# Sticky  How to breed Locusts



## markhill

There's been a load of threads recently about how to breed Locusts, so I thought I'd tell people how I do it.

Housing
I use two large tanks (24x15x20", WDH), one for adults and one for grown on locusts that are near adults.
Once the Locusts have turned to adults they get moved into the adult tank to replace any that have died off.
Both tanks have full vented lids and egg cartons inside for extra ground space and to hang from during moulting.

Temperature/Humidity
I use a reflector bulb pointing down at one end of the tank to simulate sunshine and heat mats underneath and around the edges of the same end of the tank, the bulb is on from 6am to 8pm and during the night the heat mats do the work.
This holds the temperature at about 28c-30c 24 hours a day with a day/night cycle.
Keep the humidity as low as possible, which the full mesh top will help with.

Food/water
I feed my Locusts on bran and veg, any veg that I feed my BD's on is good,I make sure they they never run out of food.
I don't provide my Locusts with a water bowl, I've found that they drown and are perfectly OK with water obtained from their veg.

Breeding
Providing the temperatures aren't too cold I have found that adults will mate without any help.
Provide a few tubs with 10cm (4 inches) of soil for egg laying,ice-cream tubs are good for this, position these tubs over the heat mats and keep the soil moist but not soaking.
You can remove the tubs to separate incubating tanks if you want to (incubate at 28c) but I don't have the room so I leave them in with the adults and they do fine.
You should be able to see that eggs have been layed because there will be holes in the soil where the Locust has pushed the entire rear end if its body into the soil to lay the eggs, you may also see "spiderweb" looking white stuff on the surface of the soil, this comes out with the eggs and is normal.
Once the eggs have been layed it usually takes around 10 days for the baby Locusts to start digging their way out of the soil, I then collect them and keep them in cricket tubs with a piece of egg carton and feed them the same as adults.
Once the babies have got bigger they are either fed off to my animals or put back into the tub to become adults and lay their own eggs.

These are only my own methods which I have found to work well and may or may not work for others.


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## biscuitman

cheers thats helpful, was thinking bout doing it fairly soon.

Could we make this sticky?


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## CWD

biscuitman said:


> cheers thats helpful, was thinking bout doing it fairly soon.
> 
> Could we make this sticky?






Was thinking about doing this myself grate info !!!


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## andie

A big thx for that, there seems to be very little info on the web about breeding locusts, I'm off to Taunton thursday to buy a load ill let you know how my breeding goes  hopefully.


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## markhill

no problem, i was bored at home alone so it was something to do.
You'll need to ask a mod to get it made a sticky.


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## odyssey

thanks for taking the time to put this info up. i has helped me and im sure alot of others :smile:


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## MoK3t

Tried breeding crickets before, but the smell made me stop. Do locusts smell anything like crix? If not i could prolly deal with breeding them. Would it be alright to leave the eggs/babies in with the adults?


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## snakelover

my crix dont smell :S
I am going to breed locusts soon...good info. I would use a 2x1x1 though...​


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## tryme

How old do the locusts have to be to breed them? Do they make noises like crickets?


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## joe0709

cheers for that,its very helpfull. : victory:: victory:


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## tryme

how old do the locusts have to be to breed?


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## Lucifus

Adults i belive. I bought 14 adults the other day and put them into a big faunarium. Hopefully will start breeding soon but they are noisy when they see me.


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## Pleco07

I am successfully breeding them too, unless ive been lucky it seems really easy to do. Set it all up about a month ago and ive got babies already.


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## andyfraser666

Thanks for that, will get some adults next week, will probably feed the roach colony I got to my gecko's and use that set up to try and breed the locust. DOn't rally do anything with the roaches even though I bought them for food, keep forgetting about them even though the breed like wildfire :lol2:


Good luck with your own impending delivery (from your sig) )


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## tryme

how do you know they are adults and are sexually mature? with crix i know you can tell with the wings etc churping noise and the actually thing on back of the woman near her butt lol


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## jrf23

Quality inforamtion! Thanks! You bred anything else?

Do you have any pictures of your locust set up?


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## tryme

do the locusts have to have light cant they be kept in a warm airing cuboard?


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## ladybird

Is it ordinary soil for the egg-laying substrate? Not sand?


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## Malky

Do they grow wings?


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## jrf23

I think they do need a light source and not a lot will happen if you just stick them in an airing cupboard!

Slightly moist sand is the way forward. It's the best thing, as it doesn't collapse when they've laid their eggs in it.

Yeah, when they're full adults they do!


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## beardymadmad

how long do the adults live for because someone said they only live for a week so there would be no point they breed and then die isit? or do you just put the extra large locusts in instead of the adult ones?will they breed?pm thanks


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## beardymadmad

Bump Up!


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## jrf23

The entire lifespan of a locust can be upto 5 months I think, but in captivity it'll be less than that! Only the full adults can breed as they're the only ones with fully developed sexual organs.

They survive for quite a while as adults giving them plenty of time to breed. It takes them between 4 - 8 weeks to fully develop into adulthood. The thing about breeding them is
a) you don't have to pay for anymore
b) you naturally have to gut load them because you want them to breed
c) if you have a large colony, you can select the size of locust that suits your needs!


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## jrf23

Here's a good picture of the life cycles of a locust:


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## garysumpter

How do you collect the babies?


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## jrf23

I'm guessing you mean after they hatched and stuff? Otherwise, to start with just buy them from a shop! :lol2:

Only joking! Depends whether you mind touching them or not! I find the best thing to do is stick a plastic cup in on its side, then shoo as many as you can in with your hand! You can catch the bigger ones by hand or use tweezers etc to pick them up. A fish net is also quite good (a little one I mean!) When they're adult, they do have wings and will fly so watch for those that try and make a break for it! A good system to stop this is to buy a pair of tights, stick it over the top of whatever you're keeping them in, cut the feet of the tights and stick your arms down those! Then you can use both hands and none can get out!


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## beardymadmad

hi ive just done a 3ft by 2ft by 2ft and i orderd them and came 2day soo i put all 50 adult locusts in and all of them have been doing it since i put them in 5-6 have already laid in the soil and ive only just had them 2day!it seems like its going realy well!how big are the babies when they hatch?can u see them? pm thanks


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## gavlp20

Do You Use Peat For Them To Lay Their Eggs In I Have Tried Sand But They Dont Lay In It And I Can Not Kept To Sand Moist All The Time And Where Do You Get Your Adults From ?
Cheers
Gav


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## DannyHix

very helpfull thanks


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## Trevor

*fish house*

i breed tropical, fish my fish house is constant 80 degrees could i breed locusts in there using the heat in there my lights are on for about 10hours a day 
would i just use the adults i buy for my beardies


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## grumpyoldtrout

We have 2 boxes of crix out in a shed ATM, 24 X 24 X 18, too :censor: noisy to have in the house, using the boxes you get crix and locusts from the pet shop as laying tub, I have got 2 boxes of sand and 8 of soil that should have eggs in them. Aldi had an offer of a pollen mesh for hay-fever sufferers to put over there open windows, I have that as the top, lets light in and moisture out.

I would rather breed locusts though, everything seems to prefer them. So..... thanks for this, my next project seems sorted. :2thumb:


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## tryme

can babys be kept with adults after hatching?


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## monty2004

good advice


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## lil_jo84

Do you have to have separate tubs for adults... can they all live in the same viv from babies up


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## lil_jo84

Also is there a difference between male and females and if so what is a good ratio for a breeding colony?

Sorry if this seems dumb but only just started researching in to breeding locusts as I am currently going through 150 of various sizes a week


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## GAD58Y

this is also a good site about breeding locust and its got some good pictures 
Locusts
hope this helps 

graeme


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## Emily&Uluru

Wow that's some really good info, thanks.My 3(soon 2  )Locusts were all dead/dying very sad.


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## jennlovesfrogs

cheers for this! might give it a go sometime save me buying huge supplies all the time.


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## cat500

*Breeding locust is easy*

I followed the instructions on page 1, and it worked a treat. I thought I'd share the experience, and add a few details.

I have a glass tank (2 x 1 x 1.5 feet) bought from the local fish centre for £30. I have placed it on 2cm blocks (I used my kids lego), above a full size heat mat. This keeps the temperature at about 28 Celsius, and prevents the glass from overheating. I have a 40w heat lamp at one end. I have a lid made from a wooden frame, with mesh glued securely all the way round. I added a couple of sticks and some egg carton. Locust can climb glass tanks fairly easily, and they enjoy hanging from the mesh.

I put the heat lamp on manaully in the morning, and switch it off at night. The heat mat runs 24/7.

I bought some adult locust, but they were rubbish. I recommend buying 5th stage nymphs and growing them on (I put 15 in my tank). Most of mine were adults in 5-10 days. The adults live for ages (4 weeks). They need a week or so to mature before they start mating. Not sure on the male/female ratio, I just trust nature to get it right. What are the chances of all 15 nymphs being the same sex ??

The really important thing is the sand box for laying eggs. This MUST be at least 12cm deep, as the locust can stretch it's body a lot when laying. I bought some plastic storage containers, and cut them to size. I tried using a smaller box, and nothing ever hatched.

I used kiln dried sand, as I've heard that builders sand is not sterile enough for eggs to hatch. Kiln dried sand is £3 for 10Kg at the local garden centre.

Once I had moistened the sand and put it in the tank, all I did was squirt some water onto the top (through the mesh lid) every day or so. One thing I did notice was that the adult locusts would drink any splashed water. So don't get paranoid about a few drops missing the sand box

So far I have 50+ babies jumping round the tank with the adults. BEWARE the badies are small (obviously), and can escape, so make sure your mesh lid has no gaps. The babies are hard to catch, so I'm waiting till they grow a bit before moving them into a new home.

Food: Oats, Bran, Green Leaves & Fresh Cress (which I grow myself).

Hygene: I've just left the tank to fill up with all the crap. When the adults die I take them out. The tank is dry from the heatmap & lamp, so there really is no chance of mould/fungus breaking out.

Summary: It's easy. Just relax and the locust will look after themselves.


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## polly3000

hi there , do you have any photos of your locust breeding setup as i am wanting to have a go at breeding to try and save a bit of money. thank you


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## cat500

*Photos of my setup - More to follow*









This is the whole setup.

Glass tank supported by lego feet, on top of a heat mat.
Lamp on Right Hand Side
Sand Box on Left hand side
Assortment of egg boxes, cress boxes and general mess in the bottom of the tank.


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## pipster

One of, if not the best locust breeding info sheet i've found and it really is not that hard to do


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## cat500

*Population explosion*

20 more nymphs emerged over night. 

It looks like they prefer to hatch out when it's dark. Which makes sense.

Now for the tricky part of getting the babies into their own tank. The adult locust keep eating all the tasty fresh greens. I guess they're not really the paternal type !!


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## reptileLover18

iv just set up my own tank and 25 locusts are in, size 5's. they are quite quiet but always moving about every now and then i hear a little clicking noise, wat is this? thanks


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## cat500

My adults used to click, and I assumed it was them flapping their wings, but if your 5ths are doing this it isn't the wings.

A quick update on the breeding. 

1) I must at least 200 nymphs and I know there are more to hatch out.
2) All the adults (20) have been used for food by a friend who has some larger lizards.

If anybody in the MK/Bletchly area wants to collect locust for £1 a box (bring your own box!) then message me.


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## Optikal

I've just bought 40 odd 5th instar locusts, set them up in a tank, heat mat, bug water and fresh greens. Now we play the waiting game....


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## forteh

After setting up the locust farm about 8 weeks ago Ive finally had one of them sucessfully lay eggs in the sand! 

Hopefully give it a week or so and I should have some babies


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## swinder

I have a set up now with 16 adults in. They are mating away and laying eggs. The holes get filled in by other locusts. Hope this isnt a problem. Im going to take out the sand box once a week and place in a sepearte tank. Im using the tubs the locusts came in as sand boxes and they seem to be fine.


