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Clown Isopods Armadillidium sp. “Montenegro” Care Sheet

Montenegro Isopod

The Clown Isopod is a gorgeous crustacean adorned with colorful spots and a light fringe around the body that gives an almost glowing appearance.  This is a Roly Poly and will curl up when disturbed.

We raise these the same way that we raise our Zebra Isopods, and some of our Spanish Isopods, which means that they enjoy warmer and drier conditions.  We keep 75% of their housing dry and we have 25% moist and covered so that they can retreat to moisture if they need to. If we notice that they are spending a great deal of time near the moist spot then we know that it is time to lightly spray the dry area to increase humidity.  That usually gets them moving throughout their home again.

They love fish food and bakers yeast.  We also provide carrots, vegetables and fruits weekly in small amounts.

The breed well at temps between 80 and 95 degrees.

Isopod Name:  [types field=’roach-name’][/types]

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Housing Requirements:  [types field=’housing’][/types]

Food Preferences:  [types field=’food-preferences’][/types]

Temperatures:  [types field=’temp-requirements’][/types]

Breeding:  [types field=’breeding’][/types]

Substrate:  [types field=’substrate’][/types]

Size:  [types field=’size’][/types]

Humidity:  [types field=’humidity’][/types]

Difficulty Rating:  We give the Clown Roly Poly a rating of Mid-range difficulty.  The warmth and humidity/airflow requirements cause this Isopod to be slightly more difficult to culture, but they are still easier than some of the Spanish or Asian sow bugs.

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Tenebrio Obscurus the Dark Mealworm

For a few years a mealworm called Tenebrio Obscurus were all the rage.  What was this mysterious smaller mealworm that Tenebrio Molitor and is it really raised differently?  We bought some from a place in Florida and raised them.  They ate, grew and were breeding just like regular mealworms, but they were smaller.  They liked heat and we started finding them in manure piles, in our chicken coop and all over the place.

We kept track as the new worm increased in popularity and inquiries grew about weather Tenebrio Obscurus was really that or if it was actually a worm known as Buffalo Worms, Alphitobius diaperinus.   The video below was one that we viewed as we sought the answer to the question of what these mini mealworms actually are.

 

After we had our worms and beetles identified by an Entomologist, we began a quest to find true Tenebrio Obscurus.  We scoured the United States and could not find them until I ran into a guy who had P. Ornatus, High Yellow, isopods for sale.  We got to talking and he told me that he had actual Tenebrio Obscurus.

He gave us several worms and we have begun our own Tenebrio Obscurus breeding program.  It will take a while for Dark Mealworms, as true Tenebrio Obscurus are known, to be ready for sale, but we have them and they were reproducing.  We plan to introduce them to insect world as soon as we have sufficient breeding stock.

Once we do, we will over these for sale and, probably for the first time, real Tenebrio Obscurus will be offered to the public as Dark Mealworms.

Here are some links to the actual worm below.  Subscribe with the purple banner above to be contacted when we are in stock.  Pictures will be posted very soon.
Thank you.

http://www.ncbuy.com/flowers/articles/01_10197.html

 

The interesting thing is the size.  These are pictures of Giant Mealworms, Tenebrio Molitor with Dark Mealworms, Tenebrio Obscurus.  They are nearly the same size and the Giant Mealworms are treated.  Large mealworms are smaller than Tenebrio Obscurus.  I can’t wait to get to the point where we can offer these to all of you.

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Death’s Head Roach Care Sheet

Deaths Head Roach

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Name:  [types field=’roach-name’][/types]

Information:  [types field=’comments’][/types]

Housing:  [types field=’housing’][/types]

Food Preferences: [types field=’food-preferences’][/types]

Temp Requirements:  [types field=’temp-requirements’][/types]

Breeding:  [types field=’breeding’][/types]

Difficulty Rearing and Breeding:  [types field=’difficulty-rating’][/types]

Size:  [types field=’size’][/types]

Humidity:  [types field=’humidity’][/types]

Climbing/Flying Ability:  [types field=’climbing-or-flying-ability’][/types]

 

[phpbay keywords=”Live Roaches” num=”5″ siteid=”1″ sortorder=”BestMatch” templatename=”default” paging=”true”]

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Looking For Exotic Insects or Deals and Discounts on Feeder Insects?

Montenegro Isopod

 

Looking for exotic, hard to find insects? We are currently working on breeding many hard to find exotics. Why? Because bugs are our business and we are into insects.

list before we list them on our site for sale.

Our list will get first access to our books and care sheets before we publish them or list them for sale. All for free.

Why? Well, we need to hear from you so that we can improve our selection and information, and our list subscribers are diehard insect enthusiasts. They love insects like we do so we will offer the first shot at exotic insects to the people who appreciate it most.

 

We will send updates to our list on available stock before we post it on our site.

