# Locust breeding



## Buddythebeardy (May 8, 2017)

There aren't many posts about to help with breeding so I thought I would share how I've successfully done it.
So I bought a medium sized glass viv with full mesh top. I have 2 exoterra heat mats attached to the bottom of this to maintain heat in the viv.
During the day they have both heat mats, 2 heat bulbs and a UV light. Then by night they have both mats on and one heat lamp maintaining 30-40° during the day and 20-30° by night. They are fed upto 4 times a day on either kurly kale, baby spinach and even white cabbage, they have a constant supply of bug grub in there too! 

I keep a tub that the locust come in full of damp sand partially under the general sand of the viv, although with this having holes in the sides it does also dampen the sand surrounding the tub. 
This means the locust will lay eggs either in the egg bed or around it. 

At the moment I have around 10 pairs of mating locust providing me with hundreds of eggs which are then removed and put in a pollystyrene box with a heat mat and kept moist. One's that are laid around the breeding box are left to hatch in the viv with it being a good temperature at all times they will still hatch out.

I have a tunnel that is rough to the touch which helps the hoppers to hang on to shed as well as them hanging from the mesh top.

In the viv I have a pollystyrene background that the locust can climb on. Only problem with this is that no matter how much I feed them they still eat holes into the walls. Locust like the heat to bask in and then a good meal. After having the food in the viv a few hours it begins to dry so I just spray this with water to keep it nice for the locust. Pairs seem to stay together for days with the male on the females back sometimes mating sometimes not. Even when the female locust is laying eggs a lot of the time there may still be a male on their back. Locust may make a lot of test holes in the general sand with it being warm but due to the rest of the viv being dry these holes are no good for the eggs as they will not hatch out I spray the egg bed when ever I spray their veg.

Have a few pictures of the enclosure and some of my adults!


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## Buddythebeardy (May 8, 2017)

Laying around the egg bed


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## Buddythebeardy (May 8, 2017)

Eating


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