many thanks, and Doug, sorry I wasnt clear, I didnt actually mean large scale breeding of them. Just beyond the few hundred a month I am currently getting, which doesnt meet the needs of my reptiles.
But thanks to you two, I think I know where I have gone wrong....tempreture and substrate.
I will follow your advice and let you know
Thanks Jon --------------------------- Jon Isaksson Manchester UK
From: "B.A.Erlebacher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [gecko]Zoophobas Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 20:47:02 -0500
> From: "Jon Isaksson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 16:07:22 -0500
>
> Does anyone one this list breed zoophobas, who could explain how to get
> beyond the small scale breeding?
>
> Currently I keep them in a mixture of sawdust and soil, and remove larvaes
> every now and then to allow them to become beetles. That stage works fine
> but I dont seem to get enough breeding and "production" of larvae, so I just
> wondered if I should keep them on different medium?
I keep mine in wheat bran with vegetables (usually carrot). I move the beetles to fresh bran periodically and thus raise batches of larvae of similar size. These insects are far more cannibalistic than Tenebrio (mealworms). Larvae will eat eggs, and both larvae and adults will eat pupae.
In my climate the most important thing is heat. Below about 80F (28C) they grow and develop very slowly. You can speed the whole process up dramatically by keeping them warm and providing a bit more protein. I know a man who sells thousands of mature larvae per week - his "farm" is a walk-in closet in his apartment, heated by several lightbulbs. He raises them on poultry feed and vegetables in plastic tubs. _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
_________________________________________________________________
It's fast, it's easy and it's free. Get MSN Messenger today! http://www.msn.co.uk/messenger
_______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
