Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are there any company's that sell live grasshoppers for feeders?? I've spent over an hour looking through the feeders section and haven't found one yet. Any help would be wonderful!!!

They are considered an "agricultural pest" in many states and thus there is regulation where they cannot cross state borders (except on their own LOL!!).

lele
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

You know, wouldn't it be handy to have a grasshopper trap that we could use. We Dart froggers use a termite trap for those nutritious termites that are so good for our Darts. Is there anything like that but for grasshoppers? Maggie

Maggie,

First of all grasshoppers are not anything like crickets. They only breed once a year and then go underground during the cold months. So they are not a practical feeder insect such as crickets. I talked with several state agencies and got lots of info and yes even a grasshopper trap. Don't waste your time with a trap. If you want grasshoppers for a treat in the summer months get yourself a net. We found the green ones were better than the brown ones. One big problem we found with brown grasshoppers was the very large spiny hoppers they have, these had to be removed for the chams to easily munch them enough to easily swallow.

Hope this helps
Yosemite
Reptayls, Ltd

Ok, I'll wait til summer and arm myself with a net. Green ones vs Brown ones then. Thanks for the info-Maggie

tasty taco fodder to others.
Grasshoppers and crickets are called 'chapulins' in Mexico, an old Nahuatl (I think) name. Pre-Columbian peoples in Mexico considered them a delicacy, and they're still eaten to this day. I think there's a Mexican restaurant in Chicago that serves chapulins, shipped in fresh from Mexico.
They catch them in great numbers using butterfly nets in the fields. I don't see why someone here in the US couldn't do the same, just pinch the legs off before feeding.
-----
Victor Gomez
gomezvi.tripod.com/sdchamkeepers/
gomezvi@yahoo.com

Thanks for the reply. It is common knowledge that other
contries consider grasshoppers a delicacy. As for chams they
are the best feeder insect out there. I am a scientist and
have my facts straight. I pay people to collect them for me
in the warm months, even with that they are much cheaper and
a healthy meal for the chams. Crickets can't compare. Superworms,
anoles, silkworms are better than crickets. Feed your chams
superworms till the grasshoppers start showing up.

Legendcham

I always feed them hoppers when they're around. When you think about it, they're probably eating more grasshoppers than anythin else, what other diurnal flying insects are there besides flies, beetles, grasshoppers & butterflies. Besides, captive chameleons are given a diet of soft bodied insects, most of which they would never eat. Crickets are ground dwelling, as are grubs(superworms). Most caterpillars are toxic, and I doubt there are many oppurtunities to get a fat jucy one in the wild.

Flies are abundant, but small. Beetles and grasshoppers are a large part of their diet, and provide them with lots of chitin. While seemingly "bad", they're evolved to deal with it, so soft doesn't necessarily mean good. They need some roughage in their diet...

What about freezing grasshoppers? Do they lose any of their nutrition? I froze a bunch last summer for my skink and my cham has eaten them, but for the most part, I've been sticking with crickets and superworms. I don't have to option of catching fresh food in the winter (it's very cold where I live).

I'm very careful where I catch them so there isn't a danger of pesticides etc. It's also easy to rip the legs off when their frozen! I know they can't be a staple for my cham but in a pinch they're sure handy.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks,
Meemee

Plus you can usualy collect several species at a time, which adds variety. I have a box turtle that only eats a certain species of grasshopper(my chams never were too picky about which species), so I assume that different grasshoppers taste different(kinda like fish maybe?) I take a net and sweep though the grass by the river(wide open field with relitively high grass) and collect a zillion of them in about half an hour. I keep them in large plastic jars with small twigs that still have their leaves (large leaves such as maple or oak) because this allows the grasshoppers to spread out more, and keeps the survival rate better than using grass. I am also going to experiment with screen caging, which I think will work, just have to make sure to keep them out of the sun and well hydrated. Just make sure that there have been no chemicals in the area!

What is your discipline in the sciences?

>>Thanks for the reply. It is common knowledge that other
>>contries consider grasshoppers a delicacy. As for chams they
>>are the best feeder insect out there. I am a scientist and
>>have my facts straight. I pay people to collect them for me
>>in the warm months, even with that they are much cheaper and
>>a healthy meal for the chams. Crickets can't compare. Superworms,
>>anoles, silkworms are better than crickets. Feed your chams
>>superworms till the grasshoppers start showing up.
>>
>>Legendcham
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

I am a microbilogist. My companies formulate products for
the bait and tropical fish industry. We also formulate products
for the worm industry. I also captive breed and raise Hippocampus
Erectus ( the lined seahorse).

Interesting! Horticulture (degree) and insects (working toward one) - my areas of interest.
Do you rear the seahorses for research, sale or hobby (or all)? recently heard a discussion about them (not sure of spp.) on NPR - quite fascinating creatures!

>>I am a microbilogist. My companies formulate products for
>>the bait and tropical fish industry. We also formulate products
>>for the worm industry. I also captive breed and raise Hippocampus
>>Erectus ( the lined seahorse).
-----
0.1 veiled - Luna
0.2 green anoles Jaida & Jetta
0.1 brown anole - Jamaica
0.2 house geckos - Gaia & Tia
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Líta

Lele,

I raise seahorses for all of the reasons that you mentioned.
I am doing research on Gas Bubble disease and seahorses. I plan
to write a book on the captive care and breeding of the Erectus.
Seahorses are indeed very, very cool! They each have their own
personality. Panther chameleons are alot easier than the seahorses. All species of seahorses are now on the endangered
species list. So understanding their captive requirements is
very important. So far I have donated some of my offspring to
public aquariums and Seaworld of Texas. Your degree in entomology
should be of great help with the reptiles.

Legendcham

I was in Oaxaca a couple of weeks ago. Had a bunch of chapaulins and guacamole... MMmmmm....

Joel Fish