Quick maybe dumb question about feeders

[TechComMike]

You often see people outside USA feeding locusts or grasshoppers to T's but I'm assuming (due to their complete absence in any Feeder list) that they're illegal to sell in the US? If so, why? Fear of a huge swarm wreaking havoc in the crop belt?

 

[Swagg]

A lot of it I think has to do with preventing invasive species and maybe CITES. I live in Florida, you can’t have Dubia roaches here because they aren’t native. You can get discoid, horn worms, crickets and meal/super worms but they are super strict on the roaches.
If you don’t think it could be a big deal check out our python and iguana problems lol

 

[viper69]

You often see people outside USA feeding locusts or grasshoppers to T's but I'm assuming (due to their complete absence in any Feeder list) that they're illegal to sell in the US? If so, why? Fear of a huge swarm wreaking havoc in the crop belt?

Invasive species, it’s A HUGE PROBLEM.

One foreign insect species alone in the USA is estimated to cause over $1billion/yr of damage

 

[Liquifin]

Things that are invasive in any place usually happens because of the governments purpose for it's use that goes out of control or because someone got careless and let there animals go loose.

 

[Colorado Ts]

With a little research, you could find a native species to breed and reproduce in a similar fashion.

The western lubber grasshopper would be a viable candidate, in my opinion. Quick internet search revealed:

Basic Materials


Get a gallon jar or aquarium and a wire mesh screen for the lid. Make sure mesh is small enough that tiny baby grasshoppers can't jump through and escape. Use a normal light bulb or lamp for a radiant heat source. Ideally you should place it inside the tank or at least close. Keep the light on for about 16 hours a day. Keep a cup of slightly moist (not soaked) sand for the eggs to be laid in.



Feeding Grasshoppers


Feed your grasshoppers a mixture of greens like cabbage, nightshade, lettuce or grass. Use a variety of vegetation. Wash the greens first so all the pesticides and residues are completely removed. Keep a capful of bran or wheat germ in the habitat as well so they will have some dry food to munch on.



Hydration from Food


Grasshoppers do not need to be watered as long as you provide them with fresh food and bran. They get their hydration from their food and do not require further sources for water. Keep the humidity of the habitat low and the tank dry.



Hatching Nymphs


Grasshoppers will lay their eggs 2 to 3 cm below the surface of the sand you provide them because they prefer to have some ground to cover the eggs. They lay 60 to 80 eggs at a time in a frothy cluster. Incubate the eggs at 83 degrees Fahrenheit. The eggs will hatch three to four weeks after they have been laid. The baby grasshoppers, or nymphs, will push their way up to the surface after hatching.

 

[TechComMike]

Appreciate the Lubber breeding info but not really planning to carry it that far. Would just be nice to throw in something different from roaches on occasion and I'm definitely not getting superworms and the like; my peaceful marriage would not survive that I'm pretty sure.

 

[Colorado Ts]

Appreciate the Lubber breeding info but not really planning to carry it that far. Would just be nice to throw in something different from roaches on occasion and I'm definitely not getting superworms and the like; my peaceful marriage would not survive that I'm pretty sure.

But you gave me an idea. I think I'll try it this next summer, visit my cousins out in eastern Colorado. Pick up a bunch of Lubber Grasshoppers and have my students try to see how this goes. Classroom project maybe...I'd like to try it, and I think that they'd enjoy trying to see it work.

 

[Swagg]

But you gave me an idea. I think I'll try it this next summer, visit my cousins out in eastern Colorado. Pick up a bunch of Lubber Grasshoppers and have my students try to see how this goes. Classroom project maybe...I'd like to try it, and I they'd enjoy trying to see it work.

If you can it would prob be a good idea to separate bins so you have a nymph container. Maybe help cut down on parasites ‍ I don’t know a lot about grasshoppers lol

 

[Colorado Ts]

You have the adults in a one gallon jar container, and you grow them out. At the bottom of the gallon jar, you have a small box about 3 inches deep with moist coco fibre.

The adult female lubbers lay their eggs in the coco fibre. After a week or so, you pull the coco fibre and put it in an incubator set at 78-84 degrees.

Couple weeks later nymphs hatch and you raise them up. Each female should produce 60-80 nymphs. Raise the nymphs in 85-90 degrees and they should mature in about 50-60 days.

Nymphs have to be raised in separate containers from the adults, as the adults will eat them.

That's kind of what I've read in the last couple hours. Though my mileage may vary...

 

[mack1855]

No need IMO.Roaches,hornworms,crickets,superworms,mealworms…...all the feeders I need for
my T,s.
Being in Colorado also,i understand the thinking of the grasshoppers out east.Not worth the effort.
No desire to overthink feeding T,s..

 

[Swagg]

You have the adults in a one gallon jar container, and you grow them out. At the bottom of the gallon jar, you have a small box about 3 inches deep with moist coco fibre.

The adult female lubbers lay their eggs in the coco fibre. After a week or so, you pull the coco fibre and put it in an incubator set at 78-84 degrees.

Couple weeks later nymphs hatch and you raise them up. Each female should produce 60-80 nymphs. Raise the nymphs in 85-90 degrees and they should mature in about 50-60 days.

Nymphs have to be raised in separate containers from the adults, as the adults will eat them.

That's kind of what I've read in the last couple hours. Though my mileage may vary...

So pretty much the same as breeding crickets then. Not too bad

No need IMO.Roaches,hornworms,crickets,superworms,mealworms…...all the feeders I need for
my T,s.
Being in Colorado also,i understand the thinking of the grasshoppers out east.Not worth the effort.
No desire to overthink feeding T,s..

Some people just like breeding their own feeders. It’s fun IMO.

 

[Colorado Ts]

So pretty much the same as breeding crickets then. Not too bad

Yes very similar, with a higher temperature requirement for optimal growth rates.