ASF tank lab block hopper instructions with detailed pics!!!

[Mike Cavanaugh]

I have had a few requests recently for directions on how I make ASF lab block hoppers. The following pictures are a step by step guide to making a quality ASF lab block hopper for a tank out of one cut piece of 1/2" harware cloth. The pictures are self explanitory. if you count the squares you can make an exact replica.


Recomended Tools:
*Pliers (for pulling stainless steel zip ties, and to help with bending hardware cloth)
*Needle nose plyers (for bending stainless steel zip ties
*Tin Snips (look like giant scisors for cutting hardware cloth and stainless steel zip ties
*Wire cutters (for making precise cuts on hardware cloth when needed)



Total cost per hopper?

*about 50 cents in hardware cloth
*about $1.50 for (5) stainless steel zip ties (you can use plastic, but trust me, even if they are located behind the hopper, the ASF's will still eventually get to them, and chew them off!
*stabbing self several times with hardware cloth while cutting and bending!

TOTAL cost per Hopper: $2.00 and some really sore fingers and hands!

Enjoy!








Stainless steel wire ties!!! My home depot just started carying them. They are a little pricely, and a pain to use, but the results are priceless!!!!!









I like to put a top on it like this. Notice the stubs oppisite side to the hinges? I leave those on purpose beacause this makes it very easy to tuck those stubs in, making it impossible for the ASF's to get in from the top... But also very easy for me to reopen and fill. Again I used the Stainless Steel Zip Ties for the "hinges".







I set the hight so that the bottom of the hopper is about an inch and a half off the substrate.

ASF's LOVE to dump out food from a bowl, play with the lab blocks, then make a bed out of the bowl. This creates a huge amount of wasted food. Once I started using hoppers my food costs dropped 75%!!!!! This sized hopper holds exactly 8oz, or 1/2 pound of Mazuri 6F Rodent feed.

Just a heads up if you are new to hoppers.... At first you will think that they can't get to it through the little holes... because they are eating so little. Then later you will be simply amazed because you will realize that its NOT that they can't reach the food, It is that they just don't eat very much, and they were wasting so much more then you realized!!!

Mike