Show me your feeder section

[teen]

Keeping feeder insects is more difficult than keeping chams themselves imo. Curious how you guys who own more than one cham/multiple pets have your feeders set up. Whether you buy insects and gutload or actually farm insects, id like to see what you have done to make life easier and make the most of your feeders.

 

[RyanBRZ]

I got my first cam on Oct 29 2018. Below is my feeding situation since. I agree with you, feeding them is tough. I found superworms to be the easiest and while not the healthiest, not very unhealthy.

10/29 - 12/1 - Dubia roaches staple, mixing in mealies, supers, hornworms, butter worms
12/1-2/1 - Stopped eating dubia's, switched to crickets, mixing in the same above on occasion
2/1-present - Stopped eating crickets, switched to superworms, mixing in the above on occasion

He stopped eating as much, I am assuming because he is around 10 months old now. He looks healthy and plump, but only eats lets say 5-10 supers over the course of 2 days.

I set up a dubia colony a month after getting him since I thought they were going to be his staple. So now 5-6 months later, my colony is flourishing and he doesnt eat them so I need to either sell them off or sell my colony entirely. Thought about breeding supers but since he doesnt eat much anymore, I may just buy 200 every 2-3 months.

 

[teen]

Good info but id really like to see some pics of what bins/ tuperware everyones using. Lighting? Temp control? Watering? How do you keep your bugs healthy, live, easily accessible and contained?

 

[RyanBRZ]

Oh sorry, misunderstood.

Crickets: I bought a cricket keeper, one of the ones with the 4 tubes you pull out that the crickets hang out in. I fed them Repashy bug burger and water crystals
Dubias: They are in one of those big plastic containers, heat pad, egg crates. They eat fresh oranges/apples/carrots and dubia chow. Water crystals for hydration
Supers: They hang out in a small tupperware container in oatmeal. I throw in potato/carrot for hydration

 

[teen]

And my chams do the same. Stopped eating crickets. Moved to supers. Stopped eating supers moved to dubias. Key is definitely variety, wish i would have taken it more seriously from the get go. My plan is basically to have my chams outside for the summer and im hoping that will be some sort of a reset because they will be eating grasshoppers, locust, crickets, flies and i think some real vitamin d will really get them going lol

 

[RyanBRZ]

Totally agree, I think my downfall was letting him try superworms...this is when he stopped eating dubia's.

I want to him to get some outside time this summer as well, I built him this structure out of 2 trellis's that I plan to put outside and let him hang out on to take in some real sun light, I don't think he's ever seen the real sun. Just worried about birds, I may build a screen canopy for it or something.

 

[teen]

My ceiling fans scare the crap out of these guys and im sure its for good reason. A large bird would make a quick meal out of a chameleon.

 

[RyanBRZ]

My ceiling fans scare the crap out of these guys and im sure its for good reason. A large bird would make a quick meal out of a chameleon.

Yeah, there are hawks, blue jays, and even bald eagles around me lately. Definitely need some level of protection for him

 

[teen]

I have herons by me. Known to stalk koi ponds around here. Osprey that you see carrying around flounder and other large fish. Def need a screen enclosure. Chicken wire seems like a good option.

 

[snitz427]

We are (trying) to breed about 20 different types of bugs right now. I’ll take a pic in the am but here’s an older one before rearranging. Now the roaches are behind the screen cages for better heat and less light. The isopods are stacked ok top of roaches. We could use heat tape or an oil heater instead of bulbs but then Im more worried about fire risk with them.



We have a incandescent bulb over each cricket bin during the day. The ambient temp on the top shelf is around 75 degrees, thinking the sealed roach bin temps are a little higher on the inside. Thr inside of cricket bins are 85-90. On the other side of the room is a small oscilating fan and two flourescent bulbs titled towards stick bugs. some bugs arent kept down in the basement due to care/temp/feeding concerns. (Silkworms, BSFL, hornworms, leaf insects)

Currently trying to breed/feed:

Crickets (staple rotation)
Dubia (staple rotation)
Silkworms - normal, zeb, blacks (staple)
Green banana roaches
Giant green banana roaches
Stick bugs - 2 species
Leaf insects
Superworms
BSFL (failing at this ATM)
Hornworms (in progress)
10 species of isopods (and counting)
Springtails
Snails

 

[Daesie11]

We are (trying) to breed about 20 different types of bugs right now. I’ll take a pic in the am but here’s an older one before rearranging. Now the roaches are behind the screen cages for better heat and less light. The isopods are stacked ok top of roaches. We could use heat tape or an oil heater instead of bulbs but then Im more worried about fire risk with them.

View attachment 231889

We have a incandescent bulb over each cricket bin during the day. The ambient temp on the top shelf is around 75 degrees, thinking the sealed roach bin temps are a little higher on the inside. On the other side of the room is a small oscilating fan and two flourescent bulbs titled towards stick bugs. some bugs arent kept down in the basement due to care/temp/feeding concerns. (Silkworms, BSFL, hornworms, leaf insects)

Currently trying to breed/feed:

Crickets (staple rotation)
Dubia (staple rotation)
Silkworms - normal, zeb, blacks (staple)
Green banana roaches
Giant green banana roaches
Stick bugs - 2 species
Leaf insects
Superworms
BSFL (failing at this ATM)
Hornworms (in progress)
10 species of isopods (and counting)
Springtails
Snails

View attachment 231890
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View attachment 231892
View attachment 231893

Your mantises are really cool. Do you have a thread about how you've bred them? I know you have a few bug threads, hoping you have one for that!

