Grasshopper Piggies

[ChamelaChameleon]

Yes, and it is slightly moist.

The Spotted Birds lay bin has eggs but for some reason I found 2 holes with no eggs or egg sack. Should I give the Spotted Birds a new bin?

Im chalking this all up to natural selection. If there’s 100 million hoppers each year and by the grace of God, 1 out of 100 survive to adulthood through several molts, predators, pesticides, and illness AND they go on to mate, and successfully lay eggs, they lay 100 eggs each and guess what? There’s 100 million hoppers next year.

I'm trying to join the million hopper club.. I'm alot anxious! I really wanna have some hatchling. I'm investi g a ton of time here. I guess I should calm down and be patient.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

I've gotten good at keeping them alive. I have gone over 5 weeks with no loss. I recently lost a male breeder but that's rare. I currently have about 30 1st instar. I feel confident that I can grow them to breeding adult size.

 

[Andrew1283]

The Spotted Birds lay bin has eggs but for some reason I found 2 holes with no eggs or egg sack. Should I give the Spotted Birds a new bin?
I'm trying to join the million hopper club.. I'm alot anxious! I really wanna have some hatchling. I'm investi g a ton of time here. I guess I should calm down and be patient.

I think at a certain point the odds will tip in your favor. If you have twenty breeding pairs that can turn into several thousand eggs and several thousand turn into millions.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

I think at a certain point the odds will tip in your favor. If you have twenty breeding pairs that can turn into several thousand eggs and several thousand turn into millions.

 

[Andrew1283]

I have a ficus bush I don’t really care about and a group of mature gray birds I don’t really prefer. So let’s do a test! I’ll create a more natural environment for breeding gray birds and give them a bush with fertilizer-free soil in the pot. The spotted birds will have the normal breeding setup with chicken wire and store bought greens with lay bins. Both have access to nutritious, protein-packed, powderized grains and vitamins.

Is ficus toxic to chameleons? Nope. Is ficus toxic to hoppers? We will find out. I always need a certain element of chaos and risk in my life

 

[Andrew1283]

THIS IS WHY MY BREEDERS ARE DYING

I finally figured it out. These little bastards like to eat eachothers’ sheds/molts which is great because it’s recycled protein and nutrients. Except they’re doing it while the other is still in mid shed! Look at the hopper on the left hanging down by his properly anchored molt. And then another hopper (right) comes along and starts nibbling on the molted anchor legs like one of those Looney Tunes where a character is hanging off a cliff/rope/ledge and another character lifts their fingers one by one until they fall. During this phase of molting the hoppers are extremely soft and vulnerable. When their anchored molt comes unattached, they fall down and sustain a lot of damage neurologically and physically. The solution is less crowding as they get older/bigger to minimize this risk and/or a soft substrate floor.

This is why Camiezone with her large enclosure and sandy soil floor doesn’t have these issues.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

THIS IS WHY MY BREEDERS ARE DYING

I finally figured it out. These little bastards like to eat eachothers’ sheds/molts which is great because it’s recycled protein and nutrients. Except they’re doing it while the other is still in mid shed! Look at the hopper on the left hanging down by his properly anchored molt. And then another hopper (right) comes along and starts nibbling on the molted anchor legs like one of those Looney Tunes where a character is hanging off a cliff/rope/ledge and another character lifts their fingers one by one until they fall. During this phase of molting the hoppers are extremely soft and vulnerable. When their anchored molt comes unattached, they fall down and sustain a lot of damage neurologically and physically. The solution is less crowding as they get older/bigger to minimize this risk and/or a soft substrate floor.

This is why Camiezone with her large enclosure and sandy soil floor doesn’t have these issues.

Correct. That's how I lost my Americana Breeders. I had 20 3rd and 4th instars in a large Reptibreeze. They were eating each other after molting. I moved 7 into a nano retibreeze which slowed down the death rate. I was able to identify a bully in the bunch. A large female, head butting and kicking the others off of the screen. She was meaner than a junk yard dog! Once the colony was under 10 hoppers, I set them free. I was tired of dealing with the dying.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

Correct. That's how I lost my Americana Breeders. I had 20 3rd and 4th instars in a large Reptibreeze. They were eating each other after molting. I moved 7 into a nano retibreeze which slowed down the death rate. I was able to identify a bully in the bunch. A large female, head butting and kicking the others off of the screen. She was meaner than a junk yard dog! Once the colony was under 10 hoppers, I set them free. I was tired of dealing with the dying.

