As usual, I'm daydreaming about what I might want to pick up this summer at the reptile shows. Ever since I've been playing with the insect/reptile zoo idea, my head just spins with different animals at all times. Breeding ideas, housing and husbandry, feeding, presentation, and it feels like I'm on turbo!
My actual "plan" (if you want to call it that) is to build my breeding experience slowly. I'll start with the ball pythons, see how that goes, and move on to another species. Live bearing animals are something I want to try my hand at as well, and I know I want to produce blue tongue skinks someday, so I think I'll probably go the route of Northern blue tongues next breeding-wise. They're medium sized, friendly, and there's always a market for them.
However, before I pick up ANYTHING I need to get my snake setup in order. We finally have a whole walk in closet dedicated to animal space, and with the ball pythons being nocturnal I don't have to worry about lighting as much (in their current set ups they've been doing fine). I'm gathering supplies to get an actual rack set up for them, and it's exciting to have it all come together.We also need to build Bruce the iguana a new cage, he's been growing like a freaking weed! New UVB lights for him as well. I'd like to get the cresteds into a planted tank, but in order for that to happen I need to start collecting plants and keeping them pesticide/fertilizer free for a couple months before I'd trust them with the animals.
As far as non-breeding animals go I've been browsing around as well. O (significant other) has shown interest in getting a Sumatran short tailed python (black blood) and a pacman frog. Russian rat snakes have been getting my attention as well for the personality factor. My interest has really turned from cool color morphs to animals that just make great pets period, mostly persona wise. Of course, they're all individuals and you're going to get a sour apple once in a while, but you can general trust the docility reputation of CB species known for being great handlers.
And of course, I get stuck in a wheel of possibilities. Woma pythons are cool looking and easy keepers/great pet personalities. Red tailed indigos are my DREAM snake, and don't have the permit complications of eastern indigos. Mussuranas have that awesome co-dom pied morph (SUPER PIED!) and are gentle snakes with very little feeding issues. Angolan pythons have always been on the wishlist, and have that awesome cobblestone type of scale pattern/texture. Macklotts and Savus are always running around on my back burner, those eyes are just to die for! Viper boas and sunbeam snakes don't have a stable CB population yet, and don't seem to be very demanding snakes, so that could be a cool project too. All the colorful old world rat snakes have an incredible variety, and they're small, so it'd be easy to set up a little collection. And then I still want to pick up a 100% citrus bearded dragon from Fire and Ice Dragons as a pet, just for kicks.
Really, it doesn't stop, that's just a fraction of the brain feed. Here soon I hope to get involved in beetle breeding/keeping, along with other inverts, and that will be a whole 'nother world of insane in the brain Erica time. Thankfully they're very cheap to maintain, and often MUCH cheaper than any reptiles to acquire, so it should be a good side project to work on. Not to mention the timelines are much shorter than tarantula or reptile breeding times.
But first: Tubs, rack build, Bruce build, Bruce lights, gecko tank, and incubator (I nearly have to chant this in my head when I get extra cash for the hobby lying around). Silly priorities
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Quick Snippet on Cockroaches
Off and on for about 2 years now I've been looking into producing my own insect feeders. A big downside for me in keeping many lizard species was the reliance on crickets. I knew there were alternatives, but the commonly available ones were expensive (wax worms, mealworms, and butter worms from Petco/Petsmart) or unavailable, and using them as a staple would cause an unbalanced diet. The nearest reptile show is about two hours away from where I live, and it is one of two that happen annually within driving distance for me so purchasing at a show was not a long term option. Just keeping crickets is a messy, smelly endeavor and while I keep them healthy and alive for our leopard gecko's sake, I really am not interested in breeding them.
