Locusts: good feeders?

[Urzeitmensch]

Yesterday I bought new feeders at my local petshop and once again had a look at their big assortment of feeders, incuding locusts.

Are there any reasons to use them instead of crickets? I am hesitant to try them since the seem very jumpy in the literal sense and from what I know of locusts they could have a nasty bite.

So does anyone use locusts and why?

 

[cold blood]

Yes, they are good feeders....they climb and their speed elicits a response for many ts. They're also larger than crickets.

 

[Vanessa]

Are there any reasons to use them instead of crickets? I am hesitant to try them since the seem very jumpy in the literal sense and from what I know of locusts they could have a nasty bite.
So does anyone use locusts and why?

They seem to be an extremely popular feeder in the UK. I've seen lots of videos of UK keepers using them and they seem to work well for the tarantulas.

 

[MBArachnids]

Makes for some good feeding videos, I probably get the best response with them.

 

[The Grym Reaper]

I hate the things, their only advantages over crickets are size and the fact that they don't chirp.

 

[Urzeitmensch]

Do they burrow?

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Do they burrow?

Nope

 

[Phoenix G]

I'd like to mention I could never get my Aphonopelma to eat grass hoppers at all. It got defensive responses out of her and she struck at it a few times, but that was after 6 different separate attempts of introducing her to the food item. I've heard other keepers who prefer grasshoppers for the feeding response and possible nutrition value.

 

[Gogyeng]

I use hoppers regularly for my Ts. Excellent for arboreals, trigger very good feeding responses. They don't smell but they cycle food almost constantly, so I have them on their own enclosure with coco bark which I flush every other week to the garden for compost. I prefer them to crickets any day. Can't stand the stink.

 

[Gogyeng]

Forgot to say, terrestrial Ts may not accept them that easily. My monocentropus balfouri never-ever took a single one, even the blue-stage l2-l3 ones. Psalmos, on the other hand, and Pokies, really love them.

 

[Urzeitmensch]

I use hoppers regularly for my Ts. Excellent for arboreals, trigger very good feeding responses. They don't smell but they cycle food almost constantly, so I have them on their own enclosure with coco bark which I flush every other week to the garden for compost. I prefer them to crickets any day. Can't stand the stink.

I guess I'll give them a try!

Btw: European crickets don't smell

 

[Chris LXXIX]

Never liked those. Yes they are and make a very good feeder, indeed, but they are way more defensive than crickets and I always wants 'zero risks'

 

[The Grym Reaper]

Btw: European crickets don't smell

I never noticed this "God-awful cricket smell" that everyone goes on about when I kept them but I was pretty militant with spot cleaning dead ones and I used to do a full clean of their tub every couple of weeks so that's probably why.

 

[Gogyeng]

Roaches better than Crickets any day.

 

[Gogyeng]

Never liked those. Yes they are and make a very good feeder, indeed, but they are way more defensive than crickets and I always wants 'zero risks'

Pokies do not have problems with hoppers at all (I would say they enjoy them rather). As for defensiveness I can vouch for black crickets being dangerous for slings. Feeding small hoppers however (L2-L3) never gave me a problem, so perhaps is a choice of stage.

 

[laservet]

Yesterday I bought new feeders at my local petshop and once again had a look at their big assortment of feeders, incuding locusts.

Are there any reasons to use them instead of crickets? I am hesitant to try them since the seem very jumpy in the literal sense and from what I know of locusts they could have a nasty bite.

So does anyone use locusts and why?

FWIW, they are similar in nutritional value to crickets, have a little less protein and a little more fat and carbohydrates.

 

[Wayfarin]

Do they sell Locusta migratoria in the US? I was getting all into locusts, but them I realized that breeding locusts as feeders seems to be only a UK sort of thing.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Do they sell Locusta migratoria in the US? I was getting all into locusts, but them I realized that breeding locusts as feeders seems to be only a UK sort of thing.

Dono I’ve never seen them for sale in pet stores locally or any online sites I’ve bought roaches from . But it’s possible someone might have them that I’m not familiar with .

 

[Introvertebrate]

Do they sell Locusta migratoria in the US? I was getting all into locusts, but them I realized that breeding locusts as feeders seems to be only a UK sort of thing.

I think they're considered invasive here in the states. I'm not aware of any UK locust plagues.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

I think they're considered invasive here in the states. I'm not aware of any UK locust plagues.

It’s those climate activists prob letting them loose or something no t keepers are just going to let a bunch of feeders wild but you never know ! It happens .. someone carry’s a feeder bin outside trips and falls , they all escape. ..
any native grasshoppers you can buy as feeders ? Same thing as a locust ..
Imo I’d still think roaches are superior because they don’t jump, but for variety hoppers can’t hurt. Imagine hundreds of jumping Dubias .. I’m glad they can’t. It would look insane , !!! Like something out of a horror film.