I would feed off the unwanted Schistocerca americana rather than let them loose in the wild. The Schistocerca americana maybe native to your local area. However locust are considered agricultural and garden problem pest. However if you collected the brood stock locally I recommend release the last of them where you caught them. That pest agenda when you are dealing with great Schistocerca species is important especially when the species is considered pests in multiple settings.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

I would feed off the unwanted Schistocerca americana rather than let them loose in the wild. The Schistocerca americana maybe native to your local area. However locust are considered agricultural and garden problem pest. However if you collected the brood stock locally I recommend release the last of them where you caught them. That pest agenda when you are dealing with great Schistocerca species is important especially when the species is considered pests in multiple settings.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

I actually gave them the royal flush.

 

[Andrew1283]

Boy oh boy if you stuck them in a zip lock bag, put them in the freezer for a quick death, and stuck them on the bird feeder you would have some happy birds! But I get it, they were driving you crazy and can’t be released so you dispatched them.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Boy oh boy if you stuck them in a zip lock bag, put them in the freezer for a quick death, and stuck them on the bird feeder you would have some happy birds! But I get it, they were driving you crazy and can’t be released so you dispatched them.

I didn't feed them off because I wasn't absolutely sure why they were dying. The death rate was so high that it freaked me out. I was concerned that my boys or other animals might get sick. I set the hoppers free by giving them the royal flush. Also, the ones that died were dead - dead by the time i found them. No laying on the bottom seizing - all of them were missing body parts. Yes, my Americana were cannibals. Those that died went directly to the trash. The few remaining were set free of life.

 

[Andrew1283]

I really hope I get some lubbers this summer so I can breed them as feeders. Maybe some of our Florida members can mail me some!

 

[Andrew1283]

Yum yum yum hoppers love cannibalism. I know this happens with crickets all the time but at least it’s within the dark confines of their egg crate and bins. With hoppers it’s all out in the open! And boy oh boy do they poop.

 

[naterowley]

I love the updates in the thread of everyone doing this! I'm learning a ton from just reading, love all the insight everyone <3

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

I really hope I get some lubbers this summer so I can breed them as feeders. Maybe some of our Florida members can mail me some!

I would not feed out lubbers. That genus of grasshoppers species is well known for being toxic. You could breed them as hobby specimens though.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Boy oh boy if you stuck them in a zip lock bag, put them in the freezer for a quick death, and stuck them on the bird feeder you would have some happy birds! But I get it, they were driving you crazy and can’t be released so you dispatched them.

@Andrew1283 DISPATCHED!. Yup, directly to the Throne of Royals.

 

[Andrew1283]

I would not feed out lubbers. That genus of grasshoppers species is well known for being toxic. You could breed them as hobby specimens though.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

They’re only toxic because of the toxins in the plants they eat, like the Crinum Lilly. Source: Christine Leonard, a biologist, ecologist, and conservationist at the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. Christine has a masters degree in biology from University of South Florida. I attached a link to a video I found.



If I were to raise a second generation and beyond with store bought greens and grains they could be just fine. I am going to reach out to Christine and ask what she thinks .

I know poison dart frogs are harmless in captivity. Same concept here I suppose. But they do spit black ink and hiss! I wonder if they still have a foul taste when they’re eating a controlled diet. Birds spit them out because of their odorous fouls smelling foam. I certainly wont eat one and find out.

 

[MissSkittles]

These things are the stuff of nightmares! I only ever saw this one and that was more than enough for me & one of the reasons why I fear getting grasshoppers.

 

[Andrew1283]

Lubbers are probably just too big to be eaten and they grow so fast. Maybe an adult parsons could eat one

 

[Andrew1283]

I just confirmed American Bird grasshoppers are in Pennsylvania which is where I live! I can breed those suckers for my own chams. Dean said they’re the most prolific. Now I just need to find their habitat at the right time of the year.