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Man this is scary!

Copy & Paste this link to Read about Lucky Lures Heartbreaking story on bankrupt. This was posted in the Orlando Sentinel & on BeardedDragon.org:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/os-cricket-farm-bankruptcy-20100621,0,4775044.story

**** If this is a plague..... Man we are in trouble!

Does anyone think this is a major threat or just a problem with certain farms?
www.AtlantaBeardedDragons.com

I posted that article back on June 22nd. The big farm in MI is also unable to restart.

Ive been on haitus from the forms beyond the past week. I missed the announcement until yesterday! Thats Crazy, which farm in MI is in crisis as well? Are Bug Farms in denial when they cannot Guarantee LIVE arrivals anymore "due to HEAT" in the summer? And are they tucking-tail due to this Plague?

This is insane!

Im a late bloomer when it comes down to the most important current events... lol.
www.AtlantaBeardedDragons.com

Heat is a problem for feeder bugs in boxes being driven around in un-airconditoned trucks. Super worms are the worst. That has always been the case....All of the California breeders were wiped out already. It is scary. Time to take matters into our own hands and raise our own. I am doing supers, mealworms, roaches lobsters/dubia, and now my own crickets.
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www.moonstonedragons.com

I dont think it's much of threat at all as there are many other insects to utilize aside from crickets.

I breed my own roaches, and they are IMPO a far better insect to use as a feeder.

I have seen very good results from my local cricket farms. Been purchasing all sizes except for large quantities of adults, because they need them for breeding stock.

There will be good to come from this virus. Many farms have an incentive now to keep their crickets cleaner and healthier.

Josh

Who in California is still producing???
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www.moonstonedragons.com

Rainbow is one of them.
Josh

According to the website, there is nothing available in the cricket catagery?
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www.moonstonedragons.com

Probably because they have more orders than they can fill at the moment. I alone am purchasing about 50,000 crickets a week from them.

Josh

wow Josh

At three cents apiece (roughly per cricket)...

that is 1,500.00$ a week on bugs

A couple roach colonies and you would cut that number in half easily.

They are so easy to do and run themselves.

Just add fruits and vegetables.

Buying in bulk is much cheaper than that. I wouldn't pay more than $10 per 1k. I think the most I ever went through was maybe 25k in a week and that would have been maybe $250-275.
I agree the dubia help to cut down on crix, but I have found that the crix just work better for baby dragons.

I agree, they reproduce much faster. For adults, crickets are a waste of time, but for babies they really work out well. I just should have started my cricket colony earlier.
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www.moonstonedragons.com

Your right about that. Feeders aren't cheap.

I am purchasing dubias on top of the crickets. Along with 14,000 superworms, 200 pinky/fuzzy mice, and 50-100 horworm cups a week.

Instead of breeding insects, I breed geckos to cover all my feeders. Breeding insects, especially on a large scale, can be pretty nasty. Plus, my wife won't have it

Josh

The crested Geckos are really cool.

I think that is what your breeding if I'm not mistaken.

Love their eyes.

haha

That's a lot of bugs man!!

Crested geckos are great. Super easy to care for compared to dragons. Great personality too. I love geckos. There is so many species that I would like to work with, but don't have the time/space.

I breed cresteds, gargoyles, leachianus, chahoua, Bavayia robusta, B. geitana, B. cyclura, Eurydactylodes agricolae, Geckolepis anomala. Also working with high red grandis, chondrodactylus, and O. tryoni.

Josh