Locust

[Ebony]

Thanks Kurt for sorting the pic. I'm useless sometimes.
I got these Locusts a couple of years ago off trademe. I didn't even no we had them here and I still don't know. I know that they can not survive outside. (thank goodness) I wouldn't want them eating my garden.
These Locusts eat very fast. Oh, and I forgot to say that I give them wheat-bran and sometimes bits of apple. They are about 7cm long. My adult frogs that are 10cm eat them with know problem at all. I did read not long ago that I should cut off their back legs before i feed them, as they can injure the frog insides. I haven't had a problem yet and I don't know if its necessary. Even though I breed them for my frogs, I do find them really cool. They don't bite. They only kick out their back legs if upset. I don't think I could cut their legs off. I also read that we should chop mealworms heads off before feeding so they don't eat the frog??? Don't know about that either. Has anyone else heard of this??

[Tom Highum]

I have heard that too but i don't do it.

[Iceni]

Yeah we always have a selection of food for the various animals we have.

Locusts come in a variety of sizes ( instars) Generally we feed the bearded dragon and the whites tree frog the same stage of locusts. Generally the winged type. this is the final instar and is the period at which they will breed.

Locust are great because of the size differences between the stages. And the food they eat. They will eat anything with a moisture content... and a few things without a moisture content. We generally give them Cabbage, carrot, and pea/bean pods. All of these things have great nutrient content. And that is passed on to your animals.

The size differences are worth noting because as the locust develops the Chitin content will dramatically change. The smallest 2 istars are great for anything small to eat, they have low chitin to protein values and give a good hearty feed, far better than an equally sized cricket ( crickets seem to be all chitin and water to me) hoppers also have a bigger gut and so will have more of the stuff you feed them in there guts when you feed them.


As locusts get bigger the chitin content will increase as the wing cases get larger, the final stage before they get wings they have big hard lumps on there backs with the wings inside.

Growth stages of locust nymphs - DAFF


this is your standard pet feeder locust in the UK and most of Europe.

Desert locust - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They will always be gregarious colours since there captive bred in close confinement.


And as for making them breed... Get a reasonable sized tank... If you have to use a standard plastic tank use a tall one over a wide one. Make sure when they jump they cannot bash there heads on the to of the tank from the bottom of the tank!!! They do this a lot in a small tank and you get a few deaths due to them hitting the tops of there heads!!!


When setting up to breed 2 tanks will be sufficient. Have your adults in one. With breeder tubes at the bottom of the tank (jam jars filled with loose packed damp sand.) Once you have confirmed the jar has eggs in it move it to a smaller tank with smaller holes in the top. And wait for the eggs to hatch. Make sure there is food ready for the nymphs.


When the locust get to a bigger size move them into the adult tank to mature. And repeat.


You won't get it right at first. But once you do you'll know how many jam jars you need a week to keep the adult tank stocked. Also locust have a great lifespan. We have kept the same pair for over 2 months into there adult life. And they will breed like crazy. Apparently they can have a lifespan of over 6 months!!!



Hope this helps.




Since your in the USA this is probably of no use to you at all But others will read it and will hopefully get this far down the page

[Kevin1]

Could cocofiber/coir be used instead of the sand or no?

[Tom Highum]

Is it possible to breed grasshoppers. Because i cant get locusts I'll back up with hoppers. From what i have heard most hoppers in my neighborhood breed in fall and the eggs hatch in spring so i need to find one that doesn't.

[Kurt]

You're welcome. THere is no need to remove body parts from feeder insects. No one does this for frogs in the wild, so it really doesn't need to be done in captivity.

[Ebony]

Thats what I thought. Thanks

[Kevin1]

Ok I've done a bit of research today on locusts. It's pretty interesting stuff. I'm actually fascinated with them now.
If you'd like the closest thing to the locust bred in europe(which is Schistocerca gregaria) you may want to check your backyard.

The genus is only found in the Americas except for the african desert locust(Schistocerca gregaria).
If you live in the right area you could catch your own to breed.
I'm going to attempt it.
Lucky for me there are at least 3 species of schistocerca in my local vicinity.
I haven't found much care info on them. But I hope this info is helpful to some of you.

[Tom Highum]

Where did you find this out? Could you find anything about Colorado? Another worry is that most common grasshoppers only lay eggs in fall that wait through the winter and hatch in spring. Thats not very efficient for feeder purposes. Do you know of any that don't?

[Kevin1]

Well I jumped around from website to website.
One you may find interesting is Schistocerca Information Site
I couldn't find any info on if they can breed continually throughout the year.
Although I did find a species of band-winged grasshopper that I believe would be able to breed continuously. It's called the pallid-winged grasshopper.
I'm just going to try many different species next summer. There's quite a few in the u.s. that seem to be good candidates.

[Tom Highum]

There aren't many in Colorado.

[Kevin1]

I believe Shistocerca nitens occurs in colorado.