the heatmat so it doesn't have to work as hard.

I have no idea about how much light they need.


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## KarlW

Locust will need light, without it they go black.

I am currently toying with the idea of having mine lay straight into tubs, then putting these inside a vented rub inside the incubator.

This way, when they hatch, i can put the rubs onto a bookshelf, allowing it light, with a heatmat underneath, so they will grow and i can keep each size seperate. (have about 10 rubs in total, some on shelf, some empty, some being laid into)

If only i had a shed, i could do this alot more efficiently..... Maybe someone in the bournemouth area can rent me some shed/garage space in exchange for locusts in rent? :lol2:


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## tang soo do

I have built my hatchling box, its an 84 litre box with floor heating on a stat. I've decided just to place the lay tubs in there all together as soon as i see the adults have laid in them. Not now worried about sorting the different sizes because i will just leave them in there until they are big enough to feed and just keep a few to top the adults up. I will keep about a dozen adults in the smaller 50 litre box and perhaps turn the temps down a bit as i think i have a couple of hundred hatchlings already and they are still popping out :gasp:. 

Oh and i will add a small strip light (cheap to run and no heat given off)


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## Uskurtle

This is my setup:


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## Catfud

That's a real nice looking setup you got there Uskurtle, does it require much maintenance with cleaning etc?​


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## KarlW

Does anyone know any good places to get secure boxes that i can use for my hatchlings?

I have been looking around, but noticed the RUBs looked like the area between the lid and sides have holes that could potentially have escapees out of.


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## tang soo do

i've noticed a bit of a range of boxes in Argos


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## KarlW

Sainsburies havea lot of their airtight food stuff 25% off, so i may look at them.


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## Catfud

I added another laypot to my RUB this weekend, this one was full of sand. I've now been getting layholes in the sand but I've used play sand and it's quite fine, some of the holes have now caved in. I don't know if any eggs will hatch from these. I might try a soil and sand mix if I don't get any hatchlings.


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## tang soo do

Catfud you are on your way :notworthy:. I use play sand and you will find that the adult has covered them over (the wife saw one doing this). I didn't wet the sand either after this. I had no choice the other day i had to clean the breeding box out as it was a right mess. in one corner in the oats were some eggs, they are all in a cocoon (really delicate like hard sand)

Youve just got the hard part now, waiting about two weeks for them to hatch, thinking are they going to, they should have by now, shall i have a little peek, they must be all dead.:hmm:Then one morning there is an army of the little sods.

I'm at the next hurdle now, i'm finding a dead adult each morning now so need to get a balance of new for old :bash:


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## KarlW

How do you guys handle the reusing of sand/soil once the eggs have hatched?

I dont really fancy putting the soil back in the adult tank, to have babies hatch and escape, but i also dont want to continaully be paying alot for the soil/vermiculite mixi am using for laypots.


Karl


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## tang soo do

Karl, ive only reused one so far and i just tipped the sand out onto some kitchen towel and picked all the rubbish out of it and put it back in, did find a few eggs but like you say you dont want them hatching in the breeding area.


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## Catfud

I've not re-used any sand yet myself. I'll probably pick myself up a cheap sift and use that to remove any unwanted entities. Either that or use a paper towel like tang soo do.


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## tang soo do

Experiencing a few hatchling deaths from my original brood, ive got heating and providing greens. I'm sure that you would get a fairly high mortality which is why they probably lay so many eggs but has anybody else found this.


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## KarlW

Are you overfeeding?

Ive found that they can die off if they eat too much :lol2:


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## tang soo do

Karl, i always make sure there is food, how often do you feed. I thought it may be lack of moisture as my incubator is kept warm and the greens dry up quickly, they eat it even when crispy but thought they may need water, but not sure


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## KarlW

My locusts are kept completely dry (i know some people will argue this is dad) and they get their water from there food.

100 adults and 100 xls eat about 2 carrots a week.

Hatchlings just get slices, about 1 slice of carrot (1/4 of a carrot) 2 days a week.

