Seems like my panther is happy with just a few bugs a day?

[Franquixote]

Hi-
So I'm on day 3 now. I got silkworms and dubias mainly. NO crickets as Andee says stay away from petco crix.

He eats about 3 dubia nymps a day and a 2 silkworms. I am feeding him out of one of those plastic 1 oz cups on top of liquid medicine bottles. I dusted 1-2 bugs a day, one with vit A one plain calcium. He seems active but after the 4th bug or so isn't really interested in more. Temps are like 86, he is hanging out in a plant about 2' up a 4' enclosure, up top I have a 12% Arcadia with second daylight bulb + 150Watt basking bulb and a bright LED full spectrum Jungledawn spotlight.
At night I am lights out around 8 and letting him cool down to 68 or so.

Think this is enough? I do NOT want free roaming bugs right now nor crickets.

 

[Whyte Monkee]

I've had my guy for 4 days. I made the mistake of getting my first batch of crickets from petco. So I'm going to have to get couple fecal tests done in the next 2-3 months.

I primarily have been feeding him free roaming insects and he loves it.

I recently put in a feeder cup on the wall of his cage, because his cage is 3' by 3' by 2'. I want to make sure that he is eating enough.

He just ate his first medium sized dubia today and I have to say I was very excited about it, until now I hadn't seen him go for them.

His first day he ate about 8 crickets, a little less the nezt day. Then he shed yesterday and didn't eat much.

I wouldn't worry if he isn't eating too much, he is likely still adjusting.

Just offer as much food as you can, and try to get some other species. Maybe he wants diversity. I don't plan to use worms as a staple, they can be fatty, it makes their poop runny and they don't really stimulate them by way of hunting.

Plus silkwoems are really nutritious, and can get pretty big so I wouldn't be surprised if he gets full off of what you're feeding him.

When you are ready I highly suggest free roaming.

Good luck.

 

[Franquixote]

I siliconed every nook and cranny but I am really concerned about escapees. If you let crickets free roam, you can count on your house being infested with them. As in 100% likelihood. They are filthy, destructive, and make noise to let everyone else in the house know they can thank you for the hassle. I did put silks in a bowl in there and I'll probably strategically place a few more containers but what do you folks let free roam that you aren't concerned will infest? Blue bottle flies are the only thing I am thinking.

 

[Whyte Monkee]

I have it set up so that I just have plant pots on the bottom of the cage.

They have no where to hide because I hot glued screen to all of the pot holes and cracks, etc. They also can't climb up the plastic.

I made my own enclosure. I screwed the door closed in the front.

They all either just hang out at the bottom or are forced to climb up the screen walls and in the line of sight of my chameleon.

They all get killed before they have a chance to cause harm.

Additionally many of them congregate in front of the heat lamp because they prefer the heat.

I also live in CT where it gets pretty cold at night, and there is no food in my house for crickets and other bugs to survive off of.

 

[Franquixote]

I wish you luck- I have been raising reptiles for 30 years (with a big break in the middle) in northern NJ and I don't know of anyone that feeds live crickets that doesn't end up with an infestation- be careful.

 

[Andee]

Idk what you think an infestation is? I had fed crickets in the beginning etc. I always had a couple escapees, none ever bred or lived longer than the week or so expected. Crickets can't breed unless given everything absolutely necessary. They need moist soil and dirt, correct humidity for the nymphs to survive in and correct temps for them to breed in which is super high, around 85+. Unless people are stupid about how they feed off their crickets or collect them from their cricket enclosures, then honestly you won't have anything as a breeding infestation in the states, unless it's in florida. In NJ you may have some local species who breed well. But the ones we raise now don't breed in cooler temps we regularly have. they may during summer months, but as soon as you hit winter they'd die off.

 

[Franquixote]

Andee, with all due respect- the infestations I have seen- and again in EVERY one of my friends house- were pet store crickets, not any of our local species. We don't have any brown crickets, and everyone's house went from never hearing a chirp to hearing and seeing them regularly.
This was dopey 18 year old care living in apts or at mom's, but now that I have my own house there is NO WAY. They can and do survive all winter - whether they breed or not I don't care- they survive, chew stuff they shouldn't, spread filth and make noise.

 

[opheliaeatsbugs]

Edit: Sorry to OP... I didn't mean to take off on a totally different tangent than your original question!

I don't know about infestations. I've never worried about it much (but now, maybe I should be more careful lol) - things are pretty lax at my house (I have kids and they are the messy infestations I have to worry about the most!). When you are saying "free range" do you mean letting the feeders loose inside the cage? or do you mean truly free range in your house where they are not caged and you feed them in their free range area inside the house? Just trying to get a mental picture.

I have a feeding cup in Ophelia's cage for dubias and occasionally worms. I hardly ever buy crickets but Ophelia loves to hunt them. I have let BSFL's pupate into flies and released them into her enclosure. I have a reptibreeze cage that is not 100% escape-proof, but the feeders are bigger than the spaces and I've never had a problem ANYTHING escaping Ophelia.

I have, however, dropped plenty of dubia, crickets, etc. on the floor - or the kids have bobbled the container and dropped them. I've had an adult female dubia chew through a plastic bag before I transferred her to my bucket and she found her way into my room - she was easy to catch and return. I have had the escaped crickets hide in my closet - which is annoying.

I've never been infested. Maybe I'm lucky. But they don't last long and have never reproduced.

Now, ants on the other hand...

 

[Whyte Monkee]

I just let mine loose in the cage, hehe.

 

[Franquixote]

I mean loose in the cage where they find their way out.

I can't comment about other feeders because in the 80s your choices were crickets and mealworms- that's all.
I just know that eventually all our moms caught on they reported eerily similar coincidences in spotting/hearing/suffering cricket damage which gradually disappeared when we moved on to other reps that ate mice.
I have never in my life seen the commercial cricket in the wild or in a non-rep house in NJ- plenty of others but not the pet store kind.