Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,641

1 members and 2,640 guests
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

Ziggy31984 (40)

» Stats

Members: 75,014
Threads: 248,474
Posts: 2,568,391
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, DetectiveIcarus
Results 1 to 8 of 8
  1. #1
    Registered User MikeYPG's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-23-2017
    Posts
    37
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts

    Unconventional feeders

    Hello everyone, I have some idea's and need help! Will cut to the chase below:
    I am beginning to breed Super Worms, Meal Worms and Banded crickets. I have had very good success breeding supers/mealies, never tried crickets so that is a first for me.

    I am looking at breeding the following:
    -Grasshoppers
    -Mantids
    -Horn Worms

    And would love some ideas about insects not commonly for sale, that are unconventional and would still make great feeders and are easy-moderately easy to breed.

    Requirements for the "looking to breed" and "idea" categories:
    -Must be legal in Ontario, Canada
    -Must be able to find breeding stock at a fair price and without much hassle
    -Must be easy to moderate difficulty to breed
    -Must be a viable feeder, minimal risk to animals being fed and good output from the breeder bugs, low to moderate maintenance.

    Any help appreciated, Thanks!

  2. #2
    BPnet Senior Member JodanOrNoDan's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-23-2015
    Location
    Everglades
    Posts
    3,042
    Thanks
    2,017
    Thanked 2,853 Times in 1,575 Posts
    Images: 77
    Crickets are easy but super stinky in my opinion
    Hissing cockroaches are easy

  3. #3
    Registered User MikeYPG's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-23-2017
    Posts
    37
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts

    Re: Unconventional feeders

    Quote Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan View Post
    Crickets are easy but super stinky in my opinion
    Hissing cockroaches are easy
    All exotic roaches are illegal in Canada Plus me and the wife have already dealt with a German roach infestation.. not fun, even if the tropical species are unable to infest or very low risk the wife wont permit it and I don't blame her. I agree with her completely there lolSo unfortunately roaches are out.

    Exotic Mantids, Exotic Stick insects, Exotic butterflies, Exotic millipedes are others are out as well. Illegal in Canada.

  4. #4
    BPnet Veteran EmilyandArlo's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-18-2016
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    264
    Thanks
    161
    Thanked 251 Times in 155 Posts
    Images: 11

    Re: Unconventional feeders

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeYPG View Post
    All exotic roaches are illegal in Canada Plus me and the wife have already dealt with a German roach infestation.. not fun, even if the tropical species are unable to infest or very low risk the wife wont permit it and I don't blame her. I agree with her completely there lolSo unfortunately roaches are out.

    Exotic Mantids, Exotic Stick insects, Exotic butterflies, Exotic millipedes are others are out as well. Illegal in Canada.
    Hmm with those restrictions, the only feeder that springs to mind would be silk worms. However, they are not all that easy to breed, the eggs take quite a while to hatch and you need to be able to order mulberry leaves, as that is all that they eat. That being said, they do make excellent, nutritious feeders. They are one of the only worms low in fat and can be a constant part of an animal's diet.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    BPnet Senior Member JodanOrNoDan's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-23-2015
    Location
    Everglades
    Posts
    3,042
    Thanks
    2,017
    Thanked 2,853 Times in 1,575 Posts
    Images: 77

    Re: Unconventional feeders

    Quote Originally Posted by MikeYPG View Post
    All exotic roaches are illegal in Canada Plus me and the wife have already dealt with a German roach infestation.. not fun, even if the tropical species are unable to infest or very low risk the wife wont permit it and I don't blame her. I agree with her completely there lolSo unfortunately roaches are out.

    Exotic Mantids, Exotic Stick insects, Exotic butterflies, Exotic millipedes are others are out as well. Illegal in Canada.
    I don't pretend to know the laws in Canada, but to set the record straight, hissing cockroaches are not a species that infests. In Canada it is unlikely that these guys would live for more than a couple days outside of a breeding tub. They require humidity and heat. I detest cockroaches also but these guys are different.
    Last edited by JodanOrNoDan; 03-22-2017 at 11:56 AM.