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## Jim2109

cat500 said:


> The babies are hard to catch, so I'm waiting till they grow a bit before moving them into a new home.


just a thought, but would it not be easier to move the adults into a seperate tank once babies start hatching? then the adults can do their business in the 2nd tank, whilst the babies in the first tank grow a bit, then once the 2nd tank is full of babies switch the adults back to the 1st one again, and just repeat the cycle. all assuming that the adults arent dead by then anyway, which they probably will be. ultimately you could end up with a constant lifecycle going, with locusts ranging from all sizes ad just transfer the larger ones around as required.

ive been thinking about breeding some locusts, theyre crazy expensive to buy as the main food source for lizards when you compare their prices with crickets, and if i had a free supply of locusts i could do away with crickets! my water dragons much prefer locusts anyway, and locusts are too slow to escape, struggle to survive in a typical UK house anyway, and even if they do, they drop dead after a couple of months anyway. which means no irritating crickets running all round the house breeding.

i might try something slightly different to what everyone else has been doing. because at present i only want 1st and 2nd instar locusts for my baby water dragons. so i might buy a box of adults, get them breeding, leave them breeding until they all die. and then just use the babies until the supply gets low enough that there is only a few weeks worth left. then buy another batch of adults, get them breeding in a 2nd tank, and just repeat that process over and over. 3 growing water dragons eat a shed load of locusts per day (they eat a whole tub between them per day and sometimes extras) so i think il probably still struggle to have enough locusts to feed them all the time, so i shouldnt end up with a surplus of locusts. i dont like the idea of tons of giant winged insects living in my house lol. 10-20 is fine, 100+ is not!!!


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## Khonsu

I'd guess its difficult to estimate but from say a single pair of adults how many off spring would you guess hatches each time around plus do they breed once then thats it or do they repeat, sorry if these are dumb questions but I've never tried breeding locust before.


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## Jim2109

not sure on the specifics of what people have done in captivity, but in the wild locust multiply 10-16 fold between generations. so id guess youll end up with somewhere between 10 and 16 times the number of adults you started with on the first breeding. however in captivity id imagine conditions are better and risks are removed so they might breed in larger quantities


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## Danny Action1

*what do you think???*

Im thinking of breeding my own locusts i have spare plastic tank (faun) the one with 2 entrys on the top lid. Do you think they will last in there??? and was thinknig of placing that over the hot end of my bearded dragon tank on the outside and just use the natural light in my bedroom do you think they will breed???? The ceramic does pump some heat out through the wooden viv and my room is light

Cheers Danny


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## Nihlus

Looking at starting to breed these for my leopard gecko and bearded dragon(once i get it) and i am wondering if locust do ok in the plastic/Rubbermaid containers?


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## forteh

Yes as long as you have plenty of ventilation, humidity kills them very quickly


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## Girlie

Very interesting..... may consider this option, my beardies are 'picky' eaters and prefer locusts, only one of them likes crickets


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## swift_wraith

why the removal of the babies? do the adults eat them?


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## Jim2109

swift_wraith said:


> why the removal of the babies? do the adults eat them?


no, they are just hard to harvest when they are hiding among a load of adults that flap around as soon as you stick your hand in.

i was seperating mine initially, but they mostly died off being kept in a kricket keeper, they were having trouble shedding properly. i keep all the babies in with the adults now and feed them off as and when. any that dont get fed and get too big will become the next group of adults.


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## crazycham

Wow, all this info is great. I'm definatley going to try this, as so many people have said, it's just so expensive buying locusts from the shop. My cham is only on 3-4's but he goes through like 10-15 a day! So this is a fantastic solution.

When i start breeding I'll keep ya posted.

CX:2thumb:


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## bosc2009

hi there, ive got a bosc monitor and he costs me a fortune in locust so I have just started breeding locust using your methods how long does it take for the adults to start laying eggs? :2thumb:


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## dan.hobley

i tried to breed, had like 23 adults..many were mating but i never saw any of them lay (didnt miss them either) no eggs were laid and no hatchlings born to date!!  bad time.maybe due to only having a heat bulb on and no heat meats...?


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## shane.tucker.royal08

Just bought 100 Adult locusts and gonna give this a go. Got a 64l insulated rub with heatmats, egg cartons, branches etc. Couple of things i'm not sure about:

substrate to lay in. Some say sand and some soil. Would Childs play sand work? or what have people been most sucessful with? 

Day/night light. Would normal daylight be enough to simulate the cycle? I've decided not to use a heatlight out of ease if not, the heatmats i;ve got runnin are enough to hold temps.

appreciate any help. 

Cheers


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## markhill

I used sharp sand that I had laying around in a bag in my shed, I suppose playsand would be ok but you have to keep it moist, and they will breed with no light what-so-ever which I ound surprising given where they're naturally from


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## shane.tucker.royal08

Cheers Mark.

I've had this set up for a week now, temps seem good. got a light on 12 hours a day and mats at night. I've got a big area of easily deep enough sand in there, kept moist but.....still no laying. The playsand seems to be ok, i can quite easily push a twig into it and it stays as a hole (doesnt collapse).

Any advice? i know a week isnt too long but got 100 of em in there so thought some should have layed by now.

How good are they at pushing their abdomen into the sand? i'm wondering if its a bit too compact?


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## shane.tucker.royal08

Pictures of the setup.... 64l rub with meshed lid. 2x heatmats and 40w bulb. about 1/3d area is sand. lots of egg carton and a few twigs.


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## shane.tucker.royal08

Any thoughts anyone? Still not laying. I'm starting to think its the sand - might try somet different.

Starting to loose my patients, these adults are gonna slowly get fed to my beardies if they don't perform!!!


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## Seansmegghead

Well failing Barry White music....

Picky females probs want a something less compact and loose to bury there arse in.


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## Jim2109

just because you havent seem them laying, doesnt mean they havent been laying!! i made this mistake once, emptied the sand out and found hundreds of unhatched eggs, which never hatched after that. the sand falls back in after they lay, it doesnt hinder the eggs hatching. just be patient and keep the sand moist. it can take several weeks before they hatch out, sometimes months.

personally i found a mixture of sand and soil to be better. it holds its consistency more so you can usually still see the laying holes for a day or 2 after. once a few locusts walk across the soil they fill the hole back in though.

patience is the key with locusts. ive eventually lost mine and given up, but i did have a couple of strong yields of hoppers, but lots of them died because i kept them in a seperate tank (and learnt from that mistake).

ive got plans for a much improved RUB setup that should be much more successful, but ive decided to give snails a try for now instead.


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## AaronNI

Great thread! Alot of interesting insights on this!

Going to get my own breeding program for locust's set up this weekend, I'll keep everyone posted  Your reps will obviously benefit from this as you can gutload them with what ever nutrients etc your reps need. 

"Save your money, Breed Your Locusts": victory:

Also, For people who breed them atm, How much roughly is it costing for you's to do this ? Like with heat mat etc


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## Whosthedaddy

Certainly food for thought as my Bosc does like a tub of locusts, 10-12 per tub doesn't last long and isn't cheap.

Get Christmas out of the way and I'll give it a bash.


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## Whosthedaddy

First attempt at allowing the locusts to breed started today:










Small RUB
Overhead bulb as heater.
Twigs and a few egg cartons
Weetabix / porridge oat substrate with a dash of fish food sprinkled in too.
Old feeder container filled with top soil and lightly packed down.
A bag of 50+ 5th instar locusts.

I left a few in some old containers for the next few days as to not disturb them too much and we will see. 

If it works then alls well and good, if not I have a bigger storage area for them before they get eaten.


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## forteh

Have you got enough perching height for them? Ideally they need to be able to hang undisturbed in 85-90*F heat in order to sucessfully moult, especially when moulting from 5th to adults as its the wings that need to dry out an more often than not are what causes the moult to fail.

Theres not enough ventilation in that rub aswell, you will find that putting greens in there will raise the humidty too much (especially once they have a decent layer of fresh crap in there). Ive found that a large flat faunarium is good for keeping them in, gives good access through the hatches aswell so minimal escapees; not hatchling proof though as they get through the vent slots.

Ideally you need to be feeding them fresh greens, the darker ones are preferred. Feeding bran/oats will keep them alive although I dont think they will thrive and mate as much. I spend abotu 1.50 a week on greens, that feeds a farm with 50-80 adults, 200 2-4th instars and 2-300 hatchlings.

You will also need a deeper tub than that, Ive had females get eggs down to the bottom of a 5" deep tub of soil


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## Whosthedaddy

I have drilled holes all round but yes may need more, initially bought to house a larger quantity rather than loads of small containers. I may try the old tight trick stretched over the top with one leg as access to prevent escapees.

They can hang around on the collection of twigs but may have difficulty when they shed as you suggest.


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## swift_wraith

anyone willing to do a complete start to finish pictorial on this?


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## spirit975

I used to breed locusts and am about to start again due to having a very hungry bosc!
Last time i used a deep plastic tub with a small heatmat taped to the back. I found the best laying pots were the plastic pint "glasses" you can buy for parties etc from Wilkos. I started with 50 adults and was overrun with them (literally) within weeks. I also found the very best food for them was fresh grass, they ate loads of it daily and it was free.
Best to avoid fishfood for locusts as they are strict vegetarians and they can't cope with animal protiens.
The only thing i will do differently this time is mesh the lid better as i had quite a few small escapees lol.


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## rach87

I'm considering giving this a go after christmas, any thoughts on the best substrate to use in the bottom of the tank? what has worked best for you guys?


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## daviey boy

hi there im thinking of breeding my own locusts ,im completley new to this and have always just bought in bulk before but its gotta be worth ago right / ,, i have a 2 foot by 18 by 18 tank heat mat underneath with a standard nulb above for sunshine stimulation. i will also be running another tank next to it for transfering adults after hatching.
im waiting for my locusts to moult to mature adults so as they can matei have one adult female but no others, is there any where specific i can buy ready to mate adults from ?? thanks


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## ESAB

I got my 50 locusts to sart breeding with, some too small so I think this will be a "practice" lot so I know I am getting temps right etc and they are staying alive, does it matter about the size of the tank, I am using an exo terra tank think its the second smallest size, not the cube one.


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## daviey boy

im using a 2 foot tank so no i dont think it matters to much about size of the tank as long as temps are good , well going of what ive read. ive lost a few of my adults allready , i think the mistake was buying them as adults ? , im gonna buy some younger ones an grow them on i think . as with you im using this first attempt as a practice run .. but please let me know how your attempt turns out


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## [email protected]

I found this PDF for keeping and breeding locust it has all the info you need
on keeping feeding sexing and breeding them.
http://www.reptilehouse.net/care/locust(27).pdf


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## daviey boy

very helpfull an interesting sharon thanks !! well im having no luck temps are good between 30 36 keeping the compost moist i have about 15 adults in the tank , but still no laying yet ?/ been about 2 weeks now but im treating this as a practice run .. im not to good a sexing them but i must have a female in there somewhere lol


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## ricardo1

davie from what i read males are yellow and females are beige in colour 


im setting up my locust breeding tank was going to put some aspen bedding on the bottom of the tank and thing of putting vermiculite and sand mixture in the egg layin box can any one think of any pros and cons to this ???
cheers for your time people :2thumb:


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## SteveCourty

I have mine set up and ive been unsure what to use in the laying box. I have one with kiln dried sand in (as its cooked it wont damage the eggs) and the other ive made some eco earth in there. Both of these are on a heat mat with a light straight above it on 8-6 every day on a dimming stat set at 30 (I read different temps in different places so ive got smack in the middle). Ive had it setup a week or so with about 10 adults in there and nothing so far. Ive also got on average 2 a day turning into adults for the past few days so should have a fair few by the end of the month. I started with about 450 locusts 100 size 2,3,4,5 a few boxes of adults and what I already had in stock (about 30 mainly 3s) so im hoping this will start a cycle.


