Raising feeder insects?

[RachelsaurusRexU]

I'm thinking about raising feeders for my Common mynah bird, Bonsai. His diet consists mostly of fruit, he gets insects almost daily, and hardboiled eggs once in a while. I've been buying Phoenix worms for him (black soldier fly larva), but it gets a little expensive. I'd like to grow his own food to save money and give him a larger variety. The insects I'm considering are Dubia roaches, wax worms, pill bugs and meal worms. I know that mealies aren't very nutritious, but I figure if I gutload and give a variety, they'll be fine to include. I'll likely still buy Phoenix worms on occasion, because he really loves them and they're supposed to be very nutritious, and I might try buying some crickets as well. He'll have A BLAST chasing those around. I have a five gallon aquarium with a screen lid and some shoebox sized plastic containers. I've read a bit about what to feed various creepy crawlers and it seems to be the same from species to species, but if anyone has personal experience in raising insects PLEASE share your knowledge!

I feel like the gross factor with the roaches may be a little tough initially, but I'll get over it. They supposedly can't climb smooth surfaces like glass or plastic, so that makes me feel a little better, haha.

[swolek]

I've raised mealworms by accident. I had a huge colony and they just bred on their own, ha. So I think they're easy :p.

I tried raising crickets but the smell, noises, and escapees made it not really worth it. Oh, and the occasional rogue adults going around eating the smaller crickets... Now I just get juvies and keep them for up to a couple of weeks. They're fairly easy to breed, just a pain and so cheap in the store there's no point if feeding a single animal.

Dubia roaches are supposed to be really easy to keep but I haven't had a need to raise any. It seems like mostly Bearded Dragon owners who do.

[minnieme]

I did a quick wiki search on that bird and didn't even know you could have it as a pet! A little OT.....but is he social?

I have no clue about the bugs though...sorry. Sounds gross.

[RachelsaurusRexU]

LOL. Yes, he's social. And yes, bugs are gross, but I kinda think raw meat and various bloody animal parts aren't so pleasant either. Whatever it takes to keep the kiddos happy and healthy.

[RachelsaurusRexU]

I've raised mealworms by accident. I had a huge colony and they just bred on their own, ha. So I think they're easy :p.

I tried raising crickets but the smell, noises, and escapees made it not really worth it. Oh, and the occasional rogue adults going around eating the smaller crickets... Now I just get juvies and keep them for up to a couple of weeks. They're fairly easy to breed, just a pain and so cheap in the store there's no point if feeding a single animal.

Dubia roaches are supposed to be really easy to keep but I haven't had a need to raise any. It seems like mostly Bearded Dragon owners who do.

Yeah, I've kinda heard that about crickets, which is why I'd just as soon buy them. Hmmm...maybe I'll track down some Beardie owners for roach info... It seems pretty simple and straightforward though... Have you heard anything about raising pill/sow/roly poly bugs?

[Tobi]

do they eat maggots? because those are pretty easy

[RachelsaurusRexU]

I'm sure he'd happily eat maggots, but I'm not really wanting to grow them! Bleh!

[Tobi]

I'm sure he'd happily eat maggots, but I'm not really wanting to grow them! Bleh!

lol i know... they are so gross...

this spring when we get our chickens i was thinking about farming superworms, and they are supposedly more nutritious and easier to digest than meal worms... Maggots would be pretty inexpensive... could really just put some beef scrap in a tin outside and let em feast

There are a few good videos i was watching a few months ago, one of witch i couldn't find -_- which i liked more but didn't favorite it unfortunately... but How to breed super worms - YouTube is okay, he's a bit annoying with as much talking as he's doing but... helps to understand a bit. the superworms are a bit more of a chore than mealworms from what i've learned. you essentially have to seperate every single worm to get it to turn into a beetle... i can't imagine how much of a pain that would start to be

[naturalfeddogs]

Do they eat crickets? Kirby had a frog for a couple of years and thats what we fed him. I bought cricket food at petsmart along with moisture gel for a water source so they wouldn't drown. He had that frog for about two years I think, and I only had to buy cricket food maybe twice. It lasted that long!

[CavePaws]

I've done mealworms and crickets. The mealworms took FOREVER to actually turn into anything. And the crickets, well they were stinky and gross and ya...the rogues; waking up to those in your bed. NOT COOL.

As far as crickets go...Their diet is super easy; vegetation, water, and something with protein (cat kibble or some kind of meat) and they are good. You need to make sure you clean out the dead ones daily as well...disease does spread really quickly through the colony. They are stinky and loud and messy and I wouldn't ever breed those things again. As far as habitat, you need to give them a decent amount of space to crawl on or else they start cannibalizing. I used a 100 gallon aquarium filled with toilet paper rolls, small card board boxes, and egg cartons. It had a screen lid. They like having something kind of "marshy" to lay their eggs in, something like sand mixed with sphagnum moss will do. Also, I started out with a colony of 1,000 crickets that I ordered online. Eventually, it became too stinky and too noisy for me to want to keep up with and my beardie is almost an adult now so he doesn't need too many insects in his diet. Now he really just eats eggs for protein with the occasional mouse and superworm.


As far as mealworms go. Cole, my SO, is the one who took care of those. I believe he put them in oats and gave them slices of potato every other day. Not sure how he did all the separating that was necessary to keep the beetles from the eggs and pupa...But, we did have free (albeit very puny) mealworms for our leopard geckos for a few months.

Now, because I only have 3 geckos and one adult beardie, I really just buy my insects from the store. Just remember...If you do crickets, keep their area clean because disease does spread really fast. :(