# Why dont more people breed live food?



## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

I'm not talking about rodents (and rabbits) but crickets/locusts/meal worms etc? why dont more people breed them for themselves especially with the credit crunch?


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## lynneowen1 (Jun 5, 2008)

i hatch my own flies for my mantids:no1:


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

lynneowen1 said:


> i hatch my own flies for my mantids:no1:


And do you find this saves money and the bother to have to keep ordering them in?


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## SWsarah (Aug 6, 2005)

Well mine breed in my heated garage the buggers escaped. If anyone can catch them they are yours lol

But i do breed my own meal worms in my tortoise soil substrate they are great eat all the left over food.


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## Pliskens_Chains (Jun 8, 2008)

trying to breed roaches atm


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## lynneowen1 (Jun 5, 2008)

LoveForLizards said:


> And do you find this saves money and the bother to have to keep ordering them in?


thats not the main reason i do it ................... kept getting mites on the bought in ones now pest free:no1:


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

lynneowen1 said:


> thats not the main reason i do it ................... kept getting mites on the bought in ones now pest free:no1:


Fair point.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

I breed Wax Worms as well as several rodents. ( Mice, pygmy mice, rats and lemmings )
Does that count?
Often it is cheaper to buy in than breed your own, when you take the time in to consideration.
I used to produce 10 cultures of fruit flies a week, for frogs, but soon got sick of the smell.
Also used to breed locust but have nothing that eats them now.
Stephen


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

SnakeBreeder said:


> I breed Wax Worms as well as several rodents. ( Mice, pygmy mice, rats and lemmings )
> Does that count?
> Often it is cheaper to buy in than breed your own, when you take the time in to consideration.
> I used to produce 10 cultures of fruit flies a week, for frogs, but soon got sick of the smell.
> ...


Yep that counts, but I guessed less people would breed rodents and rabbits because of the time, money and smell involved.

Main reason I asked is because I fancy trying to breed live food after looking at the prices online and trying to sell them cheaper since I have plenty of left spare time that wouldnt be an issue, and I s*** shovel out 19 different animals everyday so the smell shouldnt be a problem either ... Now just to work out costs and convince my parents lol.


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## SnakeBreeder (Mar 11, 2007)

If you are selling to the trade you'll have to sell for maybe half what you see them selling the boxes for. ( They need their profit too )
But if you have good stock and get a good fan base you may be able to supply to "friends" and make a little money.
Don't forget to price up boxes and delivery costs as well as food and heating.
Good luck
Stephen.


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Thanks, will do!: victory:


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## fenwoman (Apr 15, 2008)

LoveForLizards said:


> I'm not talking about rodents (and rabbits) but crickets/locusts/meal worms etc? why dont more people breed them for themselves especially with the credit crunch?


 Some of us do. I breed mealworms and lobster roaches.


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## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

We breed our own waxworms, locusts, Dubia, Cuban Burrowing and Madiera Roaches, and meal worms and have just started a fruit beetle breeding project (60 grubs), hope to get some flower beetles as well at some point, and also going to try our hands at morio worms as well.
We have also just got two small mouse breeding cages on the go to.
Not only does it allow us to cut feed bills but it also means we can recycle food waste from the animals by feeding it to the livefood.


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## Lygo (Oct 2, 2008)

LoveForLizards said:


> I'm not talking about rodents (and rabbits) but crickets/locusts/meal worms etc? why dont more people breed them for themselves especially with the credit crunch?


Modern man is lazy, .........too much effort involved. :whistling2:

It depends on how many animals you have. The more animals you have the more sense it makes. It's a money saver if you can be bothered.

I culture roaches, fruit flies, springtails, woodlice, and waxworms, and I still buy the odd bag of crickets every now and then.


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## johne.ev (Sep 14, 2008)

Because other than roaches and mealworms, its hard work, time consuming and takes up space. And for the majority of hobbyist's, not worth the effort.


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## Juzza12 (Jun 12, 2008)

I've got roaches, mealworms and morio worms breeding. All tubs are on top of vivs so it doesn't take up much room. All 3 of those are so easy to breed i don't understand why more people don't do it


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## spend_day (Apr 10, 2008)

i currently breed,

dubia roaches (1 month old)
mealworms (about 1 year old) 
trying to breed earthworms but they take forever and i keep using them before they breed and make more.
i still buy crickets but i dont like them so i'd rather not breed them.


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## funky1 (Jun 18, 2008)

Lygo said:


> Modern man is lazy, .........too much effort involved. :whistling2:


100% correct - I think that`s the real reason!!! Same as ppl get a take-away instead of cooking from scratch - even when they are skint and got the stuff in. Easier and more convenient!!!


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## moonlight (Jun 30, 2007)

I breed my own roaches and mice, the roaches are really cost effective but the mice cost a lot more than to buy frozen but I like to know my animals are eating nutritious food and that the feeder animals are well looked after


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## LoveForLizards (Apr 20, 2008)

Lygo said:


> Modern man is lazy, .........too much effort involved. :whistling2:


You make a very good point :lol2:
Thanks all for the replys all, more people breed then I first though lol.


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## Carol (Aug 2, 2007)

Hi

I also breed most of my food, getting good at it now.


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## Athravan (Dec 28, 2006)

I don't breed mine - I use thousands of crickets and many many hundreds of hoppers plus 500g of live mealworms and around 2kg of dried mealworms a week! In order to keep up that sort of quantity I'd have to dedicate time & space that I just don't have. It is easier for me to earn the money, than put in the effort required to breed in quantities that would supply me with enough adults on a weekly basis. Add to that the fact that I hate escapees and insects do create quite a lot of smell, it's just not worth it for me.

I am having a go at breeding roaches as they seem to be relatively odourless and take up next to no space but I've got around 400 roaches now and there is no way I could feed my lizards on them alone, the colony would be all eaten in 2 weeks :lol2:


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