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## ricardo1

ok i have had my adults in the tank about 5 days now and i checked up on them last nite and had 6 pairs mating and two pairs laying eggs not bad as i only had 17 adults  the sand and vermiculite mix had loads of holes in it so every thing is looking good


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## forteh

ricardo1 said:


> ok i have had my adults in the tank about 5 days now and i checked up on them last nite and had 6 pairs mating and two pairs laying eggs not bad as i only had 17 adults  the sand and vermiculite mix had loads of holes in it so every thing is looking good


Holes are usually just indicative that the females are probing a suitable lay site prior to actually laying; its a good indication that eggs are on the way though. When the eggs are actually laid they are backfilled with a white silk substance that can be seen in the hole and sometimes draped on the surface.


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## daviey boy

glad your having some luck , i have about 18 adults and 3 pairs have been at it like rabbits for the last week but still no laying , i have the temps right at around 30 degrees , i have 2 pots well over 7 inches deep , still nothing , maybe its the soil im using ? its just basic compost .. anythink i shud try something else ? how long after nookie should they lay eggs ?


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## [email protected]

daviey boy said:


> glad your having some luck , i have about 18 adults and 3 pairs have been at it like rabbits for the last week but still no laying , i have the temps right at around 30 degrees , i have 2 pots well over 7 inches deep , still nothing , maybe its the soil im using ? its just basic compost .. anythink i shud try something else ? how long after nookie should they lay eggs ?


I'm using sand for them to lay in so you can tell if they've been in their and it stops you from giving up and feeding them to your rep's.
It takes about a week for them to start laying but when they start you'll see holes in your egg laying box.
I've seen males on top off female when their laying they just don't give the females a brake.


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## shanehardy

*Re: Locust breeding*

hi ive followed your methods of breeding locusts and found everything to work its just i cant get the babies to hatch properly ive only got 5. ive got the 4inch tub of soil (the expanding soil that comes in blocks) on a heat mat that is connected to a thermomestat with the prob in ¾ of the way and set to 29◦c ive also got a seperate thermomestat with probe in the soil aswell reading routhly 29 to 31 24 hours a day. plus a 40w spotlight over the top of it and on for 11 hours a day but doesnt effect the temp i would be really gratefull if you could help me out i dont now what im doing wrong thankyou. you can contact me through this website or through my girlfriends email - [email protected] thanks again. 

Shane Hardy


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## shanehardy

*Re: Locust breeding*

hi ive followed your methods of breeding locusts and found everything to work its just i cant get the babies to hatch properly ive only got 5. ive got the 4inch tub of soil (the expanding soil that comes in blocks) on a heat mat that is connected to a thermomestat with the prob in ¾ of the way and set to 29◦c ive also got a seperate thermomestat with probe in the soil aswell reading routhly 29 to 31 24 hours a day. plus a 40w spotlight over the top of it and on for 11 hours a day but doesnt effect the temp i would be really gratefull if you could help me out i dont now what im doing wrong thankyou. you can contact me through this website or through my girlfriends email - [email protected] thanks again. 

Shane Hardy


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## forteh

No reason why your eggs shouldnt be hatching given the conditions youve described, is the ecoearth still moist? I put a plastic bag & elastic band/clingfilm over the top of the incubating pots to keep the moisture in, if its forming drops on the underside I uncover it and wipe them off.

The hatchlings need the moisture to hatch, chances are you have them too dry (especially with the lamp above them drying it out). Try adding alittle water to the tub and covering it, keep it at 29*C and you should get hoppers in 10-12 days.

You need to check under the cover daily to release any hoppers that have hatched; if too many hatch before you can harvest, they will die of overcrowding and humidity stress. When you come to release the hatchlings from under the cover Ive found putting the tub in the bath stops them escaping all over the place and makes collecting them with a pooter very easy


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## leopardgeckomad

the temps need to be above 100*c - i have experience..


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## Sziren

100*C.... that is burning hot, nothing can survive that heat...??


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## forteh

Locusts eggs incubate just fine at 80-85*F 
100*C is going to make omletes


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## shanehardy

okay m8 do u think i should move the tub away from the spotlight.
Everyday i have been misting them 2-3 times a day i have also been pouring little drops of luke warm water. the temp stays around 29 degrees. is that too hot for them as they have a heat mat underneath as well as the spotlight on top. 


shane


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## forteh

I would remove the tub and incubate it seperately, put a fresh tub in for more eggs and cycle them in turn. Its possible that youre making the eggs too wet, try adding a bit of water and cover them whilst you incubate. You shouldnt need to add any extra water.


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## ricardo1

my locusts have been laying eggs for well over 2 weeks now i have sand and vermiculite mixed in live food tubs sat straight on top of heat mat but the eggs just dont seam to hatch there are loads in there the bottom of the tub is totaly full of them.. they are a light brown colour... any idears why they ain hatching ?? thanks richard


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## forteh

Is the media moist enough? Try adding some water to moisten it and keep it covered with some clingfilm. If the eggs are brown they might be dead, I dont think the cricket tubs are deep enough and you may have cooked the eggs as there might not be enough insulation around them. Ive had no issues incubating in 5" flowerpots with soil/vermiculite mix, I did find all the eggs died when in sand though.


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## ricardo1

they are kept pretty moist i put a flower pot in there as well around two weeks ago so hopefully some will hatch from there the flower pot is straight on top of the heat mat which is unstated do you think this is ok ??
thanks for your time


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## forteh

It depends on how hot the heatmat gets Ive found that putting the pot on a surface at 95*f will give the eggs the right temperature of about 85*f. Putting the pots in a 9l rub, directly on top of a 16x11 unstatted heatmat worked quite well. 
If you still dont get any joy then try setting up a polybox incubator with a heatmat, stat and layer of egg tray to rest the pots on; put the probe near the top of the pots. Set to give a temperature of 80*f on the top of the media, this should give the eggs about 85. An IR thermometer is very useful for instantly checking the media temps, I aim for 90 at the bottom of the tub and 80 at the top.


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## _Ben_

Im quite new to this, so sorry if its a silly question. How big are the hatchlings? Are we talking less than 5mm? Just want to make what ever I house them in will be escape proof.


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## forteh

About 5-8mm long, Ive found that they dont crawl through holes about 3mm diameter so I wouldnt worry about those, they can however escape through the slots in a faunarium (learnt that the hard way!).

If they have a heat source they probably wont want to escape


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## _Ben_

Ok so I have set up a test faunarium, with extra mesh glued over the vents to prevent any escape artists. And theres afew adults in there now, two have difinately paired up, and are 'cuddleing in a special way' all day long. My question is what do the eggs look like? as I have found yellow like capsuals clustered together just about on the floor. Not sure if these are eggs? and the locusts havent found my jars of moist sand? or is it just poo? haha


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## Tarn~Totty

I have babies!! Ive had a tank full of locusts mating and laying for the last 2/3 weeks...didnt think anything was going to hatch! They were not there this morning, had a look this afternoon and found about 8 of these:










Im well pleased. I now have locusts and roaches on the go, breeding away, and looked at my waxworm culture today...found moths!! Will soon be feeding all home bred feeders (fingers crossed) : victory:


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## Catfud

Congrats on your new locusts! :2thumb:

Has anyone had much success in using just a heatmat and no spot light?


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## forteh

They dont need light, if you can use heatmats to get the temperature up enough then they will breed


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## _Ben_

Does anyone know how to sex locusts? As mine are all turning into adults, and they are all either pinky or beige colour, none are yellow. I would hate for them all to turn out the same sex :lol2:


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## _Ben_

_Ben_ said:


> Does anyone know how to sex locusts? As mine are all turning into adults, and they are all either pinky or beige colour, none are yellow. I would hate for them all to turn out the same sex :lol2:


Anyone?


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## Nihlus

_Ben_ said:


> Does anyone know how to sex locusts? As mine are all turning into adults, and they are all either pinky or beige colour, none are yellow. I would hate for them all to turn out the same sex :lol2:


Females have a larger abdomen, it will be longer than their wings.

Males have a shorter abdomen which will be hidden by their wings.


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## _Ben_

Nihlus said:


> Females have a larger abdomen, it will be longer than their wings.
> 
> Males have a shorter abdomen which will be hidden by their wings.


 
Looks like I will have to go and get a tub of females, mine all seem to be males


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## ricardo1

they take a while to turn to adult colours they all start pink and change


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## Tarn~Totty

Yep...took a good couple of weeks for mine to change colour...the difference in colour and size gave away their sex (smaller yellow ones male, larger pink/buff ones females)


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## shep1979

i found my first babys today , well impressed, sexing locust adults have , 6 sections on there abdoum with females and 7 for males


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## ukaz87

*Web*

The white web thing known as FROTH is there to protect the eggs also helps hatchling to find their way out:2thumb:


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## OrigamiB

Important question that im sure alot need to know - How small is small??

I hear of alot of people getting escapee baby locusts... even out of the ventilation gaps in faunariums, and there small gaps! If I was to do this in a rub, I need to know how big my ventilation holes need to be to stop them!


----------



## Will-2k9

OrigamiB said:


> Important question that im sure alot need to know - How small is small??
> 
> I hear of alot of people getting escapee baby locusts... even out of the ventilation gaps in faunariums, and there small gaps! If I was to do this in a rub, I need to know how big my ventilation holes need to be to stop them!


Id suggest you put a pair of tights over the top of the RUB if i was you as i doubt you'll be able to drill a hole small enough that they wont be able to get out of. some of them are as small as 3mm or so.

Got my first load of baby hoppers! Wasnt expecting them at all as i thought the soil dried out a little too much a couple of times. Well chuffed. Although i cant find much info on rearing them from babies.


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## ukaz87

With the young hoppers you wont be needing your lay box in the tank dont keep them with the locust tho seperate them keeping humidity low and they are really no different to rear really


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## Tarn~Totty

OrigamiB said:


> Important question that im sure alot need to know - How small is small??
> 
> I hear of alot of people getting escapee baby locusts... even out of the ventilation gaps in faunariums, and there small gaps! If I was to do this in a rub, I need to know how big my ventilation holes need to be to stop them!


You might be better getting some fine mesh, drilling some holes or cutting out a section, then covering with the mesh. I got some from ebay for about a fiver...very fine metal, was easy to cut to size using scissors...much better than the pair of tights I used as the locusts bit holes all over them lol.

I keep mine all together...adults, hoppers and juvies. Ive had no problems with anyone eating anyone else, but I do have them in a very large set up (converted set of 5 drawers) so they have plenty of room to get away from each other if they want to :lol2:


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## Gemstone Dragons

Tarn~Totty said:


> You might be better getting some fine mesh, drilling some holes or cutting out a section, then covering with the mesh. I got some from ebay for about a fiver...very fine metal, was easy to cut to size using scissors...much better than the pair of tights I used as the locusts bit holes all over them lol.
> 
> I keep mine all together...adults, hoppers and juvies. Ive had no problems with anyone eating anyone else, but I do have them in a very large set up (converted set of 5 drawers) so they have plenty of room to get away from each other if they want to :lol2:


i have used silicone to glue tights over the vent holes in the lid, think i will change this for mesh instead now lol


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## mrhoyo

Anyone managed it in a 50l RUB? I've got my roaches breeding away in one at about 34c on my rack with a 50l space next to them.


