Live food - Migratory locust vers. Sizes

Migratory locusts from North Africa (Locusta migratoria), like other species of grasshoppers, have become increasingly popular in recent years as live food insects for various reptiles.

The migratory locust is an especially species-appropriate live food for reptiles that stimulates and maintains their natural prey drive. Migratory locusts are easy to breed commercially and are very productive. They are also reasonably easy to breed in the hobby.

For breeding mig ratory locusts, it is best to choose a terrarium that is well ventilated and as high as possible. The tank should be easy to clean. It is most hygienic to breed in different containers and to clean the unused containers from scratch each time. The terrarium should be at least 40 x 40 x 60 cm. The temperature should be between 30-35 °C during the day, at night you can let it drop to room temperature. Every 2-3 days you spray with water.

The breeding container is lined with smaller cardboard boxes or toilet rolls and equipped with branches for climbing. Attention - migratory locusts also gnaw on cables, so you should place electrical devices only outside your terrarium. A container for depositing eggs is also important - fill the small dish with a slightly moist mixture of oven-sterilized soil, peat and sand.

Migratory grasshoppers like to eat all kinds of cereal sprouts, grass, dandelions, lettuce, carrots, cat grass or similar. To prevent cannibalism in the grasshoppers, you also give very little dry dog food.

To start breeding, place 10-20 subadult grasshoppers in your breeding tank.  The young animals hatch about 2 weeks after the eggs are laid. It is best to put the can with the eggs into a new breeding container. The eggs and hatchlings need the same conditions as the adult migratory locusts. After hatching, the animals go through a total of 5 molts within 3-5 weeks. The last moult is called adult moult. After that, it takes about a week for the migratory locusts to mate. Then the cycle starts all over again.

You can buy migratory locusts in 4 different stages.

Small mig ratory locusts are about 5 days old. They have had a moult. Small migratory locusts are the perfect live food for all kinds of small reptiles and the young of reptiles. The small migratory locusts hop around the terrarium and trigger the hunting instinct of the terrarium inhabitants. The high protein content of migratory locusts is really good for raising young.

Medium-sized mig ratory locusts have gone through two more molts and are about 10 or 11 days old. Migratory locusts at this stage are already more robust and have a better shelf life. You can already buy them well in stock.

Subadult mig ratory locusts are just before the last molt and do not have wings yet. They are 15 days old. A single migratory locust at this stage is voracious enough to consume around 2 grams of green food and 1 gram of dry food per day. In terms of protein content and fat content, the subadult migratory locust is the ideal food animal for reptiles. The jumping legs are also not yet as bulky as those in large grasshoppers. The shelf life of the subadult migratory locust is very good.

Large mig ratory grasshoppers are the adult grasshoppers with wings that are now 22 to 27 days old. At about 30 days, the migratory locust has reached sexual maturity and mating begins. Females begin laying their first eggs after about 3 days. Contents:

Migratory locusts are quite nutritious and have a good nutritional composition. Their nutritional values on average are:

• Crude protein: approx. 23%
• Crude fat: approx. 4%
• Crude ash: approx. 1%
• Others: approx. 1%

Suitable for: Reptiles such as bearded dragons, water dragons, chameleons, leopard geckos and other terrarium animals, including large lizards.

Size:

Small - 15 pieces

Medium - 13 pieces

Subadult - 11 pieces

Large - 10 pieces