grasshoppers at night ?

[little leaf]

are grasshoppers like crix at night? will they attack your cham ? they are only like 1/4" babies, but if she does not get them all, will they bite her like crix?

 

[TCMontium]

First of all, there are many species of grasshopper and some of them are herbivore, some of them are carnivore (and probably there are many omnivore ones too).
If its a herbivore one it will be definitely less aggressive than a cricket but maybe it can bite a chameleon too. If the grasshopper is very hungry and thirsty and there is no water and live plant then it maybe bite the cham. But i didn't ever heard anything like that with Locusts. Locusts don't bite anyone, at least at daytime.

 

[xephyr17]

I've never had a problem with grasshoppers or grix...

 

[nick barta]

Me thinks US grasshoppers are all herbivores, so you will be ok, especially since you have live plants they can munch on in the cham cages.

Nick

 

[CarlC]

With grasshoppers you will be ok at night. It is Katydids you have to be careful with. They have a very strong bite and even though most species are herbivores they do have the habit of biting things as they walk along. I only hand feed Katydids.

Carl

 

[little leaf]

ok, thanks guys I wanted to give them to Bubble , my fierce ( so she thinks - lol ) carpet , but her viv/ is so thickly planted, I don't think she would get them all in one day - they are very small ( about 1/4" if that ) but I just did not want to let any lose in there if they were going to get her at night, she loves to hunt, and these don't seem to stay in hiding like the crix - there are many right now,, and all the chams love them , but I just wanted to be sure ~ thanks again this is what they look like ~

 

[CarlC]

They are still in the nymph stage. They look like Melanoplus differentialis. One of the most common species of grasshopper in the US. Very easy to keep and breed as long as you are able to provide a cold diapause of a few months for the eggs. They will eat just about anything.

Carl

 

[little leaf]

They are still in the nymph stage. They look like Melanoplus differentialis. One of the most common species of grasshopper in the US. Very easy to keep and breed as long as you are able to provide a cold diapause of a few months for the eggs. They will eat just about anything.

Carl

I thought about breeding them but I have soooooooo many feeder/breeder things going - but the chams LOVE them - tonight I got carried away, I think I must have caught 1,000 - no kidding- it only took like 15 min/ - but LOL - I must have not put the lid on tight- my car is FULL of grasshoppers - I get them at my sister-in-laws hay field - they are like a cloud in the field - I may try to breed them - has anyone tried ?? how did you do ?

 

[Zen]

It ll be fun. give him something to snack on at night. crickets are great if u give them the right amount of calcium

 

[CarlC]

Breeding is pretty easy. I kept them for a few generations. I planted some wheat or Timothy grass in a pot and they munched on that that. They would also eat romaine. Mist the food plant every morning to provide water. Provide a high wattage bulb over head as a heat source. As adults they will loose the green color. Females will lay their eggs in damp sandy soil. Wait a couple of weeks then put the container with the eggs into fridge. The eggs won't hatch without the cold phase. Start with a few month's of cold. Without the cold you will get a poor hatch rate and what does hatch won't live long. For the first few generations they will need a longer period of cold. For each generation keep shortening the cold period by a week or two. As you keep doing this over multiple generations you'll be able to produce adults that require a shorter and shorter diapause period. I was able to get the eggs down to a 2-3 week diapause and still have a good hatch rate.

Carl

 

[little leaf]

Breeding is pretty easy. I kept them for a few generations. I planted some wheat or Timothy grass in a pot and they munched on that that. They would also eat romaine. Mist the food plant every morning to provide water. Provide a high wattage bulb over head as a heat source. As adults they will loose the green color. Females will lay their eggs in damp sandy soil. Wait a couple of weeks then put the container with the eggs into fridge. The eggs won't hatch without the cold phase. Start with a few month's of cold. Without the cold you will get a poor hatch rate and what does hatch won't live long. For the first few generations they will need a longer period of cold. For each generation keep shortening the cold period by a week or two. As you keep doing this over multiple generations you'll be able to produce adults that require a shorter and shorter diapause period. I was able to get the eggs down to a 2-3 week diapause and still have a good hatch rate.

Carl

ok, I will try - you convinced me THANKS

 

[CarlC]

They really are pretty easy! If I had the room I would raise them again. My goal was to eliminate the diapause. I got pretty close getting consitant hatching at 3 weeks of a cold period. Heat is your best friend with the nymphs. They can go a day or two with no misting as long as their food source is fresh and growing.

Carl