# how to rear locust hatchlings



## tang soo do (May 8, 2010)

Hi all, as you are probably aware myself, Catfud and a couple of others have been running a thread on breeding locusts. I am at the stage now where my locusts are breeding and laying ok (still not got a perfect cycle going yet). My problem now is getting my hatchlings to survive past 3-4 weeks. I've tried heat on, heat off, lots of food, a little food, kept in small tub, kept in large box. How do you all rear your hatchlings?:notworthy:


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## theboyw (Jul 21, 2009)

*hatchlings*








I use glass and plastic tanks with a 23x11 28w mat underneath half of the hatchling tanks my laying pots go directley on the hot side, the glass tanks can get very hot so i use some poridge oats as substrate all hatchlings are kept in the tanks with the laying pots untill they are either used as food or are large enough to go into the breeding tank. not many make it to the larger tank.
i feed once aday sometimes two, place food on the colder side of the tank i use tinfoil to make large feeding bowls and they are easy to take out to get rid of old food.
this has worked a treat for me as i cant remember seeing any casualties, and i can produce 1000 hatchling in a month. there is normally about 250 to 300 hatchlings in each of the tanks you can see.
i use a mixture of spring greens, diced carrots and peppers, all mixed up together as this mixture can also be fed to my beardie and roach colony so none is waisted.
If your hatchlings are dying then i would check your humidity as this is a big killer, humidity has to be kept to a minimum, all of my tanks have complete vented lids.
hope this helps.


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## peterf (Jul 27, 2007)

tang soo do said:


> My problem now is getting my hatchlings to survive past 3-4 weeks


Hi there,
I would guess that your problem is primarily based on temperature being too low.
My locusts are laying eggs on their 31st day from hatching!


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## theboyw (Jul 21, 2009)

*temps to low?*

I would say it's definatley temperature related as it's a fine line, but i do turn my temps down from time to time on individual tanks to slow growth and hatchling rate so i dont have to many of the same size at once. Also you can get some type of spot bulb for top heat when they get past three to four weeks but this is not crucial just speeds up growth.: victory:


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## tang soo do (May 8, 2010)

What temps should i keep them at, i left the heat on 24 hours with the first batch and i think this may have killed them. Put bug gel in now and no casualties so far. I assume adults can last better with no water.


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## Pleco07 (Aug 15, 2007)

I kept mine in the same tank as adults and obviously under the same conditions as the adults and they done fine


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## _Ben_ (Feb 27, 2010)

Pleco07 said:


> I kept mine in the same tank as adults and obviously under the same conditions as the adults and they done fine


Yup I had the same, I did a test breeding with 16 adults (almost a 50/50 split), kept in a large faunarium with mesh attached to prevent hatchling escapies.

I just left the hatchlings in with the adults, had almost a new set of hatchlings every day for maybe 2 weeks. Just kept chucking the food in there and they grew, think I had near on 200 produced from those 16 adults.


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## KarlW (Oct 6, 2009)

_Ben_ said:


> Yup I had the same, I did a test breeding with 16 adults (almost a 50/50 split), kept in a large faunarium with mesh attached to prevent hatchling escapies.
> 
> I just left the hatchlings in with the adults, had almost a new set of hatchlings every day for maybe 2 weeks. Just kept chucking the food in there and they grew, think I had near on 200 produced from those 16 adults.


 
Where did you get your mesh from?

I see your from hampshire, so i may be able to get it fromt he same place as im not too far away in bournemouth.

want to increase my production from a few hundred every now and then t oaround 1000 a week. Ive got the space, just need to get all of the equipment finalised.


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## _Ben_ (Feb 27, 2010)

KarlW said:


> Where did you get your mesh from?
> 
> I see your from hampshire, so i may be able to get it fromt he same place as im not too far away in bournemouth.
> 
> want to increase my production from a few hundred every now and then t oaround 1000 a week. Ive got the space, just need to get all of the equipment finalised.


I just got it from the garden centre, just some 2mm mesh I think it was, then cut to size and used aquarium sealant to secure. Wish I had used a more farbricy type mesh as this was a pain to secure and I am not sure I would do it the same way again. If I get a chance tomorrow I will take afew pics to roughly show what I did.


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## Pleco07 (Aug 15, 2007)

I used an old sheet for my ventilation; cheap as chips, worked a treat and reduced a large the amount of light coming out of the tank (had it setup in my bedroom at the time)


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## DragonFish66 (Sep 13, 2009)

would net curtain be any good or is it not strong enough not bred them before but with just getting my first beardie am going to have ago at breeding my own :2thumb: never tryed it before


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## tang soo do (May 8, 2010)

lost all my hatchlings again. Gona leave the next lot in with the adults. Now a witts end with them :cussing:


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## _Ben_ (Feb 27, 2010)

tang soo do said:


> lost all my hatchlings again. Gona leave the next lot in with the adults. Now a witts end with them :cussing:


What did you do with them? Possibly they dont cope with change at such a young age. Try leaving the next lot in for a week or two, then once you see they have grown a nice bit move them on to their own tank.


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