1. Yes they chew like crazy, after a number of ruined water bottles, I came up with this:
8oz lixzit water bottle mcgyvered
Had this set of bottles almost a year
I just run the wire through the screen top.
2. My older breeders that are fed off, weigh about 78g, but a 60g asf weekly is enough for even the big BP's.
3. It will take them a month or so before you see babies, then 2-3 months for them to reach 30-40g, they are slow growers.