# fattening locust up



## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

i looked in the shop where i usually get my live food from and saw their XL locust pots and there was only like 5 in a pot, but with their medium pots thier was like 10-15. 

can you fatten these up to grow to xl locust, and if so, how long will it take and how easy is it to do


----------



## Jim2109 (Mar 30, 2009)

its really not that hard. locusts shed very regularly, and i find that most shop stock is already on the verge of shedding into its next instar (e.g. medium to large, large to XL).

you can even do it with hatchling or smalls, it only takes a few weeks to get them to XL. the key is to supply them with lots of light and heat (12-14 hours per day, and temperatures of 30-32°C by day and above 20°C at night).

keep them well fed on leafy green veg (kale, spring greens, etc), and give them plenty of small branches to hang off (this is essential to them shedding!! if they dont shed successfully then they die and/or get eaten whilst laying half-shed on the floor).

do that and youll have them grown on to larger sizes in no time with minimal fatalities. ive got a breeding colony, and generally i produce adults in batches of 100-200 from hatchlings. from hatchling to medium il probably lose about 20% of them. from medium to adult there is usually only 5 deaths per 100 at most. most of the adults then survive for a full mating period (upto 2 months or more) before dying of old age.

so if you bought 100 small locusts for under a tenner, youd probably end up with about 80 XL's a few weeks down the line. youll spend about £0.50-1.00 a day on food for them though. so you have to work out which way is most cost effective.


----------



## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

yeah, as i found out freesing veg to then thaw and give to your feeder insect really just doesnt work, luckily it was only a carrot, a spud and an apple so no major loss.

im just thinking as my leos are starting to get a bit bigger about 15-17g by now by my reckoning, weighed them like 5 days ago so this is a rough guess as they were 14g then. and wanted to give them something meatier. 

i got a 30"x12"x15" aquarium last week and was gonna use it for some newts, but at the moment i cant afford to get all the stuff for the setup, damn college charging me a fortune to get there lol. but wasnt gonna get the newts till xmas anyways. so could i use this to fatten them up?

also would would be around about the right age/weight to feed dubias, just thinking as something abit meatier


----------



## Spuddy (Aug 24, 2009)

i think, (dont hold me to this though) ... that you can feed dubais to a leo at any age as long as it is appropriately sized.

the general rule is the width of the feeder animal is no wider than the space between the animals eyes.

so e.g.

width of dubai roach = same size or smaller than the distance between the Leo's eyes.

hope this helps.

Danny.


----------



## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

yeah i know, but for some reason i have in my head that smaller = less meat and more carapace, dont know what i am thinking of but im sure its roaches, please correct me if i am wrong.

also how would you suggest feeding them to leos, i have tried feeding in a rub outside of the viv but they arnt interested. they are also only 8 weeks old


----------



## grumpyoldtrout (May 19, 2008)

I feed our locusts Nasturtiums, Dandelions, sticky willie, and grass from the garden, we do not use any pesticides, even slug pellets, so safe to feed, they grow like weeds and are breeding now in a 50 - 50 sand to soil mix ice-cream tubs.

Our just hatched are little black beasties, was expecting them to be lighter but as long as they grow to feeding size the cresties and leos will be happy.


----------



## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

haunted-havoc said:


> i looked in the shop where i usually get my live food from and saw their XL locust pots and there was only like 5 in a pot, but with their medium pots thier was like 10-15.
> 
> can you fatten these up to grow to xl locust, and if so, how long will it take and how easy is it to do


Hi, if you don't mind me asking why do you want XL locust for Leos? At the age / size yours are now then smalls would be fine. My 60g plus adults only have medium size. You are right about the smaller the feeder the worse the meat / shell ratio is but that applies to all insects I think. Roaches are a good feeder even when small.


----------



## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

i wasnt asking for me, my friend has a rather large rep (2ft+) i cant remember what it is but he has no internet access so i told him i iwll find out on here, as he has jost lost his job and gone on the dole and money is tight.

me and my OH arnt particually great lovers of insects and i wanna get more comfortable with them and mealworms just arnt doing anything to help either of us lol.

she tried helping me feed my leos mealies, and when she was picking them up she hated the feeling of them wrigling and doing that spinny thing they do when you pick them up with tweezers.

can anyone suggest a way to feed them either dubias/locust as i have tried a few times with crickets in a seperate rub and they paid no interest at all. and i dont really wanna leave anything more that mealies in the viv


----------



## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Hi, sorry, wasn't being nosey - just didn't want you to waste money on the wrong size locust. I don't like insects much either - can't STAND crix - they just give me the heebie jeebies yuck. I feed a staple of locust which I just pick up by the leg with tweezers, drop them in a pot with supplement, shake it about - this makes them disorientated - and chuck them in the viv. They can stay in til they're eaten (I leave a bit of apple in for them) as they are not so likely to bite your Leo. Two of mine love Morios (if you hate mealies just take a look at these bad boys lol) so they get fed them one at a time - none left in viv. Roaches I feed off in a RUB as they just run and hide otherwise. If it is any consolation you do get used to insects to some degree after a while.


----------



## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

cool, its like when i was little i used to catch grasshoppers and crane flies by hand, but as ive gotten older, become less exposed to them and fine them just that little bit eerie.

well i am gonna build a new viv soon, so might make a section that i can close off for feeding things like roaches, what you think?

also is there a way to sort of goad leos into eating, or do they just have to feel comfortable


----------



## jools (Apr 4, 2009)

Sounds like a plan with the roach "compartment" - better make sure they like roaches first tho  Leos will eat if temps are right, they are hungry, like the food offered and they feel secure. Get these right and there will be no stopping them!


----------



## swift_wraith (Jan 4, 2009)

if you have trouble catching insects, try using the bathtub to transfer them from the tub to the dusting box. works a treat for me. OH wont thank you for it tho.

May have to invest in a locust farm. Mine tend to turn their noses up at mealies and my dubais are taking SOOOO long to establish properly.


----------



## haunted-havoc (Aug 6, 2009)

mine can chop through 5-10 mealies a night each. i try to need feed them too much by knowing how many i put in and take out. generally i put 10 in a night and every three days i put 20 in.

will get hold of a few dubias maybe like 10 to start off with and see if they like them

i think when i build my new viv i will do the compartment thing maybe a foot wide and have heat rope covering 1/3-1/4 of the viv and the whole of the compartment.

or just have the hot side of the viv so that it can be sealed off?


----------

