Not so worried about the smell: theyll all be in the greenhouse.
Further to my last: I’m in Canada, and the silkworm supply is erratic at best, and it’s bloody hard to keep them alive after having been shipped in a Canadian winter.
Two clutches laid a month a part: one of 35, one of 75.
I’m interested in whether there is a life stage that would be suitable for babies
Superworm beetles (adults) lay tiny eggs that produce worms (larvae) Try using a piece of screen to sift the larvae from your rearing media. Poultry food is fine for the media. Sift the media and worms onto a flat surface, and you will see the worms scramble away. Sweep them into a container. I dust them in a plastic deli cup. Contrary to current beliefs, they can be dusted and fed special food (gut loaded) before offering to your chameleons. So, get some superworms, they will pupate and rive rise to adults. The adults need water- a shallow dish with a sponge. This will take some time to get things started, and you will have to develop your own techniques. Hatchling chams are better off with flightless fruit flies, though. I like hydei.
Thank you for your post. Fruit flies are easy, but as I’ll be raising these guys for 3 months, hydei won’t due past about two weeks. Also, the prospects of gutloading hydei are poor.
I haven’t bred crickets, but am breeding discoid roaches and have the same issue. I think we just have to be patient and let the colony get well established. Are you using a heat mat for them? Feeding & hydrating well? Letting the eggs hatch in a container separate from the adults?
I am using a heat lamp and my breeding boxes and incubators are in an upstairs closet with no windows so it gets really really warm. On average between 80 to 90. I usually give them 4 days or so to mate and lay their eggs. In the meantime I am feeding anything and everything I think they will eat. Once I feel the containers are full of eggs I’ll mist the substrate and put lids on them and place them into another plastic bin and I’ll keep this closer to the heat lamp. If I use a thermometer the box will stay at a consistent 90 degree with at least 80 percent humidity. I do take the kids off every few days to make sure substrate is staying moist. After about a week they usually hatch. After that it seems to take forever for them to get a 1/4”. I feed daily with a variety of veggies. I keep water crystals wet and give them plenty of places to hide. I just haven’t been able to get my numbers and timing correct in correlation with the amount of animals I have to feed. At this time I have 1 veiled, 3 panthers, 2 bearded dragons and 1 leopard gecko.
How I let my husband talk me into having all these reptiles I will never know lol. I am considering starting a Dubia roach colony. I’ve had bean beetles coming out of my ears when my panthers were tiny as well as fruit flies. Those are easy to breed and maintain. Crickets are proving to be a bit of a challenge.
