Insect Direct

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/turtle-lost-in-quake-turns-up-doorstep-video-4686522

moved the kennel, and sort of dragged half the hive away from the rest in the process. opps so thought id try reconstruct it + they where sort of just on the lawn now kennel is moved.. have put the hive in a vacant kennel, they seem no worse for wear. :lol:

They were fine for about 20minutes, other than buzzing everywhere within a few meters of the hive, while i picked up parts of the nest. it's almost half a meter square, 15-20cm high. first bumblebee hive i have seen. had moved the whole lot and was just picking up little bits from the lawn and bam, one on finger through glove, then a big one on my neck and one on forearm all within seconds. here i was thinking i had them tamed :rotf:

found some bumblebees having a jolly old time under the dog kennel. was all fun and games until i got stung 3 times :facepalm:

thought it may be. have used a hovabator without fan. worked ok. found it kept a more constant temp with the fan going and minimal to no air holes in egg tubs. but yeah you should open the containers at least 3/4times during incubation. now just using an old fridge with large pc fan and a 40watt light bulb (should add another bulb as a back up/ or may get a heat cord) on a $30 thermostat i got off tm a few years ago. it does fluctuate a few degrees but that happens in the wild so all good and it seems to work a charm. have you candled the eggs, to see if any are fertile?

dry out at 90% humidity ... more likely just infertile? how do you have the eggs stored? my incubator is only 42% moisture. tubs with eggs would be higher but i suspect you are obtaining the moisture from the incubator therefore would have to have eggs exposed to environment/ does it havea fan? not sure about reptile eggs being exposed to a fan even at correct temp and humidity. i don't get those incubators to be honest, or at least not how the display pic is of them full of eggs in the bottom as that is hardly practical. fans are fine if eggs are in tubs with minimal to no air holes.

locusts, crickets, and mingaworms seem to be the staple most commonly used. the rest are good for a bit of variety/to fill the gaps. ie flies, moths, slaters are good treats etc :bounce:

cool, looks part whistler

bit tricky to breed in captivity. possibly the hardest of the three species we can keep. but get basics sorted and they should just breed. good luck batman.

Nope, was either Taranaki or Taupo.

i relocated it when i became famous :sml1: thought it had mated my female skink. got all the tell tale bite marks but she hasn't given birth. then it was caught pinned, with tails locked, by another male the other week so what ever sex it is i think it's sharing the love.

cos u have mothered them. stop drop roll should be saved for fires. :sml2:

any pics of parents? the genetics should'nt be as messed up as the frogs i'm famous for :sml2:

stunning colour.

crickets blend into the brown one as it has black flecks in it. no a big issue but just something i have noticed. if you have a fussy meater then go green. put mealworms in a dish should singe the edges of turf aswel, gets rid of any lose strands that may be eaten buy little reptiles + it looks much tidier, acheive best result with a small gas torch on an angle

yep pretty much. below about 15C growth can be slow to non existant. they go dormant to save enrgy and wait for greener pastures..ie summer when there is plenty of insects to support them. don't want this species to be overly warm though. 25C would be pushing it. outside in large trough or bucket is the best way to do it. will get cold at night but the warmth during the day is more than enough to stimulate them. minimal water changes and use green water if possible. they dont like clean water like fish.

anywhere from say 8weeks to 8months possibly even longer if over winter in the wild. lot depends on food and temp.

community tank? pretty sure even small fish like platties can eat the young. i found providing a suitable cave to be the most important cue to get them in the mood. drill large hole in driftwood facing downwards. deep enough for the fish to get its entire body in there. feed bloodworms at night time. good luck

check this sucker out http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2068547/Weta-insect-Heaviest-world-weighs-3-times-mouse.html

Good effort. yip. much more wild looking compared to vitticeps. neat dragons.

sounds like some good stuff :sml2: try to minimise use of outside lights, if light in shed? that will no doubt attract food for the spiders. eliminate any stagnant water in attempt to reduce mossies. rotten wood, any damp areas where cockroaches may like to hang out etc. would be more inclined to use a barrier spray around the outside of your house as oppose to fumigating the entire house. not sure how effective but gta be better than living with chem residue. wonder if adding daddy-long-legs to your shed may help reduce their numbers? i have heaps of grey housespiders on the house around the outside light. very rarely see them in the house. Possibly due to me always letting a few daddy long legs live on the ceiling ... good luck.

solid :thup:

all's good then, back the cave for me :sml2:

dont mind me :nilly: :sml2:

4-6weeks is a bit short i would of thought. probably bare minimum... 3months is more like it. had one go for about 6months once.