what is required to breed locust?

[amylou]

just read the sticky about breeding locus and it seems easy, and would save alot on food bills for my dragons. go a few questions tho, so if anyone could answer them then i would be really grateful;

Q 1; Would it be alright to use RUB'S?

Q 2; Do they need light?

Q 3; What heat source do they need?

Q 4; What temp they need to be kept at?

Q 5; what food is best to give them?

would be a great help to anyone who can spare 5 mins to answer my "few" questions

thanks

[amylou]

anyone??

[Jim2109]

heres my original setup http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feede...turkistan.html its still similar, but with twigs and branches inside and an extra laying tub.

it works just fine, locusts mate, lay their eggs, and the eggs hatch. im yet to yield a large enough generation of babies to replace the adults and also have enough spare to feed off though. their mortality rates are awful during the first few sheds, from 50 hatchlings il get to maybe 5 "XL" locusts, then 4 adults. considering the adults live for 2-3 months and breed non stop, its a fairly poor return. from the 100 adults i had at the start of my current breeding cycle, ive had maybe 20 babies already mature to adults, and another 30 on their way. and ive only fed off a handful, maybe 20 tops. in 2-3 months!! it costs me £5/week to feed this many, and £1 in lighting, and for £6/week i could buy 40 mediums locally, which is considerably more than my colony has ever produced.

im probably going to give up on the locusts and stick to my roaches. roaches are a million times easier.

[amylou]

Originally Posted by Jim2109

heres my original setup http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/feede...turkistan.html its still similar, but with twigs and branches inside and an extra laying tub.

it works just fine, locusts mate, lay their eggs, and the eggs hatch. im yet to yield a large enough generation of babies to replace the adults and also have enough spare to feed off though. their mortality rates are awful during the first few sheds, from 50 hatchlings il get to maybe 5 "XL" locusts, then 4 adults. considering the adults live for 2-3 months and breed non stop, its a fairly poor return. from the 100 adults i had at the start of my current breeding cycle, ive had maybe 20 babies already mature to adults, and another 30 on their way. and ive only fed off a handful, maybe 20 tops. in 2-3 months!! it costs me £5/week to feed this many, and £1 in lighting, and for £6/week i could buy 40 mediums locally, which is considerably more than my colony has ever produced.

im probably going to give up on the locusts and stick to my roaches. roaches are a million times easier.

where about you get your RUBS from? carnt seem to find any "big" tubs localy.

what kind of light would i need? and what wattage bulb?

do i need heatmats aswell to provide heat?

[amylou]

can anyone help?

[Danny Action1]

www.reallyusefulproducts.co.uk/uk/

Originally Posted by amylou

where about you get your RUBS from? carnt seem to find any "big" tubs localy.

what kind of light would i need? and what wattage bulb?

do i need heatmats aswell to provide heat?

[Jim2109]

i get ym RUB's from my local Staples store. theyre about the same price as online and theres no expensive postage. i use either 64 or 84 litres for my livefood (they are the same size at the base, but the 84 litre is taller), i think my locusts are in an 84 at present. they cost about £18 iirc.

i use a 60W reflector bulb on for about 12-14 hours a day. thats the only heating i provide, the RUB is sat on top of my CWD viv though directly above the ceramic heater, so it gets the heat from that.

[amylou]

Originally Posted by Jim2109

i get ym RUB's from my local Staples store. theyre about the same price as online and theres no expensive postage. i use either 64 or 84 litres for my livefood (they are the same size at the base, but the 84 litre is taller), i think my locusts are in an 84 at present. they cost about £18 iirc.

i use a 60W reflector bulb on for about 12-14 hours a day. thats the only heating i provide, the RUB is sat on top of my CWD viv though directly above the ceramic heater, so it gets the heat from that.

thanks, will look into gettin the light fitting and get it all sorted out sometime this week

thanks 4 ur help

[kimmie86]

ok can you help with the fact that my adults seem to have turned on themselves, and started eating each other!! LOL I ve put food in with them.

[Jim2109]

the only time they eat each other is if they are underfed, or if they arent able to shed properly and then they drop to the floor whilst stuck in their old skin, and then get eaten. fully grown adults should never be eating each other unless one is either already dead, or they arent being fed sufficiently. they eat a LOT!