Going Grasshopper Hunting
- Thread starter Andee
- Start date
scott52019
Member
Serious question: If you find any, can you send me some? It is legal. I've been trying really hard to get my hands on some.
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Where do you live? I thought it was only legal if it was within state? If I can catch enough this season I will send you some if it does turn out to be legal. I plan on breeding them. Do you plan on breeding them? Do you know how to set them up correctly? I can give you some details on how to keep my kind going.
bobcochran
Chameleon Enthusiast
Too early for grasshoppers here on the Ca. Central coast. Still have to wait at least another month.
distortionz
Avid Member
Curious if you could elaborate on how you breed them.. Are they as terribly foul smelling as crickets when you breed them? I'm in Ohio and every summer I collect tons and tons out at my work never tried breeding them though I just feed them off but it would be great to have a supply through the winter.. And since we had a mild winter I've actually already started seeing some out here.. Usually I wouldn't start seeing them until May
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
They don't smell at all. Just kind of grassy. My kind of grasshopper really only prefer fresh veggies and oat bran. I feed them freshly growing sprouts such as chia, wheat grass, and clover. They also need dirt filled tubs to lay their eggs in and certain types of grasshoppers need a dormant period for their eggs in the fridge to be able to hatch. I use a 40 watt bulb and sometimes a 72 watt bulb, both house bulbs, depending on how cool it is. Since I keep them in my garage I also use a low watt (60 watts) ceramic heat emitter for night time. The need branches to be able to perch on so they can molt properly. And I mist their plants once a day to every other day, they get their moisture from their food. I keep them in a medium sized reptibreeze.
JGuinan007
Avid Member
What about Dandelions have you tried to feed them dandelions I hear it's a super gut load for chameleons, grows everywhere and nearly everything eats them.
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
The only kind of dandelion greens I would be able to get in the amount they need to eat is older leave, which I relatively high in Oxalic Acid and bind calcium. Since grasshoppers eat only veggies you can't offer them only one source of greens especially if it's high in oxalic acids. Younger dandelion greens if I could get them in relative large amounts could work. But chia sprouts are very high in nutrients, have no calcium binding properties in them, I'm not sure about clover, but wheat grass from what I understand is pretty good too. Since they are currently growing at the time the grasshoppers eat them as well it makes them much better with nutritional value.
Motherlode Chameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
It is too early in the year to go collecting grasshoppers. It is to wet and cold to consider collecting them here in California and most likely most other states.
Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich
Action Jackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
What about corn stalks?
little leaf
Avid Member
I fed mine alfalfa pellets, but they ate EVERYTHING I offered, including the net CAGE I used to put them in when I was collecting them, stopped at my sis in laws on the way home, well...it was quite a few hrs before I headed home, with HUNDREDS of lose hoppers in my car ! lol 
so now I take a small exo with me to collect them - they are the little green ones - cant wait for them to come out
so now I take a small exo with me to collect them - they are the little green ones - cant wait for them to come out
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
XD My grasshoppers that I got last year seem to be pickier. They aren't the green ones... I catch tan and black striped ones with long wings. They really like the fresh growing greens, they sometimes will eat certain lettuces/leafy greens I put in. I've realized though the cost of growing my own food for them is very small and I have rotating pots that I interchange them with.
Davecameos
Avid Member
I did not think about the chia sprouts. I have always used seeds. I will try to grow some.
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Chia sprouts are not something I've used yet, I've used clover and wheat grass, and I have chia seeds on hand so I expect with the way they respond to the other two they will like the chia. Let me know how it goes. It's pretty easy to grow them and since you can keep them green and fresh for longer with just some mistings, I don't see why not to try. I grow all my sprouts in small pots with eco earth.
Davecameos
Avid Member
I was reading about how to grow them. I will try it out.
Mine seem to be picky eaters. If it is not fresh greens they will not eat them. I grow dandelions, but variety is the key
