Number of animals vs whether or not you breed feeders

[Bamagecko76]

I'm just curious, Plan to have four more geckos by this time next year bringing me to a total of 8 insectivors including the cresties (yes I do feed them mostly cgd) and at six cents a pop for crickets they alone really add up, not to mention mealies, supers etc.

So I'm thinking about starting a cricket/ roach (not shure which) colonie and a mealworm colonie. would 4-6 leo's justife this?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Good job on setting up poll choices

 

[Pokersnake]

I have 2 geckos and so far am not breeding feeders. I have tried, and am setting up a worm colony, but I have not produced any feeders as of yet.

 

[RAlbrecht]

I have over 80 geckos (Leopards,Fat-Tails,and Vipers) and I have 3 small colonies of meal worms, 1 of supers and 2 roach tubs going. The meal worms and supers take a chunk of time but I've found I could really cut back on what I have to buy to feed my crew. They take time to start but once you get it going its worth it. I've raised silk worms before but they are fairly messy and smell so if I do need feeders of a different sort I usually just buy it.

 

[Bamagecko76]

Good job on setting up poll choices

Thanks, I've been on vb forums for the past five years so it's not a new concept lol.

Back on topic, very intersting results so far! can't wait to see what everyone else does for feeders!

 

[fuzzylogix]

i have 180+ reptiles and i have two dubia colonies, crickets, mealworms, and superworms all breeding. i hate the crickets but im breeding fat tails and still have some picky leos that havent fully switched to worms yet. and the fat tails will actually take a cricket over a dubia, little brats.

 

[Stl_Greaser]

I'm just curious, Plan to have four more geckos by this time next year bringing me to a total of 8 insectivors including the cresties (yes I do feed them mostly cgd) and at six cents a pop for crickets they alone really add up, not to mention mealies, supers etc.

So I'm thinking about starting a cricket/ roach (not shure which) colonie and a mealworm colonie. would 4-6 leo's justife this?

You should feel lucky, when my girlfriend MasiKast gets crickets for her frogs she pays $.11 for small and $.13 for large, and that is a piece!

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

It may or may not be worth it. You are then adding the time needed to care for them (which people who don't take care of their feeder colonies well...usually end up with mites and other issues with bad feeders. I have colonies of Mealies and Supers. It is worth it for me but I have way more geckos then I can produce worms for. I typically use all the feeders I raise for hatchlings and juvies and then still buy for the adults. It will be worth it for you, but a effective colony will produce way more worms and roaches then you can use. Which is a good thing.

 

[KelliH]

I have 120+ leopard geckos, plus quite a few other geckos, and I do not breed my own feeders. I did for a few years but it got to the point where I was taking as much time dealing with the bugs as I was my geckos. To save time, I buy my feeders weekly or bi-weekly.

 

[T-ReXx]

I have around 60 or so insectivores and I breed all my own feeders, super worms and two species of roach. I never buy feeders except for rodents for the snakes. I don't think I would breed rats or mice because doing so takes up a lot of time(vs frozen, which are easy) and it really would be more work that it would be worth to feed the smaller snake groups I have and/or am getting. For the lizards,I find roaches extremely easy and the super worms even easier, but I have a system and it only takes a few min each day plus an hour or two once a month to care for them. I never have to buy feeders so I save $$, I don't have to worry about getting DOA insect shipments, and I know where my insects are coming from so I don't risk parasites. Overall, I find it extremely well worth it to avoid those issues. If I had a smaller collection(less than 10 animals) I might not bother, but more than 10 animals I would say at least one colony of prey items is well worth it.

 

[SA Leopards]

I have 10 geckos in my collection ranging from leos, aft's and some turner's thick toed geckos, adding another 3 leos end of the month and maybe some Chondrodactylus Bibronii also. I currently breed mealworms and want to start roaches in the very near future.

Even though I don't have a lot of animals, the quality of my feeders is way better than what I buy from the shops. That and the price of feeders has risen by at least 50% in the last year, so it gives me peace of mind knowing that I have an constant supply of cheap feeders at hand!