 

[snitz427]

Your mantises are really cool. Do you have a thread about how you've bred them? I know you have a few bug threads, hoping you have one for that!

I did post one in the food forum. I havent hatched any eggs yet - they are a new addition from @nick barta at fullthrottlefeeders.com

 

[Daesie11]

I did post one in the food forum. I havent hatched any eggs yet - they are a new addition from @nick barta at fullthrottlefeeders.com

I honestly just think they would be cool to keep, not just as feeders

 

[cham_urchin]

We are (trying) to breed about 20 different types of bugs right now. I’ll take a pic in the am but here’s an older one before rearranging. Now the roaches are behind the screen cages for better heat and less light. The isopods are stacked ok top of roaches. We could use heat tape or an oil heater instead of bulbs but then Im more worried about fire risk with them.

View attachment 231889

We have a incandescent bulb over each cricket bin during the day. The ambient temp on the top shelf is around 75 degrees, thinking the sealed roach bin temps are a little higher on the inside. Thr inside of cricket bins are 85-90. On the other side of the room is a small oscilating fan and two flourescent bulbs titled towards stick bugs. some bugs arent kept down in the basement due to care/temp/feeding concerns. (Silkworms, BSFL, hornworms, leaf insects)

Currently trying to breed/feed:

Crickets (staple rotation)
Dubia (staple rotation)
Silkworms - normal, zeb, blacks (staple)
Green banana roaches
Giant green banana roaches
Stick bugs - 2 species
Leaf insects
Superworms
BSFL (failing at this ATM)
Hornworms (in progress)
10 species of isopods (and counting)
Springtails
Snails

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View attachment 231892
View attachment 231893

snails are so cute - i want to try these but not sure i could feed them to "the lion"

 

[teen]

@snitz427 that is quite the operation. Why are your bsfl failing? I keep mine in quart size containers with about 1/3 dirt/leaves from my mulch pile and throw in random fruit/veggies every now and then and they seem to just keep producing more worms and hatching more flies. My chams love chasing down the bsf even if they're not as nutritious as the larvae it keeps them entertained. Id like to try mantids and silk worms. Definitely need to place an order soon.

Do your chams eat the larger snails? Do you help them out at all and break shells? My tjj follow the snails around chewing on the shells but seems like they cant break through the shell on the big guys. The small snails dissapear so i assume they're being eaten.

 

[snitz427]

The small snail shells are easy to crush. I havent gotten any eggs yet to seperate so I havent fed any yet - but from small shells found gere and nursery plants - they shouldnt be a problem. I wouldnt try a large one as they’d be a choking hazard.

We have the BSFL in a big screen enclosure. I think our problem is temp and lighting. Weather has been mild and rainy... on sunny days they actively breed but havent seen eggs in the cardboard. Maybe trying a smaller scale container will help. Are your guys breeding indoors? @teen

 

[teen]

Yes indoors mid 70s low light for the bsfl. I havent done anythin special i bought two 50 counts from a reptile shop like 8 months ago and they juat keep going. Probably just luck because i havent done anything special. Basically just composting in a cup. I also mist them whenever the dirt starts looking dry.

 

[snitz427]

Yes indoors mid 70s low light for the bsfl. I havent done anythin special i bought two 50 counts from a reptile shop like 8 months ago and they juat keep going. Probably just luck because i havent done anything special. Basically just composting in a cup. I also mist them whenever the dirt starts looking dry.

Maybe I need to switch techniques! All the reading I did said bright light, air flow and warm temps. Oh well, its a learning process!

 

[teen]

I think moisture is key. When i see the small larvae theyre always in clumps and it looks damp. Could be them swarming decomposing fruit though i cant really tell. Maybe just switch to a bin instead of screen enclosure.

 

[jamest0o0]

We are (trying) to breed about 20 different types of bugs right now. I’ll take a pic in the am but here’s an older one before rearranging. Now the roaches are behind the screen cages for better heat and less light. The isopods are stacked ok top of roaches. We could use heat tape or an oil heater instead of bulbs but then Im more worried about fire risk with them.

View attachment 231889

We have a incandescent bulb over each cricket bin during the day. The ambient temp on the top shelf is around 75 degrees, thinking the sealed roach bin temps are a little higher on the inside. Thr inside of cricket bins are 85-90. On the other side of the room is a small oscilating fan and two flourescent bulbs titled towards stick bugs. some bugs arent kept down in the basement due to care/temp/feeding concerns. (Silkworms, BSFL, hornworms, leaf insects)

Currently trying to breed/feed:

Crickets (staple rotation)
Dubia (staple rotation)
Silkworms - normal, zeb, blacks (staple)
Green banana roaches
Giant green banana roaches
Stick bugs - 2 species
Leaf insects
Superworms
BSFL (failing at this ATM)
Hornworms (in progress)
10 species of isopods (and counting)
Springtails
Snails

View attachment 231890
View attachment 231891
View attachment 231892
View attachment 231893

You guys make bug keeping look so much more glamorous than I do. My bug room looks like the dungeon from silence of the lambs