# Should I feed my locusts?



## melliott1963 (Jan 6, 2012)

I feed my Rankins Dragon crickets and locusts, and have alway put carrot and peppers with them to gut load them. However, I read yesterday that locusts kept at room temperature (which mine are) should not be fed as the food rots in their stomachs.

Is this correct?

I buy them weekly, so don't have many, if any, that are still around after a week. 

So if this is correct, do I assume non gut loaded locusts are OK to feed?


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## berbers (May 29, 2010)

Never heard of food rotting in their stomachs! How do they survive???

Gutload your feeder bugs on the same mix you feed your dragons. Best way to think of crix/locusts is "carriers" of good stuff, not just the bug itself


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## melliott1963 (Jan 6, 2012)

To be honest, everywhere else I've read that you should feed them, and so this is what I have been doing. However, on the live food caresheet of www.livefoodsuk.co.uk they state:-

_Locusts will keep well for up to 10 days if kept at room temperature 15 to 20 degrees C and left in the tub or bag they arrived in. If you are keeping locusts at room temperature DO NOT feed at all, any food they eat will not be digested properly and will decompose inside their stomachs, the locusts will then become ill and die. _

Which is why I raised this question!


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## Kuja (Dec 14, 2011)

hmm interesting, i wonder how long it takes for the food to rot inside though, as with mine i norm feed and the next day a lot of them get eaten, and same for other tubs.

I can sorta see the logic behind it, but dunno, don't think i give them enough time to rot lol.

Will be interesting to see other peoples idea's on this.


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## fredsshed (Jan 16, 2012)

not sure but could it be the temperature thats the critical part ie they state kept at room temp,and food will not be digested???
if you were to keep locusts at a higher temp eg same as hot end of a viv would they digest the food??? just a thought 
ours dont stay around long enough to pose a problem i dont think and just put some greens in with them


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## Ron Magpie (Oct 11, 2009)

fredsshed said:


> not sure but could it be the temperature thats the critical part ie they state kept at room temp,and food will not be digested???
> if you were to keep locusts at a higher temp eg same as hot end of a viv would they digest the food??? just a thought
> ours dont stay around long enough to pose a problem i dont think and just put some greens in with them


 'Room temperature' is very vague; unless the room is especially cold I can't see that there should be a problem. Also, as said above, if you are only buying in small quantities and feeding relatively quickly, there shouldn't be a problem.


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

I am still getting used to having live food in the house, got my first T last Wed, I have given the locust grated carrot and crushed up cat biscuits, the room is a warm 22-28*C and the locust seem to be fine, silly me thought they were dying on me when in fact they were shedding their skin and getting bigger :gasp:

I only have 1 T at the moment so will just be buying 1 box of them at a time.


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