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## mickyworm

markhill said:


> There's been a load of threads recently about how to breed Locusts, so I thought I'd tell people how I do it.
> 
> Housing
> I use two large tanks (24x15x20", WDH), one for adults and one for grown on locusts that are near adults.
> Once the Locusts have turned to adults they get moved into the adult tank to replace any that have died off.
> Both tanks have full vented lids and egg cartons inside for extra ground space and to hang from during moulting.
> 
> Temperature/Humidity
> I use a reflector bulb pointing down at one end of the tank to simulate sunshine and heat mats underneath and around the edges of the same end of the tank, the bulb is on from 6am to 8pm and during the night the heat mats do the work.
> This holds the temperature at about 28c-30c 24 hours a day with a day/night cycle.
> Keep the humidity as low as possible, which the full mesh top will help with.
> 
> Food/water
> I feed my Locusts on bran and veg, any veg that I feed my BD's on is good,I make sure they they never run out of food.
> I don't provide my Locusts with a water bowl, I've found that they drown and are perfectly OK with water obtained from their veg.
> 
> Breeding
> Providing the temperatures aren't too cold I have found that adults will mate without any help.
> Provide a few tubs with 10cm (4 inches) of soil for egg laying,ice-cream tubs are good for this, position these tubs over the heat mats and keep the soil moist but not soaking.
> You can remove the tubs to separate incubating tanks if you want to (incubate at 28c) but I don't have the room so I leave them in with the adults and they do fine.
> You should be able to see that eggs have been layed because there will be holes in the soil where the Locust has pushed the entire rear end if its body into the soil to lay the eggs, you may also see "spiderweb" looking white stuff on the surface of the soil, this comes out with the eggs and is normal.
> Once the eggs have been layed it usually takes around 10 days for the baby Locusts to start digging their way out of the soil, I then collect them and keep them in cricket tubs with a piece of egg carton and feed them the same as adults.
> Once the babies have got bigger they are either fed off to my animals or put back into the tub to become adults and lay their own eggs.
> 
> These are only my own methods which I have found to work well and may or may not work for others.


is there anywere i can buy a set-up to breed these ?


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## swift_wraith

mickyworm said:


> is there anywere i can buy a set-up to breed these ?


make one, all you need is marine ply and some acrylic. Mine took me 3 hours to build and that was only cos i stopped for a brew halfway. Mine cost me a total of £30 to make.


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## throbmagon

*First locust setup*

:2thumb: Hi all,
My first post to this brill forum, I have tried to follow the method for breeding locust as posted on first page and have bought only 8 hoppers two days ago.
Have them in a 3ftx1ftx1.5ft fish tank with heat pad(from my home brew kit) under one end with 60 watt light bulb above.
A few branches and small egg carton for decor and feeding with grass/crushed cat food/greens.
Three have molted into adults and will soon put in something for them to lay eggs in.
Cant monitor the heat too well but think i can keep it steady at round 26-28c.
Took some pic's but have no idea how to put them on here :blush:.
Will let you know how it goes when i put the laying substrate (silver sand) in.


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## throbmagon

A quick update--
All my hoppers bar 1 have moulted and i decided to go a bit bigger and bought 50 adult locust.
The new locust seem to be a different colour than mine(beige/green), mine are a pinkie colour so have no idea what sex they are????? Think it might be a bit too early to tell.
I have put two glass jars of damp silver sand in for laying medium and will be putting a 23"x11" heat mat under the fish tank as well as the 60watt bulb for heating.
Feeding them dark greens/live tub of grass/oats.
Fingers crossed i will have some eggs for my labour in a few weeks time.:2thumb:


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## Dan P

How long is the life cycle of a locust?


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## alspider

help i brought some hoppers and as they are molting into adults they are turning strange,bent legs and not developed wings ! all temps are right and they have cane to climb on but they seem to molt on or near the floor.


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## chrisdaniells

How many locusts are produced per week?


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## igmillichip

I'm pasting a post that I initially made on an Irish Forum and a Chameleon Forum some years ago. 
(the pictures are quite large in photobucket, so you may need to scroll across in some browsers).

*Locust Breeding.*​











*Locusts are a good challenge:*
The newly hatched are good small-food;
The various instars are excellent for all sorts of herps.
Adults are an added fun for larger creatures such as larger chameleons.
They do not smell as bad as crickets
They make great pets in their own right.
They are bit more difficult to breed than, say, crickets.
It has a great deal to do with timing hormone coincidences….a bit more so than with crickets maybe? 

*The Tank.*
I keep my breeders in an 18inch tall ExoTerra viv (it is one that I had spare).

The tank is fairly spacious, it is well ventilated with an extractor fan (from a computer) placed on top to keep the tank airy and dry. Locusts will succumb to fungal infections in damp enclosed conditions.

A heatmat on the backwall gives a minimum temp overnight. A 60 watt spotlight is placed inside and switched on during the day. This should raise the temperature to the low-to-mid 30s celcius.

There is a small scattering of coco husk on the floor.
There are stages (perches) of egg-boxes to give various sitting sites (behind the bulb-system)

Inside the tank are placed breeding sites:
I use either coffee jars filled to the brim with moist sand/coco-husk mix and topped with moist sand, or old live-food containers filled with the same mix.











_Fig2. The Locust breeding tank. With heatmat (A), shallow breeding tub (B) and deeper breeding tub (C)._ . Staging is behind the aluminium foil divider.





*The Locusts*

Make sure you have a mix of male and female (and not just one sex)
*
Feed them well. They need a lot of food.* (Fresh growths on grass is the best food of all.)
Scatter some gut-feed and bran on the ground.
Most importantly…..plenty (I mean plenty) of vegetable matter. I prefer to clippings with plenty of young shoots of grass to get the males into breeding condition. You could use cabbage (but it stinks).
Coriander stems, dandelion leaves, and sliced carrots are a good supplement. 
*Keep them as crowded as possible....crowding induces breeding.*

*Are they breeding or what?*
Locusts may clamber onto each others backs anyway, but during copulation the male is on top facing the same direction as the female and he wraps his abdomen downwards and below the females abdomen (wrapped a bit like crossing your fingers), then the tip of his abdomen is raised upwards towards the females tip. (I could of though of easier ways of getting to the same position….but that is locusts for you).











_fig3. Male (A) and female (B) locusts about to copulate._










_fig4. Close of tips of abdomens of male (A) and female (B)._

Now, the next bit depends upon the temperature: the female will lay the eggs in about 7 to 14 days.

I tend to give a good spraying (with luke-warm water) to the tank to help induce the egg-laying. 
The breeding compost needs to be moist but not soggy. 
You may find a solitary female laying the eggs, but I generally note that the male rides on her back (but not copulating) as she hunts for a breeding site and lays the eggs. 











_fig5. Female pushing abdomen into moist sand to lay eggs (in an ootheca)_

She will test the surface first with the tip of her abdomen. Then, if the compost is suitable, she will push her abdomen into the compost (upto about 4inches)


The female will firstly deposit a foam-like substance into which she lays the eggs (note that whilst I am tempted to give the proper terms, I’m using layman’s terms here).






















_fig 5 & 6. egg deposit holes. If sand is just moist, the hole will not fill-in._

If the compost is of the correct moisture content, the hole should still be visible when the female has left. If the compost is too dry then the hole will collapse if you are using sand.


If you use glass or plastic breeding sites then you may be able to see the foam tunnel if eggs are laid close to the sides.










_fig7. Foam with eggs (ootheca)_

Incubate at 30-32 Celsius for 7 to 14 days. Hopefully, you should get baby hatchlings; these should be fed bran mash and grass (coriander as well).





















_fig 8 and 9. Young hoppers 14 days afters after laying. First food is grass._
For the keen eyed, there maybe some young crickets in there. 
*
To recap on The Key things are*: 
well fed adults (male and female of course, and fed on grass shoots); heat; dampish egg-laying media; heat; and feed the young (grass clippings). Mating-to-hatching.....just over 2 weeks.
Hints to best success include......overcrowding, perches, and mimicking a bit of rain just prior to laying.

*Other Notes*
Locust's life-span is rather variable.
The life-span from *3 to 6 months * would be a good average (but maybe upto 9/10 months....not sure what the record is though). This depends upon environmental conditions.

After hatching, it can take *1 to 2 months* to reach adult hood (but may take longer). That will depend upon conditions/food.

there are more hints to manipulating the breeding that given above:
eg, If you want to increase the number of eggs layed then isolate females after copulation (I don't bother with this).

Ian Millichip
​


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## michellew

We used to breed locusts at school way back when and used test tubes for them to lay in (in sand) probably more for us to monitor development - great project for kids though as the life cycle is reasonably short to keep their attention plus free food for the beasties


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## Atomic7431

ok looks a very good idea indeed, would you say the feeding and heating costs to breed them is a lot cheaper than buying them at 1.50 a tub ?


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## degy1

Thanks for the info great stuff  

Noticed a comment about Crickets smelling? It's more the rotting food that smells rather than the Crix themselves, i just remove uneaten food every day or 2 with tweezers and replace with fresh


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## jamie11

i decided to give it a go and they've started to hatch! i've got 16 at the moment

this thread helped me out alot, thanks!


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## annscave

*Thanks*

Got my locusts today box of 50 I will feed some to geckos and grow some on for breeding. I dont have much space so will try keeping babies with adults.


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## shelley2010

after reading many mixed reviews im still unsure of what to put in my my lay box, im going to buy all the stuff weekend, i was also wondering instead of a heat mat could i keep them on top of my collard lizard viv, where his light bulb is (its 100watt as he needs it very hot) would calcium sand wok if i sprayed it to make it moist

this is my plan:
* fauniums for different sizes 
* in the large faunium have a grub box for laying with a tight mesh over top for hatchlings 
* hatchings to be removed and put in there own box, have seen how small these are as orded the wrong size from an ebay shop once, so think bath, with the plug in would be best idea or to remove adults into a sepearte box to do the deed in 
* keep on a heatmat (just winged adults) or keep ontop of the collards basking spot
* feeding all with peeled carrots or veg, remove any bits that are rotting and replace with fresh food
* wait for results

i have 3 bearded dragons 1 gecko and 1 collard lizard and buying 8-15 (depending on size) in a tub at £1.95 from the pet shop is proving a bit costly! i already keep large and xl in a faunium seperatly as its easier then getting them out those stupid boxes from the pet shop.can any one advise on if my plan is correct or i should change anything many thanks in advance


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## Guest

Heres how a friend of mine does it 

Breeding locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) for live food


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## Tarron

I just wanted to show off my setup.

I get this breeding cage off a lovely couple on Freecycle, so it obviously cost me nothing so far. It's 3ft long, 2ft high and 1.5ft deep. It is split in to 2 1.5ft wide sections, each with space for a bulb. It's plexi glass front and top with mesh on the back and sides (very small mesh) with a larger spaced mesh bottom for waste to fall through. Each side has a pull out tray to collect waste.
The centre dividing mesh can be removed to make it one large cage.
The tops have locks on to prevent the kids getting in to it.
Also supplied was 2 plexi glad slides that can cover the large mesh so hatchlings won't be escaping downwards.

Now for the pictures.










The whole setup, I need a new bulb holder for the left hand side so currently only using the one side. Seeing as I've not ordered the bulk locust to start breeding, I've only got a few xl locust to feed off.
I will be getting some egg crate from the bar I help out at, and some plastic pint glasses for laying in.


This pic is just the locust, hanging out, keeping warm.











The eggs will be going in the other side with a plexi slide to hatch and grow on. Any subsequent adults will be put in the next side to breed


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## Jamesferrassie

can i use compost for the laying box?


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## kooky1

briliant! just what i wanted to know :2thumb:


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## supernaturalfan

*Eggs not hatching?*

This is a great thread, really good guide to getting set up which I've done quite successfully, using the guide of course 

I've had my locusts for about 2 months now; they're mating no problem and the females are laying in the sand no problem, evident by the big huge holes they leave behind  I keep the sand moist, trying not to soak it. 

Some of the holes are almost a month old and nothing's hatched. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.