Subscribe today and get our Blatticomposting book for free. Blatticomposting is composting with roaches. Specifically, composting with Ivory Head Roaches.

Composting Roach, Eublaberus Sp. Ivory

We will have Ivory Head Roaches for sale shortly.

 

 

 

Just a Few of Our Projects:

 

 

 

 

 

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Australian Roach Care Sheet

Australian Roaches

Roach Care Sheet

 Roach Care Sheet:  Australian Roaches
   Periplaneta australasiae

 

 

Common and Scientific
Name
Australian
Roaches

Periplaneta australasiae

Breeding Information and
Defining Characteristics

Keep warm 80 to 85 degrees for breeding.  Keep humid.  Provide dried leaves and fresh fruits and vegetables and they will breed.  They also jump and
fly so keep the lid on it.

 

Feeding Preferences Dried dead gum leaves, or other dead leaves, fruits such as apple, banana, carrots, potato, lettuce and
many more…
Housing Requirements
Any small container, terrarium or fish tank with ventilation will suffice. Also add sand or kritters
crumble
Difficulty Rearing
Easy
Climbing/Flying
Non-Climbing but they can jump and fly.
Be careful when opening their enclosure.
Substrate
Peat or Coconut Coir.
Temperature and Humidity
Regular spraying and dampening is required to keep the environment humid. A lamp may be used to apply some heat to the environment. 75 to 85 Degrees is optimal. Use
higher temps in this range for breeding.
Restrictions
Florida Legal

 

Pictures:
Video

 

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Green Banana Roach Care Sheet

Banana Roach Adult

Roach Care Sheet

Roach Care Sheet:

Green Banana Roaches

Panchlora
nivea

 

Common and Scientific
Name
Banana Roach


Panchlora
nivea
Breeding Information and
Defining Characteristics

Climbing
species, they can also fly.  The nymphs are brown
but the adults are green.  They fly and will bolt
out of containers when you open for inspection.
Inspect the lids when you open the containers.

They will breed well at a temperature between 80 and 90
degrees.

 

Feeding Preferences Fruits such as banana, vegetables such as
cucumber and cereal
Housing Requirements
Any container with a well fitting lid.
Air vents are important.
Difficulty Rearing
Easy
Climbing Habit
Climbs and can fly.
Substrate
Peat, Coir or vermiculite and leaf litter
Temperature and Humidity
They grow best at a temperature between at
can be supplied using a lamp, add hydrated water crystals to
keep the environment humid. Maintain a temperature of 80 to
90F
Restrictions
Florida Legal

 

Pictures:
Banana Roach Nymph
Banana Roach Nymph

Banana Roach Adult
Banana Roach Adult

Video
Green Banana Roaches
Green Banana Roaches
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Chameleon Food Preferences

chameleons

Many of our customers buy feeder insects to feed to their chameleons.  We get pictures of their babies all of the time and we started keeping them on the walls here.  Over time those pictures of various reptiles, fish, frogs, birds, chickens and pet insects took over an entire hallway wall and the walls of two offices.

I tell you this because I know that our customer’s pets are important to them and they are important to us.  I started staring at some of the pictures of the chameleon that one of our customers sent back in 2010 and I realized that I never wrote anything about what Chameleons eat.  We have a ton of customers that buy feeders for chameleons but I never wrote a single word about what they like best.

One of the questions we often get via email, is “what do chameleon’s eat?”  Well, I will tell you what chameleons eat in this article.

Chameleons eat many different types of insects while in captivity.  In fact, they should probably be provided a variety of insects so that they can get what they need from the various insects.  For instance, fat and minerals from wax worms, and protein from crickets and worms.  Chameleons relish variety.

One of the things that I have heard from my customers over the years is that chameleons have a propensity to develop certain vitamin deficiencies over time because of the dietary restrictions caused by living in captivity.  For instance, not enough of the right kind of light can cause vitamin D3 issues.   Many chameleons also suffer from vitamin A deficiency.

Many of the nutritional deficiencies can be stopped or corrected by offering a variety of insects and by gut loading and dusting those insects with a nutritonal powder.

Some of the insects that chameleons devour readily, and that can also be easily gut loaded and dusted are:

 

 

  • Crickets:
    Crickets are a staple in chameleon diets.  We feed our crickets vegetables and Mazuri Cricket Diet to ensure that our crickets are getting a well balanced diet so that they can become part of a well balanced diet for chameleons.  You should feed them broccoli, green leafy foods and a good grain diets like Mazuri Cricket Diet which used to be called Purina Worm Chow.

 

  • Flies:  Chameleons love flies. They eat them in their natural habitat readily.  We sell Blue Bottle Fly Larva (spikes) that can be grown into flies so that your chameleons can have them as a treat.  You can dust them easily and  feed them as needed.

 

  • Tomato Hornworms:   They are shipped to you alive, in plