No Feeder Locusts Available in the US?

G

GDUB

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My 4.5" Acanthoscuria geniculata is ignoring small food. It doesn't like dubia roaches, and ignores the larges size crickets (only 1/2-2/3"). I've seen larger locusts used for feeding on videos, but they don't seem to be available in the US. I suspect they are not allowed in the US due to escape concerns. The only breeder I've seen is in the UK. Any insights into this?
 
Theneil

Theneil

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GDUB said:
My 4.5" Acanthoscuria geniculata is ignoring small food. It doesn't like dubia roaches, and ignores the larges size crickets (only 1/2-2/3"). I've seen larger locusts used for feeding on videos, but they don't seem to be available in the US. I suspect they are not allowed in the US due to escape concerns. The only breeder I've seen is in the UK. Any insights into this?
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I have never seen them fir sale but maybe you could get a colony of grass hoppers started?

Have you tried Hissers yet? They get like 5x bigger than dubia and they don’t usually play dead or burrow. they are a bit scary with how strong and spiny they are. i havent had any issues personally, but it definitely seems like a large juvenile-adult would have the strength to potentially hurt a T if you fed it to one that was too small. The other down/upside is that they can climb smooth surfaces so they can escape easier (easy fix) but i feel like that can be good for some of the arboreal species like avicularia.


ai believe these are G. portentosa, but i am not very knowlegable about roaches so i could have the sp wrong. Pictures for size reference nymph and large female
16DFA823-7C94-4B6D-8207-7BBAA79EFDD6.jpeg
CFF3270B-D36D-41E5-BAE2-E7FC62DAD5C1.jpeg
 
moricollins

moricollins

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GDUB said:
My 4.5" Acanthoscuria geniculata is ignoring small food. It doesn't like dubia roaches, and ignores the larges size crickets (only 1/2-2/3"). I've seen larger locusts used for feeding on videos, but they don't seem to be available in the US. I suspect they are not allowed in the US due to escape concerns. The only breeder I've seen is in the UK. Any insights into this?
Click to expand...
Could also be that it's not hungry. I never had a tarantulas refuse food because it was too small
 
cold blood

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What they call locusts in Europe, we call grasshoppers here. They are typically not sold as feeders anywhere that I've seen. Crushing the head of a large dubia and leaving it on its back will generally elicit a response eventually. I guarantee your genic will eat them.

Other large options that are readily available would be superworms, again crush the heads before feeding or they burrow, or hornworms. Large earthworms would also be an option....easily found in bait shops across the country.

I've honestly never seen any tarantula in my life no matter what size it is, refuse crickets, so it's shocking years wouldn't chase down a handful of crickets like every other geniculata in existence...lol.
 
G

GDUB

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Theneil said:
I have never seen them fir sale but maybe you could get a colony of grass hoppers started?

Have you tried Hissers yet? They get like 5x bigger than dubia and they don’t usually play dead or burrow. they are a bit scary with how strong and spiny they are. i havent had any issues personally, but it definitely seems like a large juvenile-adult would have the strength to potentially hurt a T if you fed it to one that was too small. The other down/upside is that they can climb smooth surfaces so they can escape easier (easy fix) but i feel like that can be good for some of the arboreal species like avicularia.


ai believe these are G. portentosa, but i am not very knowlegable about roaches so i could have the sp wrong. Pictures for size reference nymph and large female
View attachment 309908
View attachment 309907
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The female looks around 2", correct? I've occasionally seem them in pet stores, but they're sold as pets, not feeders.
 
G

GDUB

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Maybe it's on a long pre-molt. It molted three time within nine months of purchase last year, grew quickly, and stopped over the winter. Ate very little during the winter (my room was relatively cold), and hasn't molted since. Otherwise seems heathy. I'll give super worms a try.
 
Theneil

Theneil

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GDUB said:
The female looks around 2", correct? I've occasionally seem them in pet stores, but they're sold as pets, not feeders.
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i would say the females can get over 3” probably. Males are probably 2”
 
pannaking22

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Some grasshopper species do better in captivity than others. The US species haven't been worked with all that much, so it's hard to say how well they would do. The locusts they use in Europe are subfamily Cyrtacanthacridinae, maybe genus Schistocerca (haven't really looked into it). If there's a way to mass-produce native Schistocerca that'd be great, but I'm not sure what the laws about shipping them across state lines would be.

Likely the biggest reason there aren't feeder grasshoppers here is because they tend to take up a lot of space and need a lot of care. There are plenty of feeders that take up a heck of a lot less space that don't need daily care to survive/reproduce.
 
Theneil

Theneil

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GDUB said:
Eight bucks for a meal is an expensive habit. That's what they cost at my pet store.
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WOW. look through the classifieds here on AB and i am pretty sure you can find them for about 1$ each and cheap shipping...
 
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Galapoheros

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I have 100s of Hissers, great feeders for the stuff I have. I also raise crickets, the sps. that temporarily came on the market a few years ago that dealers discouraged. They don't die from the common cricket virus that gets the others. They get pretty big, can't mail those but I like them as feeders. Personally I wouldn't raise feeders to feed one to a few things, ending up with too many. If you want to raise a hopper though, I would go with a lubber, Romalea microptera. They have a chemical defense against vertebrates but I read it doesn't have much affect on invertebrates, they look pretty cool too, can't fly or hop very far, and big. I've found them out in the wild, pretty interesting site to see 100s of them.
 
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MemeMachine

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Yeah, feeder grasshoppers (particularly Schistocerca) require a bit more care than most other feeder insects. I work in a locust lab and our species require daily care to do well. Europeans typically breed S. gregaria, the Desert Locust, as feeders since it's readily available and pretty unlikely to establish if they escape. Over in North America, we have Schistocerca piceifrons, the Central American locust. But they're mainly found between North Peru and about 20 miles south of the US-Mexican Border. Although if you live in the Eastern half of the US, we do have Schistocerca americana, the American grasshopper. You generally can keep them the same way as you would a locust: a large container with plenty of ventilation, a heat source, egg cartons and other things for them to climb on, and a container full of vermiculite for them to lay their eggs. They do fine on a diet of romaine lettuce and wheat bran.
 
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