The set-up's all the same; bulb for heat and light on timer to be on during the day, heat mat mounted on tank on 24/7. 

Most posts and other online resources say 10-14 days to hatch; it's been well over that in my case and nothing's hatched so far. In one post (#67), Jim2109 says that it can be several weeks and sometimes months before anything hatches.

So I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if I should just leave everything the same and wait and see if anything hatches!?


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## Jamesferrassie

supernaturalfan said:


> This is a great thread, really good guide to getting set up which I've done quite successfully, using the guide of course
> 
> I've had my locusts for about 2 months now; they're mating no problem and the females are laying in the sand no problem, evident by the big huge holes they leave behind  I keep the sand moist, trying not to soak it.
> 
> Some of the holes are almost a month old and nothing's hatched. Not sure what I'm doing wrong.
> 
> The set-up's all the same; bulb for heat and light on timer to be on during the day, heat mat mounted on tank on 24/7.
> 
> 
> 
> Most posts and other online resources say 10-14 days to hatch; it's been well over that in my case and nothing's hatched so far. In one post (#67), Jim2109 says that it can be several weeks and sometimes months before anything hatches.
> 
> So I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if I should just leave everything the same and wait and see if anything hatches!?


 
Hi mate!

Good job on getting he locust to mate and lay!! 
I would advise putting the lay boxes into a faunarium (to stop the locust escaping when they hatch) and then into an incubator. you can make a very basic one out of polystyrene and just put a heat mat in there which will need to be kept on 24/7 whilst incubatin

You will also need to keep the laying boxes moist during incubation. if you do this, you should have locust hatchlings appearing within a couple weeks. If all goes well, you will have no end of the blitters haha!

I hope that helps and makes some sense.

Cheers


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## Sooty_

Thumbs up. Cheers for that


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## LFG

Good freecycle find. Those locust cages cost a fortune to buy, all my local freecycle ever has to offer is crumbling furniture and defunct electronics...


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## Tarron

LFG said:


> Good freecycle find. Those locust cages cost a fortune to buy, all my local freecycle ever has to offer is crumbling furniture and defunct electronics...


I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw this cage up. I'd only just persuaded the wife to let me breed them, not even put a wanyed up this was offered, and very close to me. Normally freecycle is rubbish!
Although, I've not managed to breed anything yet. Would you say night heat is vital? As it does get cold in the desert?
I think one month I need to buy a few hundred, so some last longer than the amount my Beardies get through.


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## HotReptile

best post ever lol will save me a lot of money


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## kitschyduck

Would it be possible to breed locusts in a 12” x 12” x 12” Exo-Terra Terrarium or is that too small? I don't need many for just two ackies and the odd few for a BTS, but any locusts breeding at all is a bonus, or even just getting them to live longer.


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## Dubia82

Tarron... I wouldn't say night time heat is _vital, _but I would guess it would slow down their reproduction and growth rates as compared to round the clock heat.

kitschyduck... 12*12*12 should be large enough. I've got mine in a rub not too much larger, maybe double volume at most, and that holds maybe 40 adults without trouble. I find a larger container makes it easier for me to tend to them and for them to not irritate each other too much.


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## kitschyduck

Dubia82 said:


> kitschyduck... 12*12*12 should be large enough. I've got mine in a rub not too much larger, maybe double volume at most, and that holds maybe 40 adults without trouble. I find a larger container makes it easier for me to tend to them and for them to not irritate each other too much.


Thanks! I'd rather save my biggest Exo-Terra for some actual reptiles instead 

One more question - What wattage is the bulb you use for yours? Just wondering what bulb to try first. Since it's a small tank for them, I imagine I'd need a lower wattage than other people use. Maybe a normal 40W bulb?


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## Dubia82

They don't seem too fussy about how their heat/light is provided.

I just use a heatmat inside my rub. I have it centrally, then line the bottom with newspaper and a good layer of oats. They get natural light and also light from my BD viv.

My setup is very simple, but so far effective.


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## kitschyduck

Ahh, no worries then! I've got a temperature gun arriving from Amazon, so I'll see if a heatmat will do in the pet room. Should really be warm enough for them now winter's almost over at least


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## colesy4

Nice thread, thanks for the help.


----------



## madasaferret

*soil quality*

Hi,

I'm looking to breed locusts, but what type of soil have u used ?

Some soils are no-doubt too acidic/alcaline.

What do u use ?

Regards,
Mark


----------



## Eddie H

*Incubation*

I was successful a couple of years ago (down to beginners luck), not sure what the incubation temperature was! I am now using a bigger setup and have plenty eggs. It's coming up to two weeks and still no hatchlings from the first batch. The floor temperature is ranging from 27degrees to 33degrees. I wonder if I am cooking the eggs, hence no babies?

Also, if the substrate is too damp, could I be drowning the eggs?

Eddie


----------



## supernaturalfan

Eddie H said:


> I was successful a couple of years ago (down to beginners luck), not sure what the incubation temperature was! I am now using a bigger setup and have plenty eggs. It's coming up to two weeks and still no hatchlings from the first batch. The floor temperature is ranging from 27degrees to 33degrees. I wonder if I am cooking the eggs, hence no babies?
> 
> Also, if the substrate is too damp, could I be drowning the eggs?
> 
> Eddie


Hi Eddie, I doubt you're cooking the eggs, in fact it sounds like it might not be hot enough. Information below is taken from the Locust handbook; 10-14 days is in the hottest temperatures with cooler climates and seasons taking 25 days and even up to 70 days in cold weather.

It's also the soil temperature that's important so 27 to 33 degrees floor temperatures probably means a soil temperature much lower than that. So it sounds like not enough heat is the problem.

As for drowning I'm not sure, some locusts lay eggs during monsoon seasons and that doesn't seem to affect the eggs. They need some moisture which the eggs absorb during their development. If there is no water they become dormant until rewetted.

I keep my soil moist rather than wet and have had no problem with hatchlings. Lots of heat and some moisture seems to work for me. 

2.1. 3. INCUBATION PERIOD AND HATCHING
The rate at which eggs develop varies according to the soil temperature. The period of egg development, between laying and hatching, is called the INCUBATION PERIOD.
The lengths of this period recorded for different areas and seasons are as follows:-

Summer breeding in Sudan, *Ethiopia *and West *Africa...*.........................................10 *to *14 days

Summer breeding in lowlands of India .....................................................................10 *to *14 days

Summer and winter in Somali Peninsula................................................................... 10 *to *14 days 

Summer and winter on Red Sea Coast.................................................................... 10 *to *14 days

Spring breeding in central Arabia, southern Iran,
Pakistan and North Africa....................................................................................... 25 to 30 days

Winter/spring breeding elsewhere in Middle East
and in North Africa, in exceptionally cold weather.................................................... 60 to 70 days

In warmer weather ..................................................................................................20 to 30 days


----------



## Eddie H

*.*

Thanks for the info. I appreciate your prompt reply.

Eddie




supernaturalfan said:


> Hi Eddie, I doubt you're cooking the eggs, in fact it sounds like it might not be hot enough. Information below is taken from the Locust handbook; 10-14 days is in the hottest temperatures with cooler climates and seasons taking 25 days and even up to 70 days in cold weather.
> 
> It's also the soil temperature that's important so 27 to 33 degrees floor temperatures probably means a soil temperature much lower than that. So it sounds like not enough heat is the problem.
> 
> As for drowning I'm not sure, some locusts lay eggs during monsoon seasons and that doesn't seem to affect the eggs. They need some moisture which the eggs absorb during their development. If there is no water they become dormant until rewetted.
> 
> I keep my soil moist rather than wet and have had no problem with hatchlings. Lots of heat and some moisture seems to work for me.
> 
> 2.1. 3. INCUBATION PERIOD AND HATCHING
> The rate at which eggs develop varies according to the soil temperature. The period of egg development, between laying and hatching, is called the INCUBATION PERIOD.
> The lengths of this period recorded for different areas and seasons are as follows:-
> 
> Summer breeding in Sudan, *Ethiopia *and West *Africa...*.........................................10 *to *14 days
> 
> Summer breeding in lowlands of India .....................................................................10 *to *14 days
> 
> Summer and winter in Somali Peninsula................................................................... 10 *to *14 days
> 
> Summer and winter on Red Sea Coast.................................................................... 10 *to *14 days
> 
> Spring breeding in central Arabia, southern Iran,
> Pakistan and North Africa....................................................................................... 25 to 30 days
> 
> Winter/spring breeding elsewhere in Middle East
> and in North Africa, in exceptionally cold weather.................................................... 60 to 70 days
> 
> In warmer weather ..................................................................................................20 to 30 days


----------



## simon31uk

hey guys
need advice
i just caught 2 locusts mating and the female sticking her end in the sand
but she covered the hole up 
why has this happend i thought there supposed to leave the holes open


----------



## Dubia82

I wouldn't worry Simon... she was either testing or she's plugged the hole.

I get both in mine and wouldn't worry, they'll do their thing... if she's doing anything with the sand it's a good sign. If this is the first time you've spotted this behaviour it could be that they are starting to get there. She could even have laid. Ideally, they deposit the eggs then plug up the hole with a white gel like substance to seal it; the hatchlings can get through it no prob.

Just keep conditions correct and they should be fine, patience is the key with locusts.

If you are using clear containers for them to lay in, you will often see evidence of laying through the sides (at least once things have got going properly).


----------



## beccaj91

Me and my partner have just started trying to breed our livefood. seen what i thought was a hole in the sand he disagreed but then today i noticed it has the white spiderweb like stuff on so exciting hopefully will have some babies soon :-D


----------



## simon31uk

hey guys 
thanks for info dubia
but today ive found my female as laid her eggs on a branch 
is this normal and will they survive i have bulb on 12h a day 
hope some1 can reply fairly quick as ive 7 couples mating like rabbits here lol


----------



## Dubia82

It's not a good thing and the egss wont survive there...

...the locust must have felt that was a better place to lay/dump them than the laying pot, so the laying pot needs to be more suitable. It could be temperture, humidity, density and makeup of the laying sand or even just that they need better access to the sand.


----------



## AOTP

I had never tried locusts before and wasnt going to do a massive amount of work to try it, i thought id be pretty varied like nature and just experiement. this is what happened.

I feed my locusts on the leaves off plants in my back garden, use two 60 watt bulbs and a small heatmat under the centre of a glass viv.

Ambient temps peak at around 40 near the bulbs 35ish everywhere else and 30 at the bottom.

My xl locusts moulted into adults within 4 days of having them, the adults then took about a week to begin to breed, by 2 weeks they were all at it and probing holes in my lay boxes.

Sand lay boxes are crappy, I used a 40/40/20 sand soil vermiculite mix and had the entire tub filled with holes in hours no joke, some went right up against the plastic so i could see all the eggs.

About 12 days went by with me giving the tubs a good spray every day, and then pow, i had 50 or so hatch out during the night.

My lay boxes are kept in the viv with the adults and babies as i wanted to keep it as simple as i could. Just when they had many many holes in i covered each tub with mesh to stop any more being laid. 

From 50 locust adults I must have had 40 or so holes in a week long period and they are now hatching every day,

My setup isnt what id like to call perfect i wasnt that regular with the spraying and had no real decent way to tell how the temp or the boxes or moisture was doing but from the egg cases i can see against the plastic, the ones on the very bottom dry too fast as its too hot and the ones middle to top seem to swell fast and hatch so in future i will use deeper boxes up to 10inches deep. And sand is crap dont use it it compacts too much and i have had no hatchlings from the sand box.


My wall of txt hope it helps. :mf_dribble:


----------



## ryan05

*Breeding locust*

Ive been looking into breeding locust for a while now and this is a really helpful thread

Im going to get a couple of vivs set up in the next couple of days ready to start breeding.

