# Am i keeping locusts correctly?



## jamesb1011 (Dec 22, 2012)

I just wanted to see if i was keeping my locusts correctly..

i usually buy my locusts from my local shop (4 tubs for £5), then when i get home i transfer them into this tub:









(just been claned out from my last batch)

as you can see i have air holes in the lid for ventilation, i then crush up some bran for substrate, add the egg boxes, couple of chunks of potatoe or melon..

i keep them at room temperature in a dark cupoboard..

i have lost about 6/7 from about 80 locusts..

am i doing it right or should i think about adding a heat mat?


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## StevenM31 (Jun 14, 2012)

Sounds ok, I keep mine in a small exo terra with branches and twigs and have a small dish for food and a 40 watt heat bulb above the mesh and it reaches bout. 26* c, I've had quite a lot die without heat but that could be just me


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## jamesb1011 (Dec 22, 2012)

StevenM31 said:


> Sounds ok, I keep mine in a small exo terra with branches and twigs and have a small dish for food and a 40 watt heat bulb above the mesh and it reaches bout. 26* c, I've had quite a lot die without heat but that could be just me


yeah the thing is i cant put in fresh veg etc as i dont have a heat source as i keep them at the minute which means they dont digest the food, causing it to rot inside them then they die..


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## Dragon Farm (Aug 7, 2009)

But you said you are giving them veg in your 1st message above ? 

In my opinion everything you are doing is wrong. Steven is correct. 40w bulb would be best (heat mat possibly ok, better than nothing).

You need to feed spring greens or grass, with bran for food. Plus they need ALOT more ventilation.


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## jamesb1011 (Dec 22, 2012)

Dragon Farm said:


> But you said you are giving them veg in your 1st message above ?
> 
> In my opinion everything you are doing is wrong. Steven is correct. 40w bulb would be best (heat mat possibly ok, better than nothing).
> 
> You need to feed spring greens or grass, with bran for food. Plus they need ALOT more ventilation.


i said i was giving them a chunk of potatoe, not various veg.
since they are in the cupboard a heat mat would have to do as i dont want the locusts on show.

they get bran in the container with them, as for ventilation, do i need to have more holes in


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## garlicpickle (Jan 16, 2009)

I've found locusts need a really god air flow otherwise they go limp and sick after a day or two. I would suggest cutting a section out of the top of that box and replacing it with fine mesh.


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

more ventilation and heat and it would be good.. heres what i keep mine in


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## Dragon Farm (Aug 7, 2009)

jamesb1011 said:


> i said i was giving them a chunk of potatoe, not various veg.
> since they are in the cupboard a heat mat would have to do as i dont want the locusts on show.
> 
> they get bran in the container with them, as for ventilation, do i need to have more holes in


Actually you said potato and melon. This is pretty awful food for them. Yes you need much more ventilation as I said before. 

Its very simple. You need heat (around 35c), low air humidity (around 30%), spring greens or grass, plus bran and they will thrive. 

The viv picture from Jonny is pretty much perfect.


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

almost perfect.. not quite, my 100w bulb only gets the viv temp to around 29-32 during the day, and i swap it too a red infrared overnight that keeps it at around 22-24.. will be easier to keep it a little higher once the temperature outside goes above 0 lol, which it hasnt for a couple of weeks now


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## Dragon Farm (Aug 7, 2009)

In my experience you need hot spot where it is around 35-40c, but probably a background temp of 32c is fine. 

The common name for the species of locust bred in the UK is the Desert Locust. They are used to extremes of temp, both heat in the day, and cold at night. For breeding, I set the lamp on a timer at 14 hours per day. I suspect it does them good to cool at night. Certainly mine go down to 14c or less at night, and it doesn't seem to do any harm at all.

EDIT P.S. for Jonny, I would recommend moving some of those branches, so that the locusts can get closer to the lamp more easily.


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## jamesb1011 (Dec 22, 2012)

garlicpickle said:


> I've found locusts need a really god air flow otherwise they go limp and sick after a day or two. I would suggest cutting a section out of the top of that box and replacing it with fine mesh.


cheers for that,. i will do that as soon as i get some mesh 



JonnyFrilledDragonLawson said:


> more ventilation and heat and it would be good.. heres what i keep mine in
> 
> image


dont have the room for somehting like that!! where is that? in your house? garage?



Dragon Farm said:


> Actually you said potato and melon. This is pretty awful food for them. Yes you need much more ventilation as I said before.
> 
> Its very simple. You need heat (around 35c), low air humidity (around 30%), spring greens or grass, plus bran and they will thrive.
> 
> The viv picture from Jonny is pretty much perfect.


Actually to be precise i said potato OR melon! If its bad food for them ill no longer give it to them.

i will cut a hole in the top as mentioned before and add some mesh, humidity is ok. Where i store them i dont have room for a bulb so i will have to use a heat mat instead.

i have just recieved my half bulk order and have prepared some crushed weetabix and shreddies mixed with some bug grub.. this is on the floor of the container along with a small dish, i have added several egg boxes and 3 chunks of carrot. will keep an eye how they get on.

thanks for eveybodys help


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## JonnyFrilledDragonLawson (Oct 26, 2012)

its in my house iv got a room just for my reptiles/reptile related stuff.. as for food the best veg you can give them are greens, mine get savoy cabbage and spring greens


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## jamesb1011 (Dec 22, 2012)

JonnyFrilledDragonLawson said:


> its in my house iv got a room just for my reptiles/reptile related stuff.. as for food the best veg you can give them are greens, mine get savoy cabbage and spring greens


ok i will add some spring greens to the tub, thanks for the info.

would love a room dedicated to reptiles, mine is in our kitchen diner and part of the focal point lol, hence why i dont want a tub of locusts on show


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

Hope im not hijacking your thread mate just im after the same info!

Ive been thinking about these locusts:banghead: I was planning on buying in bulk and keeping them in a faunarium like this

Exo Terra : Faunarium / All-Purpose Terrarium

How many could i keep in the biggest one availble?

But ive been reasearching (some more ) and ive read i cant feed them at all if kept at room temp

"If you are keeping locusts at room temperature DO NOT feed them at all, any food they eat will not be digested properly and will decompose inside their stomachs, the locusts will then become ill and die. "

Caresheet

So how do i gut load them if i cant feed them? If i need to supply heat which im not keen would a heat mat under the faunarium be ok? would this need to be controlled by a thermostat?

: victory:


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## tomcannon (Jan 2, 2008)

You can't gutload without heat, simple as that. Heatmats are useless for locusts, its high air temps they require, a mat is useless at increasing ambient air temps and will just give you a warm floor (or wherever you place it), pointless. 

The only way to do it is like Jonny has posted above, heat from above. My setup is very similar, however my 100w is in the viv mounted on the roof for extra heat and lined with poly to insulate. As long as they are well fed bare polystyrene is fine, they won't eat it, well haven't in my experience anyway.


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## lewkini (May 12, 2009)

How do people go about keeping locust who dont have space for another viv? Do they just not gut load them then?

This may sound stupid but could i keep them next to my radiator in the faunarium?
Thanks


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## Dragon Farm (Aug 7, 2009)

I reckon some people will 'cold feed' and wonder why they keep dying, but I guess the majority of reptile keepers will not bother to nutrient enrich prior to feeding livefood to reps/inverts.

I have worked in a reptile shop in the past, and the majority of keepers I spoke to about it were not really interested.


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