Postal strike panic in U.K

[ronnie]

Looking for some suggestions on what feeders will breed easily for me as it looks like the postal strike will go ahead in the U.K very soon.I nearly ran out the other day as i was let down by a company that is usually very good(won't be going there again!)i had to drive 40 miles to pick up crickets and locustsGod help me when the post really does go on strike!

 

[jake01]

I would say Dubia roaches if available to you. I couldn't help you beyond this since I only keep bulk amounts of crickets which I order and hatch silkworms from eggs and feed all of them off and order new eggs. Great that you are planning ahead for this, postal strike sounds horrible.

 

[Miss Lily]

When is the next strike, Ronnie? I doubt that you would be able to get anything breeding very quickly! Could you order larger quantities now in readiness?

 

[ronnie]

When is the next strike, Ronnie? I doubt that you would be able to get anything breeding very quickly! Could you order larger quantities now in readiness?

They say that it may start mid Nov and be ongoing all over the x-mas periodWhat kind of feeders keep well over time?

 

[sandrachameleon]

• Roaches, if available, breed relatively quickly. Also they live fairly long and are easy to keep, so a bulk buy would last.
• A bulk purchase of butterworms will store for a couple months.
• Buy a large quantity of silkworms in a variety of sizes right down to eggs, and grow as needed
• Couldnt hurt to start breeding some crickets now - it will take a good five or six weeks to get new ones to a useful size. Buy a quantity of small ones to raise up and be ready to eat a couple weeks from now (if that's when the strike is likely to occur)
• mealworms can be stored for a long while (though you dont want to use them too much as a feeder)
• superworms (often called kingworms in canada) live a long while
• Begin breeding superworms and terrestrial isopods (too slow a process to help right now, but will reduce the worry if strikes or weather shipping delays or unreliable suppliers or similar issues come up again)

Will couriers also be on strike?

 

[ronnie]

• Roaches, if available, breed relatively quickly. Also they live fairly long and are easy to keep, so a bulk buy would last.
• A bulk purchase of butterworms will store for a couple months.
• Buy a large quantity of silkworms in a variety of sizes right down to eggs, and grow as needed
• Couldnt hurt to start breeding some crickets now - it will take a good five or six weeks to get new ones to a useful size. Buy a quantity of small ones to raise up and be ready to eat a couple weeks from now (if that's when the strike is likely to occur)
• Begin breeding superworms and terrestrial isopods (too slow a process to help right now, but will reduce the worry if strikes or weather shipping delays or unreliable suppliers or similar issues come up again)

Will couriers also be on strike?

Thanks for the great info Sandrachameleon!I don't think couriers will be affected.I will read up on the forum about how to go about breeding the above feeders,thanks again

 

[sandrachameleon]

You're welcome.
This blog entry has links to breeding info for most commonly used bugs:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/74-feeders.html

 

[Psi]

Am I strange that I would drive an hour to pick up crickets that are higher quality then those around the corner?

40 miles to pick up crickets probably wouldn't bother me if the price is right and the survivability is high enough (90%+)

I got a box of 1k 3/8" crickets at a show a few weeks back and maybe 20% lived. Needless to say at that cost it's more expensive then places that charge by the dozen.

I guess I'm just strange and don't mind driving

 

[CleaTheChameleon]

Am I strange that I would drive an hour to pick up crickets that are higher quality then those around the corner?

40 miles to pick up crickets probably wouldn't bother me if the price is right and the survivability is high enough (90%+)

I got a box of 1k 3/8" crickets at a show a few weeks back and maybe 20% lived. Needless to say at that cost it's more expensive then places that charge by the dozen.

I guess I'm just strange and don't mind driving

its not strange. You care about your cham to go and do that I would do the same

 

[Miss Lily]

I could walk into town just 5 mins walk away and pay £2.25 per tub of crix/locusts, but I would rather drive 10 mins to another town to buy tubs for £2.00 each! The quality is also much better and I know the owners of the shop - it's where Lily came from. They also have another shop that stocks their livefood in the town that I work in so I can pop in there too if I run out!

Ronnie - here's a couple of links for you in case you want to stock up in advance of the strike.

The shop where I buy Amy's food from (the more tubs you buy online, the cheaper it is): http://www.livefoodsbypost.co.uk/ and
http://www.roachshop.co.uk/
http://www.butterworms.co.uk/index.html

 

[Psi]

its not strange. You care about your cham to go and do that I would do the same

Dunno if I'd class that into caring for my cham directly
Just not wanting to pay 20$ for 200 crickets

 

[ronnie]

Am I strange that I would drive an hour to pick up crickets that are higher quality then those around the corner?

40 miles to pick up crickets probably wouldn't bother me if the price is right and the survivability is high enough (90%+)

I got a box of 1k 3/8" crickets at a show a few weeks back and maybe 20% lived. Needless to say at that cost it's more expensive then places that charge by the dozen.

I guess I'm just strange and don't mind driving

I don't mind the drive and i certainly would go that further mile for better quality feeders,no questions asked!What i am worried about is that most if not all the places that i get my feeders from get them posted in to them-so the postal strike would affect them also,hence the fact i am panicking about running out!

 

[Warrix642]

Dont you guys have U.P.S. in the uk? There will always be someone to ship feeders.