MalcolmX Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 have got aprox 20 two to four day old male and female locusts. 31.C - 36.c. fan blowing air over 100W bulb. 24 hours of light fed 2-3 times a day on good grass. there in a 120L plastic container and the fan keeps them nice n dry. they seem happy and i would like to know how to induce mating or if i have to wait for a week or something? cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 do they mate that soon ? you did say 2-4 day old locusts didnt you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmX Posted May 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 They are adults who had their final moult 2-4 days ago. the males arent yellow yet either, they look the same as the girls. just read a post on reptileforums.co.uk from a guy with same problem, his eventually mated 7 days later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Mine usually take a few days to hear the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 your not still feeding them wine biscuits and playing barry white to them are you alan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmX Posted May 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 well i was going to play them house music giv them a disco ball blow smoke and pour beer on them, but i cant find a dj. do they make a sound, chirp or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRATED Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 give them a few more days, they will do it when they are ready and once they start they wont stop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 So when ordering adult locusts normally - is it likely to get a mix of male and female ? Same with adult crickets ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmX Posted May 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 a few more days then, ill have to be patient. saw some boys rapidly rubbing there legs on wings to make a noise. have two 2L ice cream containers filled to top with beach sand dune sand(collected after 7 days moderately heavy rain to wash) whitch i will moisten daily when mating occurs. feeding coutch grass and other common large blade grasses, some toytoy type grass, stays fresh longer over night, and a dish of layers mash. sometimes giving carrot peels, will get some red cabbage tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repto Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 get some smaller egg laying containers(small clear throwaway coffee cups)put them in a cutout hole in the floor or a shallow cardboard carton etc.Change for a new one after you see them used or once a week replace with new ones.Your others will dry out way too fast,especially with a fan.Cover with glapwrap&rubberband and incubate separetly.Also you may be better with a slighty more porous mixture(put a bit a bit of pumice sand or vermiculite in your medium.Branflakes are more natural and palatable for them than layers mash.good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmX Posted May 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 cheers repto, will make the changes to the sand containers/mix tonight. your locusts are on 24/7 with no problems arent they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 God we had a 3 stage setup breeding locust for Tequila - SO time consuming but at least they don't chirp, supply was continuous and weirdly we started getting albino ones which were quite cool. started with something like 25 adults and endd up with TOO many and the worst thing was the small ones found a way to scale glass and escape through a hole allowing wires in it was gross to find small crickets everywhere in the house had to lie to mum and tell her they were wild ones which must have found a way in lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmX Posted May 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 so my locusts have mated and are laying now. their behaviour up till now was as follows: after the final moult both males(similarly coloured rear, curving upward at tip) and females(blunt dark coloured tip at rear) were an overall pink colour. they are clumsy but after a few days can jump and fly accurately in a confined space. after 5 or 6 days all became very jumpy and exiteable, taking a long time to settle when disturbed. they have a very good apatite now. by the 6 to 7th day males and females appear the same in colour, but the females are genrally larger and fatter, and have the right of way while moving. on the 7 or 8th day males mount the females and a day later they finally couple, although the male tries very hard from the start but of course the female plays hard to get. mating lasts a day or more. a day or more after mating eggs were layed in sand and sand/vemiculite, i cant tell in the vermiculite at this stage, i need to dig through it to find tell. just have to wait 10 days for babies now. today is the 12th day after moulting and most of the locusts are either mating or laying, or eating heaps. some females are becoming very fat and dragging themselves around. some of the mating pairs are also lying down on their sides. the large females constantley convulse their abdomens. the males are starting to become yellow now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldogod Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 you must have lot of time to observe all that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmX Posted May 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 yeah im self employed, and spend an hour each day in total just watching. i love it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 If you have the temperature up there round 30 deg you should be sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repto Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 don`t hold your breath on the 10 days either? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted June 3, 2009 Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 as repto says. closer to 14 I find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MalcolmX Posted June 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2009 yea thanx guys, its 9 days now since the very first female layed but she wasnt very fat and her man wasnt yellow. now all my locusts have mated and layed at least once and most are just finishing their second round of mating. its good to hear that its not exactly 10 days. if you cover the sand with glad wrap how do the hatchlings cope when hatching etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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