I started my mealworm colony when I had 4 leos to feed (my 2 and my GF's 2) and haven't looked back since! I actually enjoy breeding my own feeders, gives me something to do where no brainpower is required! LOL

 

[Northstar Herp]

I've been raising my own mealies for a while now, and I'm trying to get a Dubia colony going. I have about 15 leos, a couple of leachies, a crestie and a Uroplatus, and am planning on expanding that soon.

Raising my own feeders saves a ton of money, but I think the biggest thing for me is that time. I don't mean that it takes less time overall, but that I don't have to make trips to the store to buy them. I'm self-employed, and as such I work a ton of hours already. At least when I'm taking of my own feeders, I'm at home with my family. 30 minutes a week is a precious thing for someone like me.

 

[jermh1]

I am down to 75+ leos and the dubia roaches have made that possible. without breeding the roaches I could not imagine how much it would cost. and now knowing how to sex the nymphs my production should double, as I wont be waisting the females. downside is the roaches take alot of time, about half as much as the geckos. I cant stand picking mealworms out one at a time, but I keep a colony going for the heck of it.

 

[Tony C]

None of the poll options really fit me. I have well over 200 animals and both breed and buy feeders. I culture four roach species and mealworms and buy superworms, waxworms, and crickets.

 

[5HiddenLizards]

I started breeding feeders, but not for my geckos. I have to savannah monitors that gobble up everything, so I decided to grow mealies, dubia, and lateralis. I use the lats for my fat tail & the smaller of the monitors. I used mealies for my skink & 2 of the leos. And the dubias are shuffled between monitors, the skink, and two of the geckos.

 

[Kotori]

I have one gecko, and I thought for the heck of it to start a colony of crickets and mealworms....not even first babies on mealies, but first batch of crickets seems to be going good. Looking into supers and waxies

I'm actually trying to produce way more than needed to sell.Months away from doing much of anything with them, but they amuse me =D

 

[AMoriarty]

I have only one LG and might get another one within 5 years, but honestly, I just started trying to breed my own mealworms because I don't have a car, and in the winter (it's cold here) trying to bike home with my crickets and mealworms and superworms in a backpack means that by the time I get home half of what I paid for is already dead (it would take me as much time to wait for a bus to come by as it does to bike home). I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I have 120+ leopard geckos, plus quite a few other geckos, and I do not breed my own feeders. I did for a few years but it got to the point where I was taking as much time dealing with the bugs as I was my geckos. To save time, I buy my feeders weekly or bi-weekly.

For the amount of geckos, time, and space I have the only feeders I raise is a colony of B. dubia. When I can get mealworms for $32 per 10,000 and crickets at $7.50 per 1,000 it is actually more efficient to buy them.

 

[cinderbirdswing]

I started breeding dubias when i had two geckos. TWO. Now that Ive got 16+ I've had my colony going for about 15 months now and am looking at putting together another colony just for kicks. The amount of time it takes me to clean/feed/water the roaches is negligible. If i send 4 hours a year with the bugs thats a lot. Granted I only have one colony and I do supplement with other bugs (mealies, supers, etc) and its pocket change what I spend on them, maybe 50.00 every two months or so.

Breeding my own bugs was the best decision I ever made concerning my geckos.

 

[Landen]

I have two dozen adult breeders, and produce just under 100 hatchlings a year. Two hedgehogs that love worms and a fish tank with a 12" Oscar that eats only supers. I produce enough worms to feed my entire colony and sell off 50% (DFW area) of what I produce. Short of grabbing some crickets here and there during hatchling season for the picky eaters all I pay to feed is my cost in wheat bran and potatoes/carrots/apples.

However the worms take about 25% of the time I spend on the leo's themselves, and without the right system of sorting/sifting, it's a pain to keep the worms all the same size per batch. Plus dealing with the frass (worm dirt/poo) isn't fun when you produce 5-10K a month.