  6. #6
    BPnet Veteran EmilyandArlo's Avatar
    Join Date
    06-18-2016
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    264
    Thanks
    161
    Thanked 251 Times in 155 Posts
    Images: 11

    Unconventional feeders

    I know you are decided against cockroaches (and I'm sure having a German cockroach infestation would scar anyone for life), but as JodanOrNoDan mentioned, there are species of cockroaches that are far less off putting than they sound. Dubia and discoids are others that cannot climb and don't infest. I find typical roaches and water bugs absolutely horrifying, but I do raise Discoids( Dubia are illegal here in Fl) and green banana roaches (that don't even look roach-y). I hope that doesn't come off as me disregarding your original post, as I totally get that roaches are a definite no for you guys right now. And it is possible that those species are illegal in Canada, but roaches do make fantastic feeders and are very easy to raise, so maybe somewhere down the line they may be worth looking into.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by EmilyandArlo; 03-22-2017 at 12:08 PM.

  7. #7
    Registered User WastelandExotics's Avatar
    Join Date
    10-01-2015
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    97
    Thanks
    77
    Thanked 62 Times in 41 Posts
    To back up EmilyandArlo on going with roaches:

    I had a German roach problem pretty bad in the kitchen of my last apartment a couple years back - I would wake up, flip the light on in the kitchen and there would be 50+ that would scatter under all the appliances. It literally kept me up at night, I was terrified of them getting in my bedroom and crawling in my ears at night (watched to many youtube videos of cockroach ear extractions). I got so paranoid that when moving day came, I got rid of 80% of the things I had, dismantled all of my electronics (as I had heard that they liked warm places and chewing on electrical elements so I completely took my tv, computer and laptop apart), got brand new boxes because I new that they loved to hang out and breed in cardboard so no used boxes and stored the remainder of my things that I didn't need immediately in a storage unit that was subsequently bombed numerous times before the items made their way into my new home. Most would consider this manic but I just wanted to be thorough as I didn't want a repeat in the new place (my current dwelling) and I can say with confidence - 2 years roach free.

    Well....roach free if you don't count the new Dubia colony I just got Dubias are on another level for me as far as the roach scene goes - they're big, clumsy and not too fast moving, which is in parallel to Germans and the females are actually kinda cute and fascinating to watch. The males are a little harder for me to handle as they look like the big American roaches that come up from the sewers around here and crunch under your boots when you're walking around at night but even they are growing on me - I don't even really put them in the same category as Germans anymore, though technically they are still roaches, as they're just fun to have. But I can tell you, if another German roach scuttled it's way across my floor I would FLIP OUT. I can have Dubia crawl all over my hands and arms but if a German even looks at me I call in the heavy artillery (ie. my partner) to annihilate the little thing. I can't bring myself to smoosh - it makes me cringe.

    Of course, contending with a partner that is zero-tolerance roach is a whole other ball game. Good luck with whatever you decide!
    Last edited by WastelandExotics; 03-22-2017 at 02:45 PM.
    ~ Ball Pythons ~
    1.0 Banana Lemonblast [Fry]
    0.1 Black Mojo [Yolandi Hisser]
    0.1 Normal [Izzy]
    0.1 Bumblebee [Skrimshaw]
    0.1 Spider [Lenore]

    ~ Other Mooches ~
    0.1 Red Eared Slider [Flagnar]
    1.0 Bearded Dragon [Horton]
    0.0.1 Brazilian White Knee Tarantula [Little Butt]

    Instagram: @wastelandexotics



  8. The Following User Says Thank You to WastelandExotics For This Useful Post:

    EmilyandArlo (03-23-2017)

  9. #8
    BPnet Veteran KevinK's Avatar
    Join Date
    09-16-2011
    Location
    The Land of Beer and Cheese
    Posts
    954
    Thanks
    704
    Thanked 973 Times in 453 Posts

    Re: Unconventional feeders

    Quote Originally Posted by EmilyandArlo View Post
    ..... you need to be able to order mulberry leaves, as that is all that they eat.

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Not to threadjack this or anything, but I never knew that.....and I happen to have a mulberry tree/bush in my backyard. Sounds like a business idea

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1