Cheers guys : victory:


----------



## Yemen

markhill said:


> There's been a load of threads recently about how to breed Locusts, so I thought I'd tell people how I do it.
> 
> Housing
> I use two large tanks (24x15x20", WDH), one for adults and one for grown on locusts that are near adults.
> Once the Locusts have turned to adults they get moved into the adult tank to replace any that have died off.
> Both tanks have full vented lids and egg cartons inside for extra ground space and to hang from during moulting.
> 
> Temperature/Humidity
> I use a reflector bulb pointing down at one end of the tank to simulate sunshine and heat mats underneath and around the edges of the same end of the tank, the bulb is on from 6am to 8pm and during the night the heat mats do the work.
> This holds the temperature at about 28c-30c 24 hours a day with a day/night cycle.
> Keep the humidity as low as possible, which the full mesh top will help with.
> 
> Food/water
> I feed my Locusts on bran and veg, any veg that I feed my BD's on is good,I make sure they they never run out of food.
> I don't provide my Locusts with a water bowl, I've found that they drown and are perfectly OK with water obtained from their veg.
> Started my own colony today: victory:
> Breeding
> Providing the temperatures aren't too cold I have found that adults will mate without any help.
> Provide a few tubs with 10cm (4 inches) of soil for egg laying,ice-cream tubs are good for this, position these tubs over the heat mats and keep the soil moist but not soaking.
> You can remove the tubs to separate incubating tanks if you want to (incubate at 28c) but I don't have the room so I leave them in with the adults and they do fine.
> You should be able to see that eggs have been layed because there will be holes in the soil where the Locust has pushed the entire rear end if its body into the soil to lay the eggs, you may also see "spiderweb" looking white stuff on the surface of the soil, this comes out with the eggs and is normal.
> Once the eggs have been layed it usually takes around 10 days for the baby Locusts to start digging their way out of the soil, I then collect them and keep them in cricket tubs with a piece of egg carton and feed them the same as adults.
> Once the babies have got bigger they are either fed off to my animals or put back into the tub to become adults and lay their own eggs.
> 
> These are only my own methods which I have found to work well and may or may not work for others.


Started my own colony today


----------



## tomcannon

AOTP said:


> I had never tried locusts before and wasnt going to do a massive amount of work to try it, i thought id be pretty varied like nature and just experiement. this is what happened.
> 
> I feed my locusts on the leaves off plants in my back garden, use two 60 watt bulbs and a small heatmat under the centre of a glass viv.
> 
> Ambient temps peak at around 40 near the bulbs 35ish everywhere else and 30 at the bottom.
> 
> My xl locusts moulted into adults within 4 days of having them, the adults then took about a week to begin to breed, by 2 weeks they were all at it and probing holes in my lay boxes.
> 
> Sand lay boxes are crappy, I used a 40/40/20 sand soil vermiculite mix and had the entire tub filled with holes in hours no joke, some went right up against the plastic so i could see all the eggs.
> 
> About 12 days went by with me giving the tubs a good spray every day, and then pow, i had 50 or so hatch out during the night.
> 
> My lay boxes are kept in the viv with the adults and babies as i wanted to keep it as simple as i could. Just when they had many many holes in i covered each tub with mesh to stop any more being laid.
> 
> From 50 locust adults I must have had 40 or so holes in a week long period and they are now hatching every day,
> 
> My setup isnt what id like to call perfect i wasnt that regular with the spraying and had no real decent way to tell how the temp or the boxes or moisture was doing but from the egg cases i can see against the plastic, the ones on the very bottom dry too fast as its too hot and the ones middle to top seem to swell fast and hatch so in future i will use deeper boxes up to 10inches deep. And sand is crap dont use it it compacts too much and i have had no hatchlings from the sand box.
> 
> 
> My wall of txt hope it helps. :mf_dribble:


Ditto! By your experience that sounds very similar to mine I should have hatchlings in 9 days!


----------



## hayes11

sounds great i will have to give it a go i have an old viv about 2 foot long and about a foot high will this do ?


----------



## tomcannon

hayes11 said:


> sounds great i will have to give it a go i have an old viv about 2 foot long and about a foot high will this do ?


That'll work fine, although you will probably have many escapees through the glass doors when you have your hands in there. Maybe best to turn it on its side so the glass is at the top. Just make sure you have plenty of ventilation. 

I think if I were to use an old viv I would turn it so the glass is on the top, attach a wooden piece where the glass meets in the middle, attach a mesh sheet to this piece of wood and across to one side of the viv and make sure it's sealed on the edges. Then remove the glass on the side the mesh covers and then you'll have plenty of ventilation and you can just use the one glass piece to slide it open for access. You could also use the mesh to have another light on top out of the viv if needed for any reason. 

I'm sorry if that doesn't really make any sense!? It did to me!

EDIT: drew up an absolutely terrible example on some kids drawing app for the iPad!


----------



## hayes11

does it matter what type of soil you use ?


----------



## tomcannon

hayes11 said:


> does it matter what type of soil you use ?


I'm assuming your talking about the soil for the laying boxes? You need to use sterile compost/soil without pesticides and the likes. I am using a 50/50 sand soil mix and it seems to work well however I haven't had hatchlings yet but my first aren't due for around another week. 

If you mean for substrate then you don't need substrate, in fact it would do more harm as they may try and lay in this and it won't be deep enough. Just pour in bran on a daily basis, this plus the locust faeces and any uneaten plant matter will effectively become your substrate. It doesn't smell bad, in fact it's more of a sweet smell, I wouldn't go as far as to say its nice but not horrible. Better than crix! Anyway, I just give it a quick empty every 3 weeks ish, did it today for the first time actually. Managed to get all the old crap in a rubbish bag without a single escapee!


----------



## hayes11

got some soil from the garden lol nothing in it just plain soil nice and moist too and i assume u only need the heat to let them breed cos my other tank hasnt got a lamp


----------



## tomcannon

hayes11 said:


> got some soil from the garden lol nothing in it just plain soil nice and moist too and i assume u only need the heat to let them breed cos my other tank hasnt got a lamp


They will need the heat, you can keep them alive for so long without extra heat but they won't make it long enough to breed or if they do they just wouldn't. The heat speeds everything along, moulting through the stages, breeding and hatching, plus they are healthier. In a viv the size you mentioned I would just use a single 100w bulb (if it's outside the rub/viv on the mesh, such as mine) with a reflector. That's what I use in my feeder setup and it's fine, plenty warm enough. I use a 150w and a 60w bulb for my breeder locust setup to get even more heat to speed it all along. I may drop this to the single 150w once I get in to the cycle a bit and am not in a rush for hatchlings. If your mounting the bulb inside the viv then a 60w would probably work fine, however I think I'd use a 100w anyway so it's nice and hot!

I'll take a pic of my 2 setups now so you get what I mean!

Edit: pictures. 

Feeder rub. 



















Breeding rub.


----------



## hayes11

what i got as a start proberly alot i need looking at yours lol the lamps at about 36 c and theres a heat mat under the soil


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## tomcannon

Mines very basic, what you have is fine. Although you will have escapees I can guarantee you that! You may be ok in general but as soon as you open the glass doors to feed or get any out or whatever you'll have them all over the place! You don't need the soil in yet as I'm assuming you have no adult locust in there? Just noticed your lay tub too, you'd be better off with something deeper, I'd say at least 5" deep, they have reached almost to the bottom of the glass jars I've used!


----------



## tomcannon

Also don't feed fruit, just plant matter. Fruit ferments and goes moldy and is very difficult to clean and can couse health problems due to humidity and fungus growth. They will destroy any plant matter you put in there in a matter of minutes, my breeders have had a treat today and have eaten a whole bag of watercress and some spring green, they usually just get mainly grass.


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## hayes11

ok cheers how compact would you have the soil and how long does it take them to become adult i have bought xl at the momment


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## tomcannon

hayes11 said:


> ok cheers how compact would you have the soil and how long does it take them to become adult i have bought xl at the momment


Hhhm, I kinda just stuffed it in and patted it down, not really firm though. It took mine about a week to all moult in to adults, some took a day or 2. At first they will be immature adults (pink in colour) and will take about another week to turn in to mature adults (a pale brown for the females and a bright yellow for males, as long as conditions are perfect, this is a good indicator I believe). This is when they will start breeding, well within a few days of maturing and they should lay within three days of that. To give you an idea I bought my xl locusts on the 25th july online (received within about 2 days)so it's been exactly 3 weeks, I think I'm about 5-7 days away from my first hatchlings so that'll be a month in total.


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## tryme

Could ths be done with one tub? A 20ga type


----------



## tomcannon

tryme said:


> Could ths be done with one tub? A 20ga type


Simply put Yes. You don't have to seperate them, they can hatch and grow with the adults fine, you may get a few squashed by the adults but nothing major. I'm just separating them for ease. The adults do tend to escape easier, they can climb really well, they're not slow and can fly quite far, they're a bugger to catch too!


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## hayes11

hi my locust are now adult and have all their wings and stuff and i have soil for them to lay eggs but they arnt breeding :/


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## tomcannon

hayes11 said:


> hi my locust are now adult and have all their wings and stuff and i have soil for them to lay eggs but they arnt breeding :/


Be patient. By the time I am writing this reply they are probably breeding? If not are you sure they are mature enough, what colour are they? They should have gone through the immature adult (pink) stage and should be either pale brown or yellow in colour. As long as they are healthy and have plenty of heat and food they will mate.


----------



## simon31uk

are they on top of each other walking about like there stuck together
if they are then there breeding or getting ready to breed. 

ive just bought about 13 adults today and put them in my 2ft viv and trying again cause b4 i used sand and was told that if the sand becomes to dry and soft it can suffocate the babies wasnt true

i throw em all away a few month ago and had babie sacks in the sand so i made the mistake of not waiting lol

good luck


----------



## scoobydrew

Just set my colony up with a heat bulb and a thick blacket wrapped around 3 sude of viv my spare room is like a sauna anyway lol
I dropped 1 box of adults a box or 4ths and a box of 3s lets see what happends lol got some twigs and stuff from garden and grass boy there hungry. From pets at home while i await my online order for the bosc


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## pudding123

*Hi*

I have been reading on 
How to Raise Your Own Crickets: 7 steps - wikiHow

It says i need to incubate the eggs at 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit. I am finding it hard to get a container up to that temp as have tried a heat bulb 100watt and it gets nowhere near that temp i tried a heat mat tut that was no good if anyone has any ideas on this it would be a BIG help Thank you


----------



## fizzifish

Here is the way I breed my locusts with massive success all in one tank.

*Vivarium*
I use a 2ft Exo Terra Vivarium that has a mesh lid and opens with pull open doors at the front. I did try to use a standard wooden vivarium but the damp substrate made the wood rot and the baby hoppers escaped through the gap between the two panes of glass. At the back of the viv is a 3D background for the locusts to climb on and I also have a large piece of wood for them to climb and moult on. I put a 2" layer of compost as a substrate on the bottom of the viv. There is a strip light across the top that comes on for about 12 hours each day. At one end of the tank is a 100W light bulb and directly underneath this is my laying box. I have discovered that if I leave this lamp on 24 hours a day I get 24 hour breeding and laying activity. I use the bottom of a large kricket keeper filled with compost and kept damp. The top 1" of soil is dried out and the rest is kept moist as there is nowhere for the moisture to drain.

*Adult Breeding Locusts*
I have found an excellent supplier of adult locusts who will send me the sexes I require. I started my colony off with 90 females and 10 males. Since the adults need to be mature to sex them they will start laying as soon as they are housed and have had a good feed. So each male has 9 females to mate with and the result is an awful lot of laying females. The higher the ratio of male to female locusts the more hoppers you get. It is very important to keep the locusts well fed as hungry locusts don't breed and consequently don't lay any eggs. I will come to feeding in a minute. 

