Is This Grasshopper Safe to Feed to My Cham?

I've wanted some different feeders to feed Padre, my parsonii. My husband was telling the guys he works with about me wanting to raise mantis and hoppers and today one of the guys brought him some hoppers to work from his farm. The first thing I had him ask was if the farm was insecticide free and he said they never use insecticide that it's a chicken farm.

All you guys that know insects. Are these safe hoppers to feed? It looks like two different kinds of hoppers to me. One of them is black.

I'd love to know too. The park where I play soccer is plagued with these. Hundreds laying against the fences.

Both have the bright don't eat me, I'm poisonous colors. But I don't know the answer. I'd try to find out what the grasshoppers are eating in the wild. Some Lubers eat/feed on a pond algae that's toxic when young.

I have never seen grass hoppers like that. I have millions of green ones on my farm. But if those are safe feeders. I want some too. Those are pretty hoppers (Sorry i'm no help;()

I found this info on them, but still not sure if they are safe. http://www.wildflorida.com/articles/Floridas_Giant_Orange_Grasshoppers.php

Here's a cut and paste:

Eastern lubber grasshoppers possess a variety of abilities to defend themselves. Their bright color pattern is a warning to predators that the lubber contains toxic substances. Indeed, there are several records attributing the demise of individual birds to failure to exercise caution when selecting prey items. Also small mammals such as opossums have been known to vomit violently after ingesting a lubber, and to remain ill for several hours. However, shrikes are reported to catch and kill lubbers.

If the red, yellow, and black coloration fails to keep a predator at bay, then the lubber may secrete a foamy spray from the thoracic region (the portion of the body where the legs and wings are attached.) This spray consists of a number of compounds, some of which, are irritants. This bubbly froth is accompanied by a relatively loud, frightful hissing sound. The insect contracts the abdomen to force air out of the spiracles along with the defensive secretion. The sound is produced as the spray is being forced out of these tiny holes in the thorax called spiracles. Eastern lubbers, like most all grasshoppers, can also regurgitate recently consumed plant material. This regurgitant is mostly liquid and has a dark brown color. This is commonly referred to as "tobacco spit." The tobacco spit is partially digested food material along with some semi-toxic compounds from the insect's crop region.

I dont know about the colorful one but the black and red one is the Eastern lubber grasshopper and is Toxic... pretty much to any animal.... their colors specifically are like that for the reason to warn off predators

Thanks Steve and Sarah. I need to have my hubby take these back to the farm. I don't want them around.

I wouldnt feed them either. All of the hopper species I collect and feed off are various shades of green, brown etc. You might have a little yellow on them also but you definitely want to stay away from ones like in your pictures.

Do you have moths flying around your porch lights at night or cabbage and skipper butterflies flying around some flowers? I bet he would love those!!

They are eastern lubber grasshoppers, they excreet a nasty fluid when disturbed, definetly stay way from them. They are very stumpy and clumsy and rely on their toxins to keep them safe from predators.

EDIT: To leroux2008, they are all lubbers, the black and red ones are the nymphal stages, while the colorful ones are the adults.

pinocchiosmommy said:

I found this info on them, but still not sure if they are safe. http://www.wildflorida.com/articles/Floridas_Giant_Orange_Grasshoppers.php

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well the above sight about says it... and gees sounds like there a pain to get rid of.

Here are some hopppers that are safe to feed you can find down here.

American Bird Grasshopper
The nymph stage
Cone headed katydid
Florida Katydid

Jann you even make hoppers look good in pics LOL

Thanks Danny and Hoj.

My husband is taking the hoppers back to work tomorrow so they can go back to the farm. I sure don't want them breeding around here. I take my chams out all the time and Camille could sure grab one.

Jeez, i would keep those hoppers just because of how pretty they are!

Jann, I was just looking at Dual Survival from Discovery Channel and Dave and Cody (the two guys from the show) were here in florida surviving in the Everglades. Cody found that grasshopper and he said it is deadly even to humans. It contains 2 different toxins (I forgot the names) in its thorax. I know you already got all the answers you needed, but I saw it on the show and wanted to post it lol.

@Lizardlover ahhh! See I did not know that..... Ive seen some around here that were just black and red and were the size of the adult ones....

Hoj said:

Jann you even make hoppers look good in pics LOL

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I was just gonna comment on the HQ pictures, they are really good, just like all the ones of your chams jannb.

Damus said:

I was just gonna comment on the HQ pictures, they are really good, just like all the ones of your chams jannb.

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Thank you very much!

Well they are scary enough and yet somehow pretty in the pics! Poisonous or not...I am still having a hard time with the larger crickets, I would NEVER be able to touch those things! lol I guess one good thing can be said about living in MN...we dont have bugs like that!