Just researching for now
- Thread starter Drago
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carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
Do you have a screened patio? you can keep your crickets out there in a 10 gallon or 5 gallon tank with a screen lid. Just when it gets cold you may have to put a light on them for heat or you will get die off. I keep them very successfully like that and we have the same weather. Hornworms and silkworms can be bought in these pods that come with food. Keep at room temp. That is all they basically eat. Horns get gigantic within a few days with access to food and will get too big to feed a young chameleon very quickly. Superworms can be kept in oats in a tupperware container.
justjumpit621
New Member
I LOVE roaches 
I have 2 tanks with them, a b. dubia tank and a hisser tank. The dubia's are great and reproduce rapidly. I find a glass aquarium with a screen lid to work best because they can't climb glass. Keep them somewhere that is dimly lit because they don't like light. They need to stay warm so I put a heat pad under mine on medium on one side. Use egg crates for them to hide and feed them scraps of veggies and fruits and greens.
Plus' of having roaches:
No smell!
Can't climb glass
no noise!
Don't fly
meatier than crickets so you don't need as many.
I have 2 tanks with them, a b. dubia tank and a hisser tank. The dubia's are great and reproduce rapidly. I find a glass aquarium with a screen lid to work best because they can't climb glass. Keep them somewhere that is dimly lit because they don't like light. They need to stay warm so I put a heat pad under mine on medium on one side. Use egg crates for them to hide and feed them scraps of veggies and fruits and greens. Plus' of having roaches:
No smell!
Can't climb glass
no noise!
Don't fly
meatier than crickets so you don't need as many.
Drago
New Member
I LOVE roaches
How big are your tanks?
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
Thats Carol not Carlos!! lol!
justjumpit621
New Member
10 gallon, they don't need a lot of room. The hissers are in a 30 gallon but that's only because that's all I had left lol
Drago
New Member
justjumpit621
New Member
Drago
New Member
So I went to Siegle Reptiles today in Deerfield Beach. Friendly enough people there. It got BUSY so I didn't want to pester anybody too much. I know, that's what their there for but it was chaos lol
I did get a lot of questions answered both about Chams and cricket storage so it was a good trip.
They (the one guy I was talking to) said "don't spend money on aquariums for crickets, go to Walmart and get a tall kitchen trash can, like a 13gal size, that will work just fine. Just dump them in the trash container with the egg cartons and they will do fine"
We also talked about feeding the crickets.
So, this sound like a cheap workable idea to me, what say all of you?
They also have reasonably priced packages for Chams. Screened enclosure, UVB and Basking light, some nutrients, some vine material, maybe some other stuff I may have forgotten. They told me the package has all the essentials to get started. Aroud $145ish
I did get a lot of questions answered both about Chams and cricket storage so it was a good trip.
They (the one guy I was talking to) said "don't spend money on aquariums for crickets, go to Walmart and get a tall kitchen trash can, like a 13gal size, that will work just fine. Just dump them in the trash container with the egg cartons and they will do fine"
We also talked about feeding the crickets.
So, this sound like a cheap workable idea to me, what say all of you?
They also have reasonably priced packages for Chams. Screened enclosure, UVB and Basking light, some nutrients, some vine material, maybe some other stuff I may have forgotten. They told me the package has all the essentials to get started. Aroud $145ish
Drago
New Member
Thank you for the offer, I may take you up on that. Let me figure out what's involved.
BocaJan
New Member
You don't need a special heat bulb, just a household bulb, 40 or 60 watt and a clamp fixture from Home Depot. I get my fixtures for my UV bulbs from WalMart in the florescent lamp section and of course remove the plastic overlay because it doesn't let the UV through. They run about $8.00 as compared to about $40 for a pretty tank fixture which just isn't needed. I also use 48" shop lights to cover 3 cages, but depending on the situation, the 18" bulbs work great and last.
So, What you need to start is a screen cage, a vine, a couple of nice plants from Home Depot or Lowes (there is a recommended plant section in one of the Forums sticky), your lights and I would recommend a thermometer to check temps. Nothing fancy, just one that reads real temps. If you have a patio you can house your animal outside and he/she will love it. Just make sure your cage is heavily planted so there is a lot of shade and shade on the patio. There is lots of UV even in the shade.
So, What you need to start is a screen cage, a vine, a couple of nice plants from Home Depot or Lowes (there is a recommended plant section in one of the Forums sticky), your lights and I would recommend a thermometer to check temps. Nothing fancy, just one that reads real temps. If you have a patio you can house your animal outside and he/she will love it. Just make sure your cage is heavily planted so there is a lot of shade and shade on the patio. There is lots of UV even in the shade.
Drago
New Member
BJ - Yea, I have a second floor, screened in balcony that faces NNE so it doesn't get any direct sunlight except just a small corner of the balcony and only when the sun is highest (late May through August) and even then, it's only for a couple hours of the day. Plenty of room for a Cham habitat out of direct sunlight
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