My locust setup

[forteh]

A couple of people have asked for photos of my setup so I figured Id put a new thread up

The breeding box is made from some old MFI bookshelf/drawers that Id dismantled and stored in the shed, its about 24x24x10, divided vertically about 60/40 with suspended mesh floor in both sides. The front is acrylic sheet (from the local builders merchants) and is mounted in slots so it slides up to give access for cleaning and feeding.

Ive used a couple of random sticks for climbing, egg tray sections for hides and some plastic mesh/netting to give them plenty of surface area to moult from - this is very important.

Heated using a 60w spotlamp dimmed to about 70% from 7:30 till 21:30, a heatmat is on the back wall on a matstat so that when the lamp turns off the mat keeps some background heat. Temps range from 110*F basking spot to 75*F in the far corners.

Fed every day with fresh spring greens or dark cabbage, they dont like light coloured leaves as much. Lettuce give them runny crap and makes a mess of the tank





The laying media is currently plain vermiculite in 5" flower pots (clingfilm in the bottom to stop too much water drainage), I give it a good soak and drain before putting it into the box, every 3-4 days I use a sponge to squeeze some water over the media.

The pots are cycled 1 per week, they come out of the box, covered with cling film, a note of the start of incubation and put into the incubator.
The incubator is a small polybox with a heatmat in the bottom, covered with a layer of eggtray to disperse the heat. The laying pots are put on the eggtray and checked every day for hoppers under the clingfilm.



Hoppers are taking about 2 weeks from start of incubation to hatch, my 1st lot of about 30 hatched 10 days ago, since then another 200 (estimated) have hatched. Im currently storing the hoppers in normal cricket tubs with some crushed weetabix and spring greens.





I had given up on one tub actually hatching anything as it had been in the incubator for over 2 weeks, I left it out in the same room, lo and behold it produced hoppers! I didnt have time to collect them all so just dumped the tub under the mesh floor, since then its produced another 50 or so little ones that are mixing it up with the breeding adults.



Collecting the hoppers is really easy if you have a pooter, google on how to make one and then figure out the best way to get your lungs working







Once I have collected a pooterfull I blow through it to stir them all up and stun them, they can easily be tipped into a ready cricket tub with minimal escapees. I am planning on converting a 35l RUB into an incubator/nursery so I dont have to keep collecting and decanting hoppers

All in all the tank has produced best part of 300 hoppers in 10 days, the 1st couple of batches of which have already moulted and will very soon become gecko food. The main tank has about 60 immature locusts in which will will grow on to become the next set of breeders.

Hope this has been of some help to those interested, once I had sorted the laying media its suddenly all gone mental and Ive got more locusts than I know what to do with!!!

[Ellis]

quality!

i hope to set up something similar to this soon! i just have one problem though, and thats the smell/cleaning factor...

how do you find it?

Ellis

[forteh]

Hoover the crap up once a week and its fine

[forteh]

An update to this thread....

My farm is now back up and running after a few cases of pesticides wiped it out within 2 weeks of restarting it, a few things have changed but its all working the same way.

Ive converted the right hand side of the tank to house the incubator and a nursery for hatchlings till they grow onto 3rd/4th instars. The hole in the dividing wall is now covered with a flap of the random plastic mesh, this can be lifted so the adults can be fed without any escapees, it also gives a great basking perch right next to the lamp.

I no longer give heat to the locusts during the night, ambients in the room are about 70*F, day time temperatures are 80-90*F with basking temps from 110 to 130*F. The hatchlings are heated using a heatmat on the back wall in the right hand side, they kept 25 to a tub, stacked up infront of the mat to give a 95*F hot end. The incubator gets 80-85*F 24/7.

The biggest change Ive made is washing all the leaves with hand soap (bog standard squirty soap job) thoroughly before feeding them, this seems to be getting enough of the insecticides off. Previously I had only ever rinsed with water but this isnt enough to remove the nasties. The locusts get no additional water or food.

I will get some updated photos later on and post them up

[abadi]

awesome setup.. very organized doesnt it stink? lol

[forteh]

Not usually, as long as I hoover up the crap underneath the mesh floor every week or two it doesnt smell at all
Because theres no water to get spilt there tends to be no mould, any dead locusts should be removed sharpish though as they can stink!

[abadi]

Originally Posted by forteh

Not usually, as long as I hoover up the crap underneath the mesh floor every week or two it doesnt smell at all
Because theres no water to get spilt there tends to be no mould, any dead locusts should be removed sharpish though as they can stink!

Sounds better than crickets, Do they escape sometimes? i put my colony into 3 tubs to prevent escaping as i have a mommy lol

[forteh]

Infinitely quieter and less smelly than crickets!!!
Occasionally I will get one of the adults escape, its not very often though, usually when Im changing the laypot over as I have to slide the front panel right up to get it out. Sometimes one of the hatchlings will get out if Im not careful when feeding them, no hassle to catch them again.

Not a problem with locust escapees though as they just go find somewhere warm to bask. If there are any escapees that I miss the cats usually get them although I prefer to catch them myself. Fortunately I dont mind handling the adults now so it doesnt bother me to just grab them

[forteh]

Some updated photos

Whole tank.


Breeder side.


Nursery/incubator side.


Results!

[Jamesferrassie]

does the cling film not get really condensated from the heat and damp medium where the eggs have been laid? or have you pricked holes in it?