# How do I keep locusts? Help



## mummybear

Have decided to change live food from crix to locusts for 2 beardies. Have been told I'd need approx 120-150 per week so I know I have to feed them on veg and keep them warm how do I do this properly?


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## carpy

noone has answered yet?!

i keep locusts for my horned frogs, and tarantula's

generally, locusts should be kept slightly cooler than room temp, or at least they seem to do better in those conditions. i keep mine in one of those "pen pals large" enclosures with lots of sticks, etc" 
with regards to feeding, i just put in fresh lettuce everyday, though alternatively they do also eat privet which is probably a cheaper way of doing things if you have that amount that require feeding.

i hope this helps,

Alex


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## mrhoyo

I'm pretty sure that by feeding them privet you're actually poisoning your reptiles!
I keep mine in a plastic fishtank with bran as a substrate and feed them leafy veg for moisture. The more green the better in regards to leaves, i.e iceberg lettuce has almost 0% nutrients, whereas dandelions are nice and healthy


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## scotty123

mrhoyo said:


> I'm pretty sure that by feeding them privet you're actually poisoning your reptiles!
> I keep mine in a plastic fishtank with bran as a substrate and feed them leafy veg for moisture. The more green the better in regards to leaves, i.e iceberg lettuce has almost 0% nutrients, whereas dandelions are nice and healthy


 
im pretty sure your right mate! i was always under the impression privvet was poisenous to most animals/reps! i agree again with the veg asweel, feed the crix exactly what veg you would feed your beardie as you want as much nutrients as possible! outer cabbage leaves are a good one, kale etc, the dark green leaves are the good ones!


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## kiriak

I keep mine in a plastic Faunarium with bran on the floor as substrate and I have a small heat mat under it. I feed them 'greens' and 'spinach'. They also have the odd bit of spud n carrot. 
Large hoppers will grow to full size adults very quickly with a heat mat. I buy my adult locusts on the internet from (Monkfield Nutrition) 
They always arrive next day and are the best quality and condition I have ever bought. I keep a months worth at a time under the above conditions with no problems whatsoever.


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## tracie

I keep mine at room temp ........
feeding spring greens , tropical fish flakes and oats/bran , apple for moisture and occasionally i give them kale


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## mummybear

kiriak said:


> I keep mine in a plastic Faunarium with bran on the floor as substrate and I have a small heat mat under it. I feed them 'greens' and 'spinach'. They also have the odd bit of spud n carrot.
> Large hoppers will grow to full size adults very quickly with a heat mat. I buy my adult locusts on the internet from (Monkfield Nutrition)
> They always arrive next day and are the best quality and condition I have ever bought. I keep a months worth at a time under the above conditions with no problems whatsoever.


How do you clean up after them cos when they're well fed they are very messy little begars and a months supply must be a lot


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## kiriak

I have one Tokay, so it's only a about a dozen adult locusts a month.


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## woodsy

plenty of greens and as said any thing you would feed your bearded dragon feed the locusts! my beardies have completely gone off of crickets and will only eat locusts now and as they get bigger it will make it easier down the line! i tend to gut load the hell out of my locusts as i want the highest amount of protein in there stomach as possible for the beardies to grow big and strong! i tend to make a medium of ready break, cat/dog biscuits, honey, glycerin and if i have any in at the time some gut load plus formula which contains nector, pollen and smaller insects for protein!


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## The Roach Hut

*re*

Hi guys just a quick note ur all doing well keeping these, however gut loading locusts with kale will not benefit ur dragons, kale should only ever be given to ur dragons in moderation, you are much better going out and collecting dandilions and feeding those with carrot apple squash and so forth and stay away from lettuce there is no nutrients in there at all and iceberg can be fatal for dragons.

Tony


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## zukomonitor

FireDragon said:


> Hi guys just a quick note ur all doing well keeping these, however gut loading locusts with kale will not benefit ur dragons, kale should only ever be given to ur dragons in moderation, you are much better going out and collecting dandilions and feeding those with carrot apple squash and so forth and stay away from lettuce there is no nutrients in there at all and iceberg can be fatal for dragons.
> 
> Tony



iceberg = fatal??? i dont think so, not nutritionally valuable yes, as its mostly water but Romaine lettuce is high in calcium????????????? share your views please


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## zukomonitor

first off, what size is the beardie and what size locusts are you using?
the gutloading technique is the same for any size locusts but no. of locust for the beardi depends on size etc

as in all things variety is the key, apart from buying commercial products feed every vegetable you can get including lettuce (if not just for the moisture content)

dont know if you have seen the syicky in the lizard section for 'bearded Dragon Food' but feed this to your locust and you cant go wrong

: victory:


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## The Roach Hut

mummybear said:


> Have decided to change live food from crix to locusts for 2 beardies. Have been told I'd need approx 120-150 per week so I know I have to feed them on veg and keep them warm how do I do this properly?


 I just left a post here, hope it helps
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feeder/124568-breeding-locusts.html

Tony


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## bornared

Has everyone forgotten about the most abundant source of goodness !!!
GRASS !! :2thumb: provided you dont treat you lawn with pesticides, 
grass is a fantastic food for locust and crix an best of all its free !! :lol2:


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## reptogirl

I am just learning about keeping crix and locusts and my initial thought was to keep locusts for a few reasons but then i read that locusts need to be kept really warm (32 degrees) if you want to gut load them, and they need a light source.If you keep them at room temp (15-20 degrees) then you shouldnt feed them as they cant digest the food properly and may get ill and die.

I wanted to actually cut down on the electricity bill not up it  it seems like keeping few locusts is as troublesome as keeping the dragon itself!

this is where i got the info from:
Caresheet


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## SyP

clearly lots of people have different opinions on what you should and shouldn't feed, housing and temps etc. Having kept and bred locusts successfully I have found the best way to keep them healthy and alive is to keep them nice and toasty, I use a mercury vapor bulb which gives them the heat and and plenty of light. I have also tried a number of different feeding strategies, as mentioned previously grass is an excellent free feed which if replaced daily can provide a good level of nutrition for the bugs and the animals they are fed to. I have also used bramble which seems to go down well, although you must be sure to get it from a source that you are certain has not had any chemicals applied to it (including from road-sides!). 

I appreciate that most people are just looking to house them and not breed, however i think if you can keep them nice and hot and well fed then you will find far fewer die off before you can feed them out. I also appreciate that mercury vapor bulbs are not within everyone's budget, however you can get hold of bulbs that do give off a lot of heat but not UV for a fraction of the cost. 

I also dust the feed with a calcium based supplement a few times a week to ensure it gets passed along the food chain.

hope this helps.


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