While lurking on bearded dragon (bottomless insect eating machine) forums, I started seeing cockroach topics surface. As someone who had never seen a cockroach other than in the movies, there was definitely that initial gross out reaction to the thought of paying money for insects that are cast as the scum of the earth. However, I was fascinated by the idea of low maintenance, low odor, and high production feeder insects. With a little more reading I started finding that not only are roaches easy and prolific, but the species that are commonly used for feeding are also tropical and easy to contain. Living in Washington, it means I'd have zero risk of having an accidental infestation (needing temperatures around 80 F to reproduce makes it difficult to live here) and I wouldn't have to dedicate more than a few plastic tubs space-wise for virtually infinite lizard food. It's pretty common now to see all sorts of insectivore keepers and breeders making their own cockroach colonies. There is also a whole part of the invert hobby dedicated to keeping roaches as pets!
With said off and on 2 years of research under my belt, I'll be making my own attempt at starting a roach colony or two. I was originally going to post a how-to guide based off of the pages I've found, but I'd much rather go off of my own experiences than parrot what everyone else has done. Plus I can take pictures, and who doesn't love PICTURES!?
Aside from the feeder colonies I'm seriously considering keeping some cockroaches as pets. There are hundreds of species of cockroach, and the majority are easy to care for. I love active animal displays, and there really isn't a dull moment with inverts. The sheer variety is mind boggling! Being able to handle them without worrying about stress is a big plus as well.
In the mean time, here are the pages I found incredibly useful for setting up a feeder roach colony:
Ball-pythons.net guide by Michelle C.
The Roach Ranch Dubia care sheet
Dubia roach care and breeding by The Dragon Spot
I highly recommend doing more research, but those are enough to get started (with focus on Blaptica dubia). There are many roaches suited for feeding including Lobster roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), Madagascar hissing roaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) and Orange Head roaches (Eublaberus posticus), to name a few. Find a species that works with what you're comfortable with.
Just for kicks, if you're interested in taking a look at a huge variety of roaches or looking at some of the commonly kept "pet" species, check out http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/ and http://www.roachforum.com/. They're really cool insects once you look past the rather sordid reputation that they have been dished. You'll find it's rather undeserved, I think ;)
Till next time!
While lurking on bearded dragon (bottomless insect eating machine) forums, I started seeing cockroach topics surface. As someone who had never seen a cockroach other than in the movies, there was definitely that initial gross out reaction to the thought of paying money for insects that are cast as the scum of the earth. However, I was fascinated by the idea of low maintenance, low odor, and high production feeder insects. With a little more reading I started finding that not only are roaches easy and prolific, but the species that are commonly used for feeding are also tropical and easy to contain. Living in Washington, it means I'd have zero risk of having an accidental infestation (needing temperatures around 80 F to reproduce makes it difficult to live here) and I wouldn't have to dedicate more than a few plastic tubs space-wise for virtually infinite lizard food. It's pretty common now to see all sorts of insectivore keepers and breeders making their own cockroach colonies. There is also a whole part of the invert hobby dedicated to keeping roaches as pets!
With said off and on 2 years of research under my belt, I'll be making my own attempt at starting a roach colony or two. I was originally going to post a how-to guide based off of the pages I've found, but I'd much rather go off of my own experiences than parrot what everyone else has done. Plus I can take pictures, and who doesn't love PICTURES!?
Aside from the feeder colonies I'm seriously considering keeping some cockroaches as pets. There are hundreds of species of cockroach, and the majority are easy to care for. I love active animal displays, and there really isn't a dull moment with inverts. The sheer variety is mind boggling! Being able to handle them without worrying about stress is a big plus as well.
In the mean time, here are the pages I found incredibly useful for setting up a feeder roach colony:
Ball-pythons.net guide by Michelle C.
The Roach Ranch Dubia care sheet
Dubia roach care and breeding by The Dragon Spot
I highly recommend doing more research, but those are enough to get started (with focus on Blaptica dubia). There are many roaches suited for feeding including Lobster roaches (Nauphoeta cinerea), Madagascar hissing roaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) and Orange Head roaches (Eublaberus posticus), to name a few. Find a species that works with what you're comfortable with.
Just for kicks, if you're interested in taking a look at a huge variety of roaches or looking at some of the commonly kept "pet" species, check out http://www.bugsincyberspace.com/ and http://www.roachforum.com/. They're really cool insects once you look past the rather sordid reputation that they have been dished. You'll find it's rather undeserved, I think ;)
Till next time!
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