# Locust help?



## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

I thought id make a thread as I'm reading so many and getting confused i thought i may as well try and get answers in once place!

As some of you may know I'm getting a bearded dragon soon, I've heard that crickets are a pain to keep (for reasons i don't know, noise?) and locust are better!

What I'm after is advice on keeping them? I don't want to breed but will probably want to buy in bulk say 100/150? with that number will i need to have something more substantial than just a faunarium ? also will they automatically breed with that amount? i just don't what a shed load hopping all over the place!

I dont particularly what another viv or rub with more heat bulbs etc hence the smaller faunarium that can slide under the viv! 

So how do i go about this? if i cant buy bulk then thats fine ill just order say 50 at a time but how do i go about gut loading? can i give some veg etc on the day they will be fed to the BD? 

Any advice as always is appreciated!

lewkini :blush:


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

you could but without heat they cant digest food so if you feed them it will rot inside them and they will become ill and die

they need 25 degrees ambient temperature to be able to digest


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

ok here is another option, it seems i havent really got a choice as i want them to be as nutritious for my beardie as poss so that means heat!

What about a exo terra nano

Advanced Natural Terrarium Nano - Tall

With a canopy 

Exo Terra Compact Top (Nano)

with a bulb!

Would this work? what would happen if i stuck say 50 in there, would they breed?

appreciate the time taken to reply : victory:

lewkini


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## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

That'll work fine. They like the cramped conditions as they live in swarms in the wild. They won't breed unless they are sexually mature adults, even if they are and they do breed if you don't supply a lay box they will just waste the eggs, they won't hatch but dry out and are a pain to clean off glass. 

Depending on the age of the BD you're looking at buying you probably won't want large adult locusts. If you do just buy the size below, largest hoppers.


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

it would work yeah.. iv got mine in a 60x45x60 and iv got about 100 in there, no canopy just a bulb in a dome and they thrive.. 28 ambient temperature (would be higher but my house isnt very well insulated and temperatures here atm are minus 2 lol, nd a hot spot of around 36 degrees


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Ok thats fine would they eat the background? 

Would the bulb need to be on a thermostat?

I tried googling a size chart on hoppers but i couldn't find anything does anyone know of any?

what age do the become sexually mature?

Im looking at a baby BD :flrt:

i havent really got room for a enclosure that big jonny, is your bulb thermostated? what about night time? lights out? do they make noise?

Christ i thought there was a lot to learn about BD but didn't realise this much :gasp: hopefully it will be worth it 

thanks very much for replying!

p.s makes you laugh at what info [email protected] give out really!!


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

mine isnt on a thermostat no because the 100w bulb i use reaches those temperatures i stated and no more (ambient will be raised when the weather warms up but even then it wont be above 30-32 and they are desert insects so can stand very high temps.. as long as they get fresh veg (greens) daily they wont eat the background nope, im not sure how long it takes to get to adulthood an sexually mature (as i buy mine the stage before) but you can definatly see the difference lol


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

When I used locust to feed my spiders all I did was keep them in a large faunarium from pets at home with loo roll tubes and veg for them to eat which was given fresh every couple of days and I didn't need any extra heat at all for them, the room has ambient temps between 20-25*C and none died, at the time I bought a couple of tubs at a time & obviously they were not all fed at once.

Buying in the numbers your looking for all you would need is a rub with adequet ventilation, food and something for them to hide in - egg crates, loo roll tubes etc etc.

I don't use locust anymore as my spiders take Turk roaches but I may have to buy them again in a few months as I'm planning on my first leopard gecko.


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

AilsaM said:


> When I used locust to feed my spiders all I did was keep them in a large faunarium from pets at home with loo roll tubes and veg for them to eat which was given fresh every couple of days and I didn't need any extra heat at all for them, the room has ambient temps between 20-25*C and none died, at the time I bought a couple of tubs at a time & obviously they were not all fed at once.
> 
> Buying in the numbers your looking for all you would need is a rub with adequet ventilation, food and something for them to hide in - egg crates, loo roll tubes etc etc.
> 
> I don't use locust anymore as my spiders take Turk roaches but I may have to buy them again in a few months as I'm planning on my first leopard gecko.