Karl


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## tang soo do

1/4 of a carrot twice a week? bloody hell mine have been eating better than me :lol2:. I will give your suggestion a go cheers


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## Catfud

Well my laypot has been in my setup for just over a week now. I've had plenty of lay holes and I think tonight will be time to move that laypot to my hatchery, AKA experimental modded cereal tub!

That's interesting about the over feeding and good to know as I would probably have been spoiling these guys with food. I take it they just don't know when to say 'no'
:lol2:

Anyone know how big they will roughly be after 3 weeks?


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## tang soo do

Catfud what you using as your substrate in your breeding box. I'm using porridge oats and if you lift the box up i can see that they have laid in them again and its only about an inch deep. Gona have to catch all the little sods again. Think i will let these hatch then think about having no substrate so they only have the sand.


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## Catfud

The first time round I had sand for substrate then when I cleaned them out I just lined the floor with paper towels. Still debating about what I'm actually gonna build for the breeders final home but it will have a mesh floor so no unauthorised egg laying for them lol

The lack of substrate didn't make any difference to my breeders. I just provided them a small dish with oats in. Thats about a cm deep, better not be any eggs in there :naughty:


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## Catfud

I've finished my first hatchling tub and moved my laypot in there. The ceareal tub cost me 2.99 and I stole the tights from my gf :whistling2:




























I used a cricket tub for my first laypot, but to get it in the cereal tub I had to cut the edges off (this was done prior to laying) and the tub lost its rigidity. A lot of the sand shuffled around when moving the laypot to the hatchling tub  Also my sand is quite dry now.

I have some much better laypots to go back into the breeding tub and these fit into the hatchling tub nicely. I think i might give one a layer of vermiculite in the bottom to retain moisture and the other I'll do a sand/vermiculite mix and see how those go.


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## tang soo do

It looks good, my sand went dry with solid bits of sand on the top like in your photo, they still hatched. I think all of my original adults have died now but the new ones are in place. Out of my first batch of hatchlings ive only got half a dozen left  not to sure what killed the rest, maybe lack of water (the greens were going crispy really quick), dont want to drop the temp incase the others dont hatch.


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## Catfud

I take it you didn't feed any of those off either? You could try putting some bug gel in there, or buying water crystals and make up your own, you get loads for only a few quid.

At the moment my first hatcling tub is on top of my royals viv, it's quite warm on there. If they hatch ony there I won't need to use my other heatmat. I'm concerned that if I sit them on the heatmat and leave it running 24-7 they might fry


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## tang soo do

Catfud said:


> I take it you didn't feed any of those off either? You could try putting some bug gel in there, or buying water crystals and make up your own, you get loads for only a few quid.
> 
> At the moment my first hatcling tub is on top of my royals viv, it's quite warm on there. If they hatch ony there I won't need to use my other heatmat. I'm concerned that if I sit them on the heatmat and leave it running 24-7 they might fry


 
No didnt feed them off they are still small (the 5 that are left :lol2 think i will get some bug gel the weekend. My new adults are laying though so fingers crossed i can have another go :blush:


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## tang soo do

I've took the sand out of my incubator and tipped it onto some paper towel, there are tubes of eggs in them but they have fried :gasp:. At least i know the sand in the butter tubs are being laid in and i must have the sand moist enough for them to be using them. Need to raise the next ones off the heat mat in the incubator.


Anything yet Catfud, you must have squillions by now its been a couple of weeks:2thumb:


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## Catfud

It feels like I've gone two steps forward one step back with my breeding program. Nothing has hatched from my first laypot. I had it ontop of my Royals Viv which gets quite warm as I thought they might fry on my heatmat with no stat. I don't think it was warm enough and they are now on the heatmat, still nothing though. I think it might be game over for that batch, still I'll wait and see. I've added my new laypots and the locusts just haven't laid in them, it's been over a week now. My other laypot only took 3 days for them to start using.


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## tang soo do

Catfud said:


> It feels like I've gone two steps forward one step back with my breeding program. Nothing has hatched from my first laypot. I had it ontop of my Royals Viv which gets quite warm as I thought they might fry on my heatmat with no stat. I don't think it was warm enough and they are now on the heatmat, still nothing though. I think it might be game over for that batch, still I'll wait and see. I've added my new laypots and the locusts just haven't laid in them, it's been over a week now. My other laypot only took 3 days for them to start using.