*Sexing your Adult Locusts*
The males and females can easily be told apart when they are mature contrary to what some other people on here have said. The mature female is usually noticably larger than the male and has a brown abdomen. The mature male is smaller and has a bright yellow abdomen. When the 5th instar moults into the adult, the adult is soft and pink. Over the next few weeks the adults will turn brown, at this stage males and females look the same. It is only after about 2-3 weeks that the mature colouring takes effect. The male will climb on top of the female who may try to frantically kick him off with her hind legs. If she lets him stay there they will ride around on top of each other and link the tips of their abdomens together. The females will lay in the laybox underneath the hot lamp either with the male still on top of them or after they have separated. It is important to have the laybox underneath the lamp as they seem to prefer to lay in the heat and bright light.

*Temperature/Humidity*A 24 hour 100W light bulb at one end keeps the viv lovely and hot, remember these are desert insects! Although the laybox needs to be damp but not soaking, the locusts will quickly die if the environment is humid. Hence why a vivarium with a mesh lid is required for adequate ventilation.

*Food/water*
My locusts are fed large quantities of greens and a bran/calcium mix. You can either mix this yourself or buy breeders food in large quantities on the net quite cheaply. The best greens to use I have found are dandelions (which are free) and members of the cabbage family such as cabbage, leafy greens etc. NEVER feed lettuce, it has way too much water in it and a lot of your locusts will die. It is also really important not to let the food run out as otherwise the locusts will turn on themselves.

*Cannabalism*
Although locusts are mainly vegetarian there are certain circumstances when they will eat each other. If there is no food available an unwary locust could soon find itself being eaten alive. The worst culprits for this are the larger nymphs. A hungry nymph will quickly eat another locust unfortunate enough to get in its way. On a few occasions when I have been ill myself and unable to care for the locusts properly I have seen a number of adult locusts sat around with no abdomen. Their abdomen has been literally chewed away. They seem to be able to live without their abdomen for a while until they starve to death. Unfortunately even with a plentiful food supply there will still be a small number of canniballistic locusts. I recently watched a newly born nymph eating another nymph's head as it was trying to hatch.

*Incubation*I keep my laybox in the viv and incubate the eggs in there. There is no need to separate the eggs from the adults. The females will happily lay eggs with hoppers hatching all around them. I have found that it takes approximately 3 weeks for the hoppers to hatch. Also the adult locusts are no threat to the small nymphs as long as food is plentiful. I created an all-in-one locust breeding colony because I don't have time to be incubating eggs separately etc. You may find that when the nymphs get to their 3rd instar it might be wise to separate them into another tank ready for feeding to your reptiles. They seem to get more aggressive and canniballistic at this stage in their life and you don't want all your hard work ruined by nasty cannibal locusts!

*Maintenance
*With my set up the maintenance really is minimal. The ONLY thing I need to do on a day to day basis is keep the food going in; that is it! There is no smell, the droppings fall onto the compost where you can mix them in every so often if you wish. I make sure the laybox is kept moist, wipe the glass every so often so I can see what is going on. In fact I find locusts fascinating and spend more time watching them than my beardies lol!
*
Success*
With a starter colony of 100 locusts: 90 females and 10 males I found that 1 week after the eggs started hatching I had approximately 1500 baby hoppers. 100s of hoppers are hatching each day at the moment and as soon as they get to 3rd instar I will start feeding them to my hungry beardies. If you look after your breeding colony you can certainly have locusts as your main food supply. Of course it always pays to give your reptiles a bit of variety.


----------



## Eddie H

*.*

Can any of the experts let me know if locusts slow down during the colder periods? ie. eat less?

Yes. Mine are eating less greens.

Eddie


----------



## fizzifish

If you have a 100W or greater heatlamp in one corner of the locustarium then the cold weather outside will have no effect.


----------



## Eddie H

*.*

I use a glass tank (which is ventilated) with a 100W.


----------



## tomcannon

I do too, glass exo terra 45x45x60, 100w inside with cone reflector. They're doing just fine, haven't noticed any difference. Do you measure temps? They will eat less at lower temps so I assume your ambient temp must have decreased due to the weather. Mine are kept in a cupboard built in to the building itself so is obviously well insulated.


----------



## Mikroberts

do you have to seperate the adults from babies because they will eat them or is it just to keep track of babies and adults?


----------



## fizzifish

I don't separate the babies from the adults and as long as they are all well fed, eating each other is kept to a minimum. Some babies may get their back legs stuck in their egg case when they are pushed out of the ground by others whilst hatching. When this happens they often get eaten by other hungry nymphs. I tried separating some of these struggling hatching babies and most of them died anyway so it seems to be nature's way of recycling nutrients. Nymphs that are moulting also sometimes get eaten.


----------



## just_one_more

I tried both ways. i kept the babies with the adults which yes some do get eaten and I also took out the eggs (in sand containers) and incubated seperately again still lost some plus got 2 100w bulbs on the go. Trial and error. I had that many babies I didn't mind losing some. I just needed nearly every stage of locusts so in the end just let them get on with it all together but boy did they eat!!!


----------



## legallyblonde

Just what I was looking to find out 

Bought my first "big batch" to get this going as I figured its more productive than buying food weekly... Although I leave the mealworms to do their thing :lol2:

Wish me luck, hopefully they don't escape!!! :2thumb:


----------



## lewkini

legallyblonde said:


> Just what I was looking to find out
> 
> Bought my first "big batch" to get this going as I figured its more productive than buying food weekly... Although I leave the mealworms to do their thing :lol2:
> 
> Wish me luck, hopefully they don't escape!!! :2thumb:


When you say big batch, how many did you buy an what size?

Lewis


----------



## legallyblonde

lewkini said:


> When you say big batch, how many did you buy an what size?
> 
> Lewis


100 which looks like loads to me! Mixture of size but none fully grown like you get in pet stores if that makes sense


----------



## legallyblonde

(For years I've been buying the small tubs from shops)


----------



## lewkini

Ive ordered 100 small ones just too get me going so i can feed him as im completely new to having BD but i might order 30 adult size to start breeding!

Just concerned im gonna be over run by them haha

Lewis


----------



## fizzifish

I have just cleaned my main Locust tank out yesterday and counted approx. 280 adults and added enough nymphs from my hatching tank to total 820 nymphs making 1100 locusts in total mostly stage 3, 4 and 5 nymphs. That left approximately another 200 stage 1 and 2 baby locusts in my hatching tank. I have started using a hatching tank to put the lay tubs in with a heat-plate on the roof and heat lamp in the corner; the hotter the better! My latest lay tubs have literally hundreds of egg tubes so i expect a hatching bonanza in the near future. I pile in huge amounts of dandelions twice a day.

Incidentally the more you feed the locusts, the more egg tubes they will lay. If there is insufficient food then the locusts will not lay as the babies will not have sufficient food when they hatch. 

Another trick I have tried successfully recently is tipping the spent sand out of one laytub into another. Adult locusts will not lay in sand that has insufficient oxygen or moisture. By inverting the sand from one lay tub into another you are adding lots of extra oxygen as over time the sand in a laytub will become compacted.


----------



## legallyblonde

fizzifish said:


> I have just cleaned my main Locust tank out yesterday and counted approx. 280 adults and added enough nymphs from my hatching tank to total 820 nymphs making 1100 locusts in total mostly stage 3, 4 and 5 nymphs. That left approximately another 200 stage 1 and 2 baby locusts in my hatching tank. I have started using a hatching tank to put the lay tubs in with a heat-plate on the roof and heat lamp in the corner; the hotter the better! My latest lay tubs have literally hundreds of egg tubes so i expect a hatching bonanza in the near future. I pile in huge amounts of dandelions twice a day.
> 
> Incidentally the more you feed the locusts, the more egg tubes they will lay. If there is insufficient food then the locusts will not lay as the babies will not have sufficient food when they hatch.
> 
> Another trick I have tried successfully recently is tipping the spent sand out of one laytub into another. Adult locusts will not lay in sand that has insufficient oxygen or moisture. By inverting the sand from one lay tub into another you are adding lots of extra oxygen as over time the sand in a laytub will become compacted.


Thanks for the advice 

Do you find any particular food best? I'm currently feeding the beardies left overs - rocket, papaya, apple etc


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## Goja

Sometimes found strange texture that looks like puke.. Anybody knows what I'm taking about?


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## Goja

tryme said:


> o they make noises like crickets?


No it's much quiet and more pleasant


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## Shaunny

So I'm thinking or breeding locust for my 2 beardys. My question is, will it be worth the cost of 2 set ups for just 2 beardys? It seems a lot of hassle for just 2 and as they get older (currently 5 months) they won't be eating as much live food


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## vukic

Think I'll try this out finally.. Keep reading into it but never tried it.. Lol.. 

Tiger

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## KrazyKate

I have been trying to breed locusts for about 6 weeks now. You can hopefully see my set up above. I have about 50 adults which have grown from 5ths. I feed my own insect mix (burns dog kibble, oats and cereal) and daily spring greens.

The light is a 75w bulb on a stat, the right thermometer is the temp of the right side of the tank. The left is the surface of the sand. 

The 'sand cocktails' are 50/50 kiln dried sand and vermiculite with straws with holes snipped at regular intervals to irrigate the sand slightly further down. I found in the glasses the sand mix was drying out despite spraying the top daily. I have actually changed this now to a 7" deep large plastic Tupperware type tub which with the heat above and regular spraying has condensation all the way down the insides. I tipped out three of the glasses and there was nothing in the sand but however I could see through the last one a white filled laying track so I put it in the tank at the back beside the plastic tub.

I had about 30 locusts originally but too many males so I topped up with more adults but my supplier couldn't give specific sexes. :sad:

I can see the odd couple mating, have never actually seen laying but now in the glass there are 4 holes but with no 'white spit' and there was one hole in the tub.

My questions are:-

1. With not much mating, do you perhaps think my sex ratios are out?

2. Does anyone know where I can get sexed locusts in the UK?

3. With quite a small bulb coverage area, should I get a heat lamp style light?

4. Do you think there are more laying holes in the glass as it is near the heat mat on the back wall and is over heat also?

5. Should I add another small heat mat under the tank below the tub or again, get a bigger wider bulb or even just put another big heat mat under the whole tank? The room is normal room temperature.

From what I've read on this thread, it seems a lot of faff compared to others who have done with out all this! :banghead:

I have successfully bred other feeders such as the easier Dubias and mealworms and have them coming out of my ears and am now eventually getting results from Morios so I'm dead keen to crack this one! :hmm:

Any help and advice would be much appreciated. :notworthy:


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## vukic

KrazyKate said:


> [URL=http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y532/Krazykate5/image_zps62ecd5ec.jpg]image[/URL]
> 
> I have been trying to breed locusts for about 6 weeks now. You can hopefully see my set up above. I have about 50 adults which have grown from 5ths. I feed my own insect mix (burns dog kibble, oats and cereal) and daily spring greens.
> 
> The light is a 75w bulb on a stat, the right thermometer is the temp of the right side of the tank. The left is the surface of the sand.
> 
> The 'sand cocktails' are 50/50 kiln dried sand and vermiculite with straws with holes snipped at regular intervals to irrigate the sand slightly further down. I found in the glasses the sand mix was drying out despite spraying the top daily. I have actually changed this now to a 7" deep large plastic Tupperware type tub which with the heat above and regular spraying has condensation all the way down the insides. I tipped out three of the glasses and there was nothing in the sand but however I could see through the last one a white filled laying track so I put it in the tank at the back beside the plastic tub.
> 
> I had about 30 locusts originally but too many males so I topped up with more adults but my supplier couldn't give specific sexes. :sad:
> 
> I can see the odd couple mating, have never actually seen laying but now in the glass there are 4 holes but with no 'white spit' and there was one hole in the tub.
> 
> My questions are:-
> 
> 1. With not much mating, do you perhaps think my sex ratios are out?
> 
> 2. Does anyone know where I can get sexed locusts in the UK?
> 
> 3. With quite a small bulb coverage area, should I get a heat lamp style light?
> 
> 4. Do you think there are more laying holes in the glass as it is near the heat mat on the back wall and is over heat also?
> 
> 5. Should I add another small heat mat under the tank below the tub or again, get a bigger wider bulb or even just put another big heat mat under the whole tank? The room is normal room temperature.
> 
> From what I've read on this thread, it seems a lot of faff compared to others who have done with out all this! :banghead:
> 
> I have successfully bred other feeders such as the easier Dubias and mealworms and have them coming out of my ears and am now eventually getting results from Morios so I'm dead keen to crack this one! :hmm:
> 
> Any help and advice would be much appreciated. :notworthy:


Try.getting a tub of medium hoppers and grow them on.. More likely to get a good mix as I doubt livefood breeders would give out females if they can help of.it..

