# keeping locust alive.



## haderz (Jul 20, 2009)

what is the best way to keep locust alive? as they always seem to be dying. i would also like to start breeding but keeping them alive is higher on my priority list :blush:


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## toastie (Jul 4, 2008)

you need to keep them heated feed them lots and keep the humidity as low as you can with lots of ventilation. they normally die off because they are not hot enough or they get damp


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## angelkissingdevil (Nov 12, 2009)

I'm due to get my beardie and his viv at the weekend but need to get the locusts a couple of days before, can I keep them in the airing cupboard? or is this no good?


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## toastie (Jul 4, 2008)

angelkissingdevil said:


> I'm due to get my beardie and his viv at the weekend but need to get the locusts a couple of days before, can I keep them in the airing cupboard? or is this no good?


 
you could try but they tend to like the light and most airing cupboards are dark have you got a spare heat mat or a viv you could sit them on top of?


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## beaniebopps (Oct 4, 2009)

I've read they 'like light' on here before. IMO they don't need it at all. I buy mine 3 boxes at a time to last me 3 weeks. I never have any die. I keep mine in my boiler cupboard where it is warm but they get no light at all. They are happy healthy locusts.


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## forteh (Feb 9, 2009)

Locusts dont need light, they do need lots of dry heat though


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## grumpyoldtrout (May 19, 2008)

I keep ours in a faunarium with loads of egg tray strips, feed them on a few dandelion leaves or other greens, every day, if you get the feeding correct, they should not grow too quickly.  :2thumb:


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## angelkissingdevil (Nov 12, 2009)

Thanks for that guys x I just didnt want them popping their clogs before I got george(2yr old beardie) to his new home. Also the locusts will then have their own little viv. Is it right that they stink? I've bought loads of greens etc for them and some calcium and mineral powder. Do I sprinkle their food with this or would I put it on the locusts themselves?

Thanks once again. Sorry for hijacking the post


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## Keir64 (Oct 12, 2009)

You could dust their food so they are gutloaded (i.e when the lizard eats them theyre full of nutrients) or you could put them in a wee box, put the dust in their and then shake the box and they will be coated with it =)


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## forteh (Feb 9, 2009)

They only smell if you leave them dirty for weeks on end, clean out the worst of the mess every week and youre laughing. Any dead locusts should be taken out immediately, they really do stink when they start to rot


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## angelkissingdevil (Nov 12, 2009)

thanks for that. well they survived, they're now in the viv with George. Some of the adult onces look like they've laid eggs...... will they hatch?


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## forteh (Feb 9, 2009)

If you can see a bit of white stuff in a hole then you likely have eggs laid, if its just an empty hole then its a female that has been probing prior to laying.

If you incubate the tub at 80*F then you will get hatchlings after about a fortnight, if you leave the tub in the main farm then chances are it wont hatch. Put a bit of plastic bag over the top and secure it with an elastic band, this will keep the moisture in and stop the hatchlings pinging everywhere.


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## grumpyoldtrout (May 19, 2008)

I had exactly the opposite, tubs in the incubator did not hatch, but leaving the tubs in the main colony and I have an explosion of little ones. LOL Could only happen to me.


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## forteh (Feb 9, 2009)

Weird 
That said my lay tub is on the cool side of the farm at about 70*F so its probably not warm enough to incubate properly. 14 days exactly when stuck in a rub on a heatmat though, collected about 100 last night and another load were hatched this morning, going to be over-run again soon!


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## angelkissingdevil (Nov 12, 2009)

well I've found some white cocoon stuff if that's what you mean, only thing is it's been poked down a hole so I can't get to it without crushing it first.

I've also seen some yellow stuff stuck in a fake tree I have in there, so I may try and knock that off and put it in a box (with lid) that the locusts originally came in and leave it near the heat lamp so it keeps it warm. Do you think this would work?


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## forteh (Feb 9, 2009)

The eggs need to be laid and left in the soil to be viable, the white cocoon stuff is just a backfilling for the hole that protect the eggs and I guess to stop them drying out. You incubate the entire tub, I leave mine in for a week at a time and cycle a new tub in there, that means that there is usually at least 5-10 batches of eggs laid which should result in about 300 locusts per week.

Eggs look like long yellow grains of rice, usually bundled together ini batches of 20-30 or there abouts, if theyve been laid outside then theyre dead and wont hatch. I findt hat quite often first time egg layers will often mislay but they usually find the pot eventually


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