 
I seem to be in the same boat, my first batch hatched in the breeding box with the adults (i assume if the conditions were right to lay then they were right to incubate) but since moving my laypost ive had nothing, my adults are still going at it and laying in the substarte, so im going to see if these hatch. Let you know it may be worth you leaving them in the breeding box.


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## Catfud

Yeah I might just leave the laypot in there and see what happens this time round, I just need to get the buggers laying again! I don't see why they are not, maybe I over moisted them, thats the only thing I can think of thats slightly different.


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## tang soo do

New hatchlings this morning, they have come out of the inch of porridge oats substrate not the sand. That means picking all the little blighters out by hand again :devil:. Hopefully these will survive this time


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## Catfud

Good luck with the new batch : victory:

Mine still haven't used the laypots but I've also yet to see them mating. The males are still always on the females backs flapping like crazy but the women just aren't putting out lol. I'm thinking about feeding these breeders off and starting with a new batch, I've had them for quite a long time now. I don't know if the females stop egg bearing after a while?


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## tang soo do

i found that they just died off and i replaced them with adults. Have you tried upping your temps a bit. i'm running at about 100f. I cleaned the breeding box out today and i'm sure they have hatched from the sand not the substrate. Ive cleaned it out and am now using paper towl to try and stop them from laying in the oats. They have plenty of food but are munching on the paper towel :devil: God i wish they were as easy as a beardie to keep :lol2:


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## Catfud

I'm getting around 95f when the bulb is on and 80 in the evening when its just the heatmat running, they where mating before even in the evenings when it was just the heatmat on.

I have loads more males than females so I'm wondering if all the randy boys are harrassing the women too much lol.

I just sifted through the sand from the laypot in my hatchling tub, it had been about 3 weeks and there where egg sacks in there but they where all crusty and dried out. I don't know if its from lack of humidity or if they died because the temps wern't warm enough in my hatchling tub for them to incubate.


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## KarlW

Does anyone know how long after they have reached adult until locusts are sexually active?

Just waiting on my XL's to shed after my last 3 lots of adults i bought all died of old age without laying.

thanks

Karl


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## Catfud

The last batch I had took about 2 weeks after getting their wings to start maturing into their colours, then they where at it like crazy.


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## Uskurtle

*My little locust*

This "Locust project" takes about 16 days and now (today) i get first baby locust.:whistling2:


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## tang soo do

Well done uskurtle, let us know how you get on growing them on. I was told by someone that breeds them to put the hatchlings straight into the little tubs that they are sold in to grow them on as they dont like big tubs. I lost my first batch over 3 to 4 weeks.


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## Catfud

Congrats Uskurtle :2thumb:

I fed off all my breeders and I'm starting over lol. Got a new batch of Adults in there just waiting for them to mature now. I replaced the floor with mesh too so the poop drops through into the bottom. I then used a soldering iron to melt a hole in the side of the tub, underneith the floor, so I can hover up the poop
:lol2:
So far so good. Did you see that post about the laypots with the straws and kitchen towel? I'm definately gonna try that out.


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## Gemstone Dragons

I can keep mine alive but after a solied few months of laying, hatching and growing my locusts ahve taken to laying eggs on the floor not in the tubs - nothing wrong with or changed in the tube either lol :bash:


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## tang soo do

Gemstone Dragons said:


> I can keep mine alive but after a solied few months of laying, hatching and growing my locusts ahve taken to laying eggs on the floor not in the tubs - nothing wrong with or changed in the tube either lol :bash:


Gemstone, do they hatch when laid on the floor. I removed my porridge oats substrate and replaced it with paper towel and one of the them had stuck its backside through the kitchen roll and laid this morning.:devil: I have put a tub of porridge oats in there and there are holes in there as well


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## Catfud

My new batch have now matured and started getting busy, feels likes it's been forever since I've made any progress. lets see how these go!


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## tang soo do

Good luck. ive got some hatchlings but only half a dozen.


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## tang soo do

All hatchlings dead again after 4-6 weeks :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:


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## Catfud

Sorry to hear that mate, that's bad times  what setup did you have the hatchlings in?


