pygmy food types

[AJA]

I was doing a thread search on snails and came across another thread talking about 'tropical isopods'. I did a Google search and came up with this website:

http://www.doubleds.org/HotFinds.html


I didn't find 'tropical isopods' (found dwarf ones) but found 'tropical firebrats' . (I probably should do a search on them here too. Just thought of that )

I don't want to breed crickets and have lousy luck with hydei, so I am hoping to find different easy to raise pygmy feeders. I can buy pinheads at .03 each and I have a source for the hydei. Is there anything else I can raise to feed to my pygmies?

Thank you!

 

[Dunnigan]

Pin heads are too small. My guys can eat 1/4 inch crix no problem.

This link has a table of all sorts of food that has been offered to pygmies. It also contains how much the little guys liked it.

http://www.chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=46

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Agreed.
Your pygmies will starve to death on pinheads and fruit flies.
Houseflies, roach nymphs, 1/4" crickets, and other similarly sized feeders are required.
Hatch a mantis ootheca in the enclosure.

-Brad

 

[Dunnigan]

Hatch a mantis ootheca in the enclosure.

That wont be too much? ALl the ootheca's i have seen have advertised a hatch out of 50-200. I have been thinking about doing this but i am afraid of having 200 mini mantis running around in the enclosure!

What do i do just throw fruit flies in there and crickets to feed th mantis and pygmies? I know the mantis will not hurt the chameleons but it just seems like a lot of "things" in one cage.

How would hatching the mantis out in a separate thing and then introduce them into the pygmy enclosure work out?

sorry for the mini hijack,

 

[blackbetty]

This is a great thread as I have been wondering about alternative feedings. Where can you find..that thing brad said to hatch? LOL.
Apologies on HJ as well

 

[eisentrauti]

Agreed.
Your pygmies will starve to death on pinheads and fruit flies.
Houseflies, roach nymphs, 1/4" crickets, and other similarly sized feeders are required.
Hatch a mantis ootheca in the enclosure.

-Brad

That's definitly not true

 

[Dunnigan]

This is a great thread as I have been wondering about alternative feedings. Where can you find..that thing brad said to hatch? LOL.

www.mantisplace.com

or

http://gardeningzone.com/product_info-Praying-Mantis-egg-case.html

I just found the above and have not heard any feed back about it.

 

[blackbetty]

Wow.. thats a lot of different stuff..and the horn thing animation is annoying.. But how would I know which is the best if there are so many different kinds? Are all nymphs the same size and able to be fed to pygs?

 

[Dunnigan]

Im pretty sure that hatching an egg case would be best or feeding pygmies.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

That's definitly not true

Mine don't pay any attention to feeders that small.
Are you talking about feeding hatchlings?

-Brad

 

[AJA]

Wow...feeding baby mantis is a good idea. You can get the egg sacks (ootheca) from any gardening store, 99.9% of them die anyway if you try to raise them in a tank without taking out each one and raising on its own. I am sure the pygmies would make short work of those guys.

Okay, so does anyone know how to raise the firebrats? I found a couple of threads (Heiki (?) in OR is doing it) but no details.

Also, any of those other bugs on that website edible for pygmies?

No worries on the hijack Blackbetty, at least you were considerate enough to acknowledge it.

 

[eisentrauti]

No, even adults eat them. Espacially drosophila are normal food I think.

 

[blackbetty]

Wow...feeding baby mantis is a good idea. You can get the egg sacks (ootheca) from any gardening store, 99.9% of them die anyway if you try to raise them in a tank without taking out each one and raising on its own. I am sure the pygmies would make short work of those guys.

Okay, so does anyone know how to raise the firebrats? I found a couple of threads (Heiki (?) in OR is doing it) but no details.

Also, any of those other bugs on that website edible for pygmies?

No worries on the hijack Blackbetty, at least you were considerate enough to acknowledge it.

How do you obtain then from a gardening store? Ive never heard of these being sold..

 

[AJA]

You need to go to the nursery types (not Home Depot types) and just go to the front counter and ask. I think mine cost like $4.00. Remember it will take a couple of weeks for them to hatch out at room temp. People use these guys to control aphids and stuff in their gardens. The kind sold at the stores are USDA approved to be released here.

 

[blackbetty]

So.. I just go up and ask for...? LOL.. Im laughing because I know the people will look at me like Im outta my mind! And how do you hatch them? Like..put them in a dish and wait? Im sorry if this seems silly..it is to me..Im just..confused is a good word..

 

[AJA]

Yes. They come in a little cocoon sack, like a hackey sack and they might be in a mesh bag and they come with directions. They are meant for gardeners. You take the little bag and hang it in a bush in your garden, or in this case you can just put it in a 10 gallon tank with a MESH screen and then you sit around and wait. These places will also sell nematodes and lady bugs and other beneficial insects.

Then depending on your temperature the sack will hatch and you will have a gazillion babies running amok. At this point you have several options.

1. hang the sack in your cham cage and wait for the babies to hatch.

2. hatch the bag in a tank. After hatching....
a. feed babies to cham
b. have fruit flies available and dump in with the babies for something to
eat.
c. separate the babies into smaller groups with plenty of room and plenty
of food because they will eat one another. The babies will grow and
you can feed out accordingly. Don't forget to mist them at least 2
times a day.


I had a sack hatch and only ONE has survived which is typical. You can loose a lot during their first molt.

 

[hallenhe]

So.. I just go up and ask for...? LOL.. Im laughing because I know the people will look at me like Im outta my mind! And how do you hatch them? Like..put them in a dish and wait? Im sorry if this seems silly..it is to me..Im just..confused is a good word..

I'd never thought of this before this thread yesterday, but passed by our big garden place, walked up to a salesperson, said "Excuse me, do you have preying mantis egg cases?" and, instead of looking at me like I was crazy, she said, "Unless we're sold out," and took me right to them.

 

[blackbetty]

Awesome. Im going to check on it tomorrow. How big are the babies? Could I put it in the pygmy tank and wait on it or is it better to hatch out separate? and do they bite? If I hatch separate, I would have to transport and i usually grab the crickets and dubias by hand..they are too smart to go int he toilet paper rolls.

 

[AJA]

The babies are tiny and they won't bite you . Well, they might but you won't feel it because they are so little It's probably easier just to have them in the tank with the pygmies but I don't know how big your setup is. A ten gallon is okay for pygs and bugs together.