Tiger

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## KrazyKate

vukic said:


> Try.getting a tub of medium hoppers and grow them on.. More likely to get a good mix as I doubt livefood breeders would give out females if they can help of.it..
> 
> Tiger
> 
> Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


Thanks for your comments Tiger. I did actually buy 5th instar locusts at the start (about 50 of them) with a few pre adults but still no success and I think I may actually go and sex them all to see where I'm at!

I've put a fresh post on to see if there are any other suggestions.

Thanks again


Katie


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## vukic

No.worries.. You may have been unlucky and ended up with a higher male ratio.. 

Tiger

Sent from my LT18i using Tapatalk 2


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## starsoryx

Going to try breeding my own locusts, as I'd like them to be my beardies main food but buying boxes of them is insanely expensive.

So far I have an old 2ft fish tank, and a tiny 1 foot tank too. I'm saving up the egg cartons from my boxes of crickets, as well as from actual eggs. 

Any ideas what I could use as a lid for the tanks to keep the locusts in? Don't know where I could find a small piece of fine mesh, without buying a whole roll.

I was planning on buying a bunch of adults, popping them in the big tank with margarine tubs of soil/sand mix for egg laying. a tray of bug gel and bug grub and fresh veggies. Then I'd take the trays of eggs out and transfer them into the smaller tank and they can hatch and grow to the right size for my beardie.

Am I right in thinking they won't lay more eggs without laying areas? I'm just thinking I'd like to have some control over their egg laying so it doesnt get out of control.

If I buy some extra large locusts from the good ol' pet shop, are they gonna be good enough to feed up and keep for breeders?

Any input much appreciated : victory:


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## KrazyKate

starsoryx said:


> Going to try breeding my own locusts, as I'd like them to be my beardies main food but buying boxes of them is insanely expensive.
> 
> So far I have an old 2ft fish tank, and a tiny 1 foot tank too. I'm saving up the egg cartons from my boxes of crickets, as well as from actual eggs.
> 
> Any ideas what I could use as a lid for the tanks to keep the locusts in? Don't know where I could find a small piece of fine mesh, without buying a whole roll.
> 
> I was planning on buying a bunch of adults, popping them in the big tank with margarine tubs of soil/sand mix for egg laying. a tray of bug gel and bug grub and fresh veggies. Then I'd take the trays of eggs out and transfer them into the smaller tank and they can hatch and grow to the right size for my beardie.
> 
> Am I right in thinking they won't lay more eggs without laying areas? I'm just thinking I'd like to have some control over their egg laying so it doesnt get out of control.
> 
> If I buy some extra large locusts from the good ol' pet shop, are they gonna be good enough to feed up and keep for breeders?
> 
> Any input much appreciated : victory:


If you're not laying a lamp on the surface of the tank you could do what I did and get heavy duty garden membrane and staple/glue it onto a simple wooden frame made slightly bigger than your glass tank. (See photo above) As I have my lamp securely positioned down into the tank the mesh doesn't get warm. I'm sure you could get sheets of mesh on eBay too though.

I have done lots and lots of online research on this and the laying boxes are essential but you don't have to take them out at all if you don't want to.

Also I used a large horizontal egg carton at the beginning but the crickets are more interested in perching on the sticks so I took it out as it made access difficult.

The thing I've found the hardest is getting the male: female ratio right because it's pot luck what you order. It seems that getting 5th instar pre-adult locusts is key.

Good luck and I hope you have more success than me!


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## starsoryx

Many thanks! I will check out what size sheets of mesh I could order online, maybe even wangle a free sample from a mesh company 


Have taken the plunge and ordered some adult locusts, I'm not pinning all my hopes on them though, I'm preparing myself for the possibility of having to buy in some large/extra-large and grow them up myself. Shall keep my fingers crossed I get a female or two.... in the very least, they shall be very interesting pets to watch until they die :roll2:


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## starsoryx

I bought some extra large locusts today, so I've got a change of plans. I'm gonna try setting up the extra large in one tank, and the adults in the other and see how they get on. 

Unless, would it be ok to mix the two sizes and see how they get on? or would the adults bully the extra large?


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## starsoryx

Had way too much fun doing this lol










Egg cartons, veggies, bug gel.

I avoided the mesh problem by stretching tights over a frame I made out of cardboard (hi-tech I know...) it'll do the job for the time being.


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## vukic

Where's your laying site?? 

Tiger

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## starsoryx

They're only extra large, not adult, didn't think they'd breed yet? Was gonna wait till they moult before I give them laying tubs


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## GirlyEvo8

Hey guys, i've recently started buying in locusts again for my bearded dragon and am thinking about breeding them, i have a 2.5 x 2 x 2 ft glass vivarium sat ontop of my beardies wooden vivarium and they always go and sit at the warm end of the viv as i knew they would, i do not own a heat mat though so i thought this way would do.

I did not buy adults as they are a bit pricey and it is my other half buying them so dont want to fork out if just by chance they dont breed.

The viv is well ventilated, the whole top is mesh and there is a mesh strip just below the sliding doors, i presumed this would be okay to use, some of them are not far from adult size, they have developed quite large wings but they are not quite full grown yet, i have read a few of the posts and have decided to use damp sand for them to lay in as we have plenty of sand in the garden, i feed them on the same diet the beardie eats which is spring greens, dandelion leaves, strawberries, carrot, grapes, peach and whatever other veg and fruit i have in the house that i know is safe for them to eat, pink dragon fruit is one of my beardies and the locusts favourites.

Wish me luck ^_^


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## starsoryx

Hmm ok well my first attempt has failed, but luckily I know exactly the points where I failed so I can try again.

Firstly they just weren't ventilated enough. The sand I used for their substrate was damp, which made the humidity quite a bit higher. For the first couple of days I had veg and big gel, combined with the slightly damp sand was a disaster for humidity levels.
They soldiered on though, I only lost about 2 for the first week.

A couple of the young adults even moulted. But I'm not convinced they would have bred. They certainly didn't lay anything, my lay site was pure sand, next time I'll use soil too. 

I also want to try raising them up from a younger age, maybe getting 3 or 4 medium/small boxes so I have a good chance of lots of females! 
Will be trying again soon.


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## GirlyEvo8

*They have WINGS!*

Okay so about 12 of mine have grown into full adults now and all have wings, i havnt seen any breeding or laying yet but hope they will soon, not sure if they are male of female, they are quite dark with pinkish underbellies and legs which i presume would make them female, many people have said the males are a bit brighter in colour when full grown but i really cant tell lol
Wish me luck ^_^


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## DanielleWench

Hey, I know this is quite a bit off subject, but I was wondering if you've tried breeding locusts in substrates such as peat and sawdust? I'm currently doing a research proposal on the different substrates that can be used for locusts breeding and I'm trying to gather evidence. Thanks!


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## RandSReptiles

This has helped me alot!

I wondered what the white webby stuff on top of the soil was aha 

looks like the babies will be digging their way out any day now then!

Although is been over 10 days? its been about 15 days?

do some take longer than others?


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## Somsumi

With the heat mats below. Do u have them on a stat? If so what type of stat would be gd to use?


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## Baseballfanatic2

This is a great article on how to breed locusts


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## Shaunny

Baseballfanatic2 said:


> This is a great article on how to breed locusts


Nothing there! Lol


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## Baseballfanatic2

That's weird. I thought I posted it. Lol 

how to breed locusts


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## borristhebeardie

So I was wondering-all my locusts have shed into adults now yet they are all brown . isn't there supposed to be colour variation between males and females? And how long before they start mating? Thanks


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## Shaunny

I have found it will take a little longer for them to change into adults. 2-3 weeks or so. They all look the same when they malt. Males tend to be smaller but I have some females that are the same size as the males. You won't know until they start mating or you can really see the yellow in the males


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## Red123

*A little advice please *

Thinking of starting to breed locusts but I am unsure as to whether I can just leave the tubs which the eggs are layed in inside the enclosure with all the other locusts? Do you have to remove these tubs and incubate or will they just emerge when ready if left in the original container inside the tank? I am short on space you see.
Thanks x


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## warrensark

This might help you out


http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/general-articles/342190-how-breed-locusts.html


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## Shaunny

Just started breeding locust again and I have always used just sand. Most things I read say sand/soil. What should do you use and where do you get it from? So I need to bake it like I did the sand? It was hot and miss before with having hatchlings so I want to do it seriously now 

Cheers guys


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## Shaunny

Can anyone please help me? 

I have managed to get my locust breeding like mad and have had probably over 500 babies hatch. I keep them serrated in another tank but a lot of them seem to die within the first few days. They are heated like the adults and fed greens and grass but I'm lost on why they are dieing so much. 
Cheers ;-)


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## MikeO233

Interested in the cost benefits of breeding locusts if anyone has any ideas.

I only use 4 tubs of medium locusts a week which costs me about £6.50 - What with all the heating is there actually any cost benefit to breeding for such a small usage?


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## helmet99

*whats best?*

hi now i'm trying to breed locust on a larger scale and have built a 10x12ft shed with 4ft vivs inside. Now I was using heat lamps but found it more expensive then actually heating the room. So now I heat the room with built in fans in the vivs to move the are about. The vivs are 24 degrees at the bottom ones and 34 at the top. Now unless i'm not right it can be hot anywhere in the viv due to the climate they come from and the heat required for digestion? i'm housing around 600 at the moment with he look at holding around 1000 per viv. has anybody do this on a larger scale and can provide me with more help? 

does it matter that viv is hot each end? 
more ventilation the better?
they are laying in compost at mo do they lay better in sand?
I use led for a light source so it that ok? or must it be a heat lamp?
how many can you keep in a single 4ft x 2ft x 1ft viv?


I also feed kale everyday and a dry mixture but the veg does dry out very quick how much water do they really need daily?


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## chase2200

*Great guide*

Hello, 

Just wanted to say that years on this guide is still great. I'm going to start breeding Locusts in my new setup and will update on the progress. I'm going to start with 32 adults and go from there.


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## Ste25sutton

I tried doing this and found buying bulk from my pet shop was a lot less hassle as when there born there so tiny it takes a while to get to winged locusts, am trying Dubia roach now
Though as roachs breed like crazy


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## snk

Hi, I've been experimenting with locust breeding for a long time. I have discovered a method in which you only really need to feed/water them once in the whole egg->adult cycle. I've described it in detail here if anyone is interested: https://www.locusta.cz/


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## Stone14

Good afternoon I've just started to breed locust for my bearded dragon so far everything is going well... already have three hoppers turned into young adults, I have 3ft mesh topped tank with eco soil and branches for them to hang on..... im using a white heat light and UV bar light and I'm feeding them on kale and spinach and fresh washed grass.... they seem to be thriving and growing at rapid rate.... fingers crossed I should have eggs in a week or two......


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