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## Catfud

My locusts have started laying again now, hopefully i'll get some dam hatchlings this time round!


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## Haggis

Do you need the heat for them to breed

I was going to get a plastic box for breeding the locusts but i dont have any spare heatmats etc


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## tang soo do

Haggis said:


> Do you need the heat for them to breed
> 
> I was going to get a plastic box for breeding the locusts but i dont have any spare heatmats etc


 
Yeh i found that they breed better kept at around 90 to 100f.


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## Haggis

tang soo do said:


> Yeh i found that they breed better kept at around 90 to 100f.


 
back to the drawing board then


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## forteh

Ive been breeding locusts on and off for the last 15 months now but have had a very dry spell without any mating, unfortunately all the adults were killed off by pesticides before they could mature and mate 

Had my 1st locusts hatch in ages the other week, all using the same technique Ive used in the past.

Adults in the main portion of the tank (left hand side in the photo), fed daily with fresh spring greens - now washed thoroughly with soap and rinsed before feeding, Ive lost thousands of locusts to pesticides on shop bought greens. Heated with a spot lamp on a timer 07:30-21:30, temperatures from 85-130*F (cold side to basking spots next to the lamp). Laypots are 5" flowerpots with either plain vermiculite or soil/vermiculte mix, I found sand to be a crap media as its either dries out too much or is too wet; vermiculite you can just spray a little water onto the top if its visibly dry.

Once eggs are laid the pots are taken out and covered with a plastic bag secured with an elastic band, I pierce the plastic several times to allow air to circulate. The plastic bag retains any hatchlings for very easy collection. The tubs are incubted at about 80-85*F on a heatmat in a polystyrene insulated portion of the box (bottom right on the photo). 

When hatchlings are bouncing around under the plastic I put the tub in the bath (a deep rub would be a good alternative) and open the laypot; doing it in the bath means they are very easy to catch with a pooter, you get zero escapees with alittle care. I house hatchlings in standard cricket tubs, 25 to a tub and keep them above the incubator with a heatmat on the back wall 95*F, I stack the tubs so that they have a cold end they can get to. Once they have shed a couple of times they will get moved into a large flat faunarium and kept in the same conditions as the adults (heatmat rather than lamp though).










The front panels of the tank slide up on runners and can be wedged open, the false mesh floor in the breeder section allows frass to fall through, this can very quickly and easily be hoovered up without any adults escaping. The hole in the divider between the sections is covered with a random plastic mesh and this acts as a feeding hatch for putting food in without escapees. The laypot is flush to the floor and can be changed at any time.


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## Catfud

I tried using vermiculite for my first laypots but they wouldn't use them for some reason. Once I replaced the vermiculite with play sand they started laying. I currently have a sand and vermiculite mix that im trying out.


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## forteh

I started out with sand and it either dried out too much and made a hard skin that the females couldnt dig through or wetting it killed all the eggs. I was advised to switch to eco earth or soil/vermiculite and I got hatchlings within 2 weeks! Ive not had any problems with the females not using the vermiculite, occasionally they will mis-lay and dump the eggs on the floor, Ive found that this normally only happens once or twice per generation.

Ive been threatening to give up breeding the locusts all together if this current crop of adults fail to produce any young (also got a dubia colony to use for feeders when it matures) however its working again so I guess Ill keep breeding them. Its been over 10 months since I got any eggs layed so its nice that theyre producing again


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## Catfud

I have two laypots in my setup, so I think I will try one pot verm/eco mix and leave the other as sand/verm mix and see how they get on. There was also a good post about using a layer of kitchen towel beneith the sand and having a straw that leads into the kitchen towel for watering that id like to try.

I've been saying to myself that if I don't have any luck with this batch of breeders I'm going to start a roach colony lol.

Are your adults heated entirely by your spot bulb or do they have a heatmat as well?


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## forteh

When I setup the laypots I put a sheet of folded kitchen roll in the bottom of the flowerpot, it helps retain moisture and loose media. Depending on how wet I make the initial mix I usually dont have to re-moisten the laypot more than once a week, that only consists of spraying the top for about 5-10 seconds. While incubating the plastic bag over the pot keeps all the moisture in, every couple of days I check it and wipe off any excess water droplets.

