Neobarrettia spinosa Keepers?

[ReignofInvertebrates]

Does anyone keep N. spinosa or other predatory katydids or crickets? I’ve always thought they are pretty rad but I have no idea whether or not they do well in captivity and if they’ve ever been sold in the hobby.

 

[Edan bandoot]

They've been sold CB in the past, I'd imagine being predacious and an arid sp would make them easy to keep alive.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Neobarretia are kept and sold somewhat often, and occasionally bred, the main difficulty is that it can be tricky to get their eggs to hatch.

 

[ColeopteraC]

Have kept a couple of omnivorous and predatory katydids, sadly not any N.Spinosa. However there are quite a few cultures of them here in Europe, so being a US native they must be available in some abundance where you are.

Care wise I’m aware that they require arid and relatively warm conditions, probably with a part sand substrate to enable this. To stimulate ova laying they may appreciate lightly misted vermiculite in a tray or tub as the ova most probably need light moisture in order to hatch. Other than that care occurs to me as relatively typical, place a few hides, feed every few days etc.

Orin Mcmonigle wrote an article of great detail regarding the rearing of Neobarrettia and other predatory Tettinogids in 2005. Unsure where it is now.

 

[ReignofInvertebrates]

Bringing back this old thread because I finally got one. Does anyone know if they require extra heat or if room temp suits them fine? I have an extra UV bulb I could use if necessary.

 

[Hisserdude]

Considering they are found in southern TX and mostly active during the warmer months, I'd assume to get them to do well and grow fast you'll want to at least keep them at 75F, if not in the mid 80s.

 

[goliathusdavid]

Breeding this species is on my dream list once I have the space and the time. To be honest, I find most Orthoptera a little creepy, but that doesnt stop me from absolutely adoring
Neobarretia spinosa along with the various Dragon Head and Malaysian Giant species. Curious about their lifespan though, I can't seem to find much data on that for N. spinosa.

 

[Loisr]

A word of caution regarding feeding the red-eyed devil katydid. Be careful where you get crickets for them since many pet shop cultures are contaminated with a pathogen that causes predatory katydids, mantis, etc. to turn black and die. I do not feed crickets to any of my insects forthat reason.