Firstly thank you for replying! : victory:

But this contradicts what people have said? im not saying your wrong as i dont know but im now quite confused :whistling2: 

Did you not find them dying as they wouldnt have been able to digest food?

Does anyone have anything else to add?

HELP :lol2:

lewkini


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## AilsaM (May 18, 2011)

lewkini said:


> Firstly thank you for replying! : victory:
> 
> But this contradicts what people have said? im not saying your wrong as i dont know but im now quite confused :whistling2:
> 
> ...


Nope none of mine ever died because they couldn't digest their food & the greens were given fresh daily, boy could they eat through their greens lol, this is how I did it when I used locust as feeder beasties for my spiders.


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

ailsa said her room temps were around 20-25 which would just be enough for them to digest! i like to keep mine higher than that to make them grow quicker and digest easier, they go through alot of veg! and eggs need to kept higher than that and since i plan on breeding!


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Complete change of plan again!!! i didnt realise how exspensive locust are and generally live food!!! 

You see 9p for one and think thats so cheap but then buy the time you add up that he may eat 20 a day, thats like £50 a month!!!

So the plan is........ BREEDING!!!

Cant believe id ever want to but ive decided too :2thumb: well been pushed cos I'm not paying £50 a month, but now im actually quite looking forward to it!

Again ive been researching but there are obviously q's

Can i still house them in that exo terra terriaum? 

Heat wise do i now need a heat mat or will a bulb do?

I dont want loads but my plan (which rightly or wrongly you guys can tell me) is to buy around 6 Adults and hope they would naturally breed? 

I will have to just buy some of the right size ones whilst i get the breeding going!

I need a sand/soil in a box so they can lay eggs, any recommendation to which product to use?

I was thinking some type of glass container as the lay box so i could perhaps see inside if they laid altho i appreciate if they lay in the middle i wont see anything!

I hadnt planned on seperating any of them? as ive read some people just leave adults and babies in together?

Sure there will be plenty more q's but that will start me off :lol2:

Lewkini


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Anyone? :whistling2:


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

lewkini said:


> Can i still house them in that exo terra terriaum? yes
> 
> Heat wise do i now need a heat mat or will a bulb do? bulb is best for ambient temps and if you wanted u could put a mat under the egg laying tubs
> 
> ...


answers in red.. does that help?


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Yes that does help alot thankyou! So would people recommend more than 6 adults then?

What about water? do i use bug gel?

Lewkini


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

i dont provide any water/bug gel.. get plenty from the veg also when i spray the egg laying boxes i leave the missed droplets in there so they can drink from them if they wish.. i got 100 of the size just before adults and atm there is about 70 adults in there (some die some got eaten lol)


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Out of that 100 how many were female would you say? also a 20 x20 x 30 terrerium not be too small for 100 locust then plus the babies?


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

you will find some will die, not many if its setup but still probably a few.. try ordering 50 if you think thats too many, im yet to see which are males and females as theyve only just reached adulthood the last week n abit and havnt changed into the proper colours yet, still pinkish


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Cool stuff ill be ordering very soon then! Where did you buy yours from?

Thanks for the replys 

Lewis


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

ordered mine from rs reptiles


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## sy1 (Aug 9, 2012)

Having read through all the advice it seems pretty sound. Breeding them is a piece of cake, the best way I've found is just putting about 4 inches of sand in the bottom of the tank and as long as you've got plenty of locusts they should just breed into the substrate. As for feeding them, don't worry about veg, good old fashioned grass free from the nearest patch is perfect. The taller/wider the blades the better, you'll have to change it everyday but they love it!


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Cheers for the advice guys:2thumb: Guess i know what im doin now just got to buy all the equipment  looking forward to it actually! ill update once i have purchased everything!!


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Thought id update the thread, i've bought all the equipment and got it all setup but reference heating the exo terra does it have to be the same temp from the top to the bottom?

As at the moment with the current setup i'm hitting around 85f near the top and only 74f on the base!

Is this ok or do i need the bottom hotter?

Just for your info my tank is 30cmx30cmx45cm

Cheers

Lewis


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## Bensmith (Apr 12, 2013)

Hi all.!
I am new to this site and i hope people can get a-lot of information about our pets.


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