I only use the spotlamp on the adults, they cool off during the night. I keep the hatchlings on 24/7 heat at the moment but since reading blaptica's post in here about schistocerca gregarianot wanting full time heat I think Im going to put their heatmat on the same timer as the lamp.


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## Catfud

forteh said:


> I keep the hatchlings on 24/7 heat at the moment but since reading blaptica's post in here about schistocerca gregarianot wanting full time heat I think Im going to put their heatmat on the same timer as the lamp.


This could just be me being dim but I'm a little bit confused about this: 'wanting full time heat' kind of suggests 24/7 heat but the hatchlings heat mat is being put on a timer which would drop the heat at night like the adults?


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## forteh

Sorry, I missed a space, its supposed to read: -



> schistocerca gregaria not wanting full time heat


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## Catfud

haha now it makes more sense. Thanks

Does it mention anything about a minimum heat they require? The spare room in my flat can get very cold during winter.


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## forteh

I spoke to scott wilkinson (from captive bred) at donny show, july 09 and it was him that said to ditch the sand. He said basically get as hot as you can with basking spots up to 130*F or there abouts, as long as they can escape to a cooler area to thermoregulate theyre ok, I aim for a floor temperature of 95*F directly below the lamp. Im using a 60w spot dimmed down about 30%, dont bother with a stat, Ive found theyre not that critical.

I would look at getting a lamp for the winter, heatmats are worthless for actually heating a tank up, only good for providing a hotspot


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## Catfud

I have a 60w bulb thats on a timer and a small heatmat thats on 24/7, the small heatmat seems kinda pointless at this time. I might add a non light emiting bulb in there and stat it to a low temp, so that it's only active through winter just to take the edge off the cold


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## Catfud

Finally I have my first batch of hatchlings :no1:

They are actually quite a bit bigger than I expected them to be. Lets see how long they last.


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## forteh

Keep them heated up to 90 degrees, keep them dry, no water, just fresh washed greens every day. Keep them 25 to a cricket tub with some egg carton and they should be ok till 3rd instar.

My hatchlings that are now about 2 weeks old are just moulting to 4th instar, not lost a single one (well technically a box of 25 to cresties and a couple to tokays but other than that!). I just keep by those two rules, hot and dry and you should be good.


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## Burpy

Catfud said:


> Finally I have my first batch of hatchlings :no1:
> 
> They are actually quite a bit bigger than I expected them to be. Lets see how long they last.


OK, update required. Thinking of having a go myself, but am waiting till you guys perfect the technique, so I can steal it :whistling2:


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## forteh

Burpy said:


> OK, update required. Thinking of having a go myself, but am waiting till you guys perfect the technique, so I can steal it :whistling2:


My technique is already perfected 
Dont wait, perfect your own technique!


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## Burpy

forteh said:


> My technique is already perfected
> Dont wait, perfect your own technique!


Phhhhhh....requires time and patience. Neither of which I have in any quantity! :rotfl:


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## forteh

Locusts dont need much time and patience, with a little luck you can buy some adults and have hatchlings within 3 weeks


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## Burpy

forteh said:


> Locusts dont need much time and patience, with a little luck you can buy some adults and have hatchlings within 3 weeks


OK, you got any pics of your setup?


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## forteh

Locusts dont need much time and patience, with a little luck you can buy some adults and have hatchlings within 3 weeks


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## tang soo do

Got some new hatchlings, just gona leave them to it in with the adults and see what happens


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## Catfud

had my hatchlings for a week now, no casulties so far. My Adults haven't done any laying since though, its been 2 weeks now.

Tried using an eco earth and vermiculite mix in the laypot this time round, added a sand one at the weekend to see if they would take to that again.


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## tang soo do

Left hatchlings in with adults and just feeding as normal and they are growing well, adults are at it like rabbits and laying well. How you getting on Catfud?


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## Catfud

I closed my operation down last night. My bosc had a feeding frenzy on all my breeders.

