American Grasshopper

CleanLineChameleons

CleanLineChameleons

Avid Member
Just sharing some pics of my new project. I will keep you all informed on how it goes. These are Schistocerca americana (American Grasshopper) and are present throughout the southeast.

If anyone has experience working with these guys please let me know, I am trying my hand at breeding these big guys.

AmericanGrasshopper.JPG


AmericanGrasshopper1.JPG


-chris
 
Wow! Do they make good feeders? I would assume you would remove the legs. I was also told that they could bite.
 
I just mix them in as far as feeders. I try to give my guys as wide a variety as possible, right now I am offering them a mix of flies, roaches, crickets, silkies, supers, and recently grasshoppers. And as far as the legs go, I have heard that they legs possibly hurt them but none of my guys have ever had problems with them, I think it may be something that people may just assume by the looks of the grasshoppers' legs.


Chris
 
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This is interesting. I had considered breeding katydids, as one of my professors at NCSU was into researchign them - and breeding them. I am interested in breeding grasshoppers. If you get to a point where you have some extras, let me know! I'd like to try as well.

They love grasshoppers.
 
same here chris, im curious. in fact i spent an hour last night catching grasshoppers with a net, and came up with 13 of em.

ive tried to find an online guide for breeding, but no one seems to be breeding them. the only thing i can recommend is to include some dirt for them to lay eggs in, but im sure you already knew that. do you know how to sex them? you also might want to try an outdoor cage for these guys. just becuase whenever they are in the chams cages they just seem to hang out around the uvb.
 
chris, were these avaliable at the show? I saw a booth in SC with various lizards and baby monitors and they were all eating these grasshoppers.
 
No they were not available, but the guy that I got to bring them to me gave some out at the show.

Kent, awesome, I have seen the book on here but didn't know how much it could cover in just 45 pages. But if it has your blessings then I am going to order it today for sure!

-chris
 
wow they look delicious clean line your definetly on to somthing good keep up the good work man lunch cant get here fast enuff
 
I tried to breed a few grasshopper I caught over the summer. It seemed to be as easy as having a male and female in the same container, with some moist sand. After a while you see em doin the deed all over, and then the females will start to push their ovipositors into the sand. The egg cases are this weird foamy mass. The problem came when they hatched. They have grown so very slowly. They hatched mid June and now I still have about 100 of them. The biggest of which have only reached 3/4 inch at best. The parents which I had caught were about 2 inches in length.

http://insected.arizona.edu/ghopperrear.htm

I basically followed the guidelines they set forth here. Im thinking that alot of the problem that I experienced tho was due to the temps in the rearing cage being too low. Hope the info helps, and good luck with the project.
 
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Hopper!

:pChris, Your a nut.. I'm going to start calling you (Hopper) from now on!

Todd
 
just tried feeding i believe these grasshoppers to my cham, and both regurgitated them, i think when they start to get larger than a 1 1/2 inches their shell is very strong and hard to digest.
 
LOL...yea they are pretty good size. I believe the females are pushing 3" where the males are about a 1/2" smaller. I will post pics tonight of my guys and girls eating them up. I took some today. Josh...humm I wonder if they are the same grasshoppers. Mine actually crunch through them like roaches.

-chris
 
I've caught wild ones here in Ontario and they weren't even close to that size. My chams will pick off the grasshoppers before the crickets and roaches everytime!
 
JoshCrane1 said:
just tried feeding i believe these grasshoppers to my cham, and both regurgitated them, i think when they start to get larger than a 1 1/2 inches their shell is very strong and hard to digest.
Click to expand...


Similar thing happened to me, but I dont think she actually regurgitated it, but just kept it in her mouth because it was too big to swallow. It was one of my female Veileds by the way.
 
Here are a few of my guys chowing down:

Female Nosy...showing receptive:

NosyFEat.JPG



Tamatave:

TamataveEat.JPG



I haven't had any problem with them keeping them down, but I don't doubt it. Most of mine chew them up like roaches then swallow. And most of the grasshopper is actually wings...I don't know? Mine are wc adults, don't know if that has anything to do with it, I doubt it.

Chris
 
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