I've had no problems raising my hatchlings, but the locusts just wouldn't lay again. For some reason with each batch I raise to maturity they seem to lay once and then stop. I just can't seem to remedy this. I have only ever had success with a laypot full of sand but i've provided them with plenty of options. Vermiculite, play sand, vermiculite/soil mix, vermiculite/sand mix.

The females just stop putting out everytime, I don't know if this is because they have already mated and have eggs to lay but nowhere suitable to lay them?

I'm kinda gutted about giving up but I really don't know what else to try. I've been at this since April and they only used a laypot twice and only one of those laypots had 10 successful hatchlings. 10 hatchlings in 6 months is not the numbers I was hoping for lol


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## mattandme2

what do u feed them


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## Catfud

mattandme2 said:


> what do u feed them


They had a dish full of oats and where also given fresh veg, mostly brocoli stork. At one point I was growing my own wheat grass and feeding them that too. I also went through a phase of giving them a dish of bug grub and a dish of water crystals.

They seemed happy enough on all of those.


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## mattandme2

thanks:no1:


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## tang soo do

I found that locusts seem to eat just about anything that is plant matter


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## mattandme2

:no1:


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## swift_wraith

Have just make my own breeding box from marine ply, plastic sheet and mesh (actually quite impressed with it tbh). Now to see if the locusts get jiggy.


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## mrhoyo

> Have just make my own breeding box from marine ply, plastic sheet and mesh (actually quite impressed with it tbh). Now to see if the locusts get jiggy.


Any pics?
I'm thinking if starting but it looks like they're going to need a front opening house to stop them escaping. A shame really, RUBs are so cheap and convenient!

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk


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## swift_wraith

here you go, i still need to sort some jars as the ones I had were too tall so wouldnt fit (remember ther quote measure once cut twice? i didnt) so the holes are currently covered with mesh and weighted down with a stapler and a tape measure lol. Also need to sort some wooden branches out for the locusts to perch on.


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## mrhoyo

Looks good, how does the door work?

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk


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## swift_wraith

its simply a piece of perspex that sits in 2 runner channels, 1 per side that I routed out. Just pullt the plastic from the top to open a gap at the bottom. The lower space is for the jars to hang at the front and a frass collection area at the back (mesh so the poop falls through).


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## simon31uk

Catfud said:


> Took some pics of my setup, I'm open to suggestions on improvments / things I'm doing wrong.
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image
> 
> image


hope some1 can help me here as catfud not been on since march

anyway im getting some winged adults tommorow 20 of them as i dont want loads of locusts

what im wanting to know is ive put 2 heatmats on the side of the plastic tub but its not getting hot

catfud has put a light inside the plastic tub thats what im gonna have to do but im asking what wattage bulb do you guys think ill need to achieve 100F 

and i know its 2years old post but its good to have a read up
thanks


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## AOTP

Top tip dont buy adult locust, depends on supplier / luck but I bought 50 and all mine sent were male. . . so id imagine thats often the case.

Buy extra large / 5th instar and grow them on.

My daytime temps are 40C average i like to provide a slightly hotter than normal temp with shaded areas and the full mesh top and they go where they find it comfortable, pretty much hang on the mesh at about 37c.

At hotter temps they moult faster, and eat like crazy. In 4 days my 5ths moulted into adults, it was truly amazing to watch it happen! 

Im going to give mine a day or two to harden up and the sexual organs to sort themselves before I chuck in the sand pots I have. 

Now ive seen the adults up close telling the difference between male and female is pretty easy. 

: victory:


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## AOTP

this website I found also invaluable. 

Building a Locust Incubator | Hedgehogs as Pets


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## SuperSpeedyWheels

I posted something similar around this time last year...

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/feeder/713194-locust-breeding-pictures-too.html

Breeding locust is a lot of hard work to be honest.


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## Leesfs1e

SuperSpeedyWheels said:


> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/feeder/713194-locust-breeding-pictures-too.html
> 
> Breeding locust is a lot of hard work to be honest.


I strongly disagree. All that was required of me was to chuck a bunch of spring greens in every few days and i have babies galore. Only sprayed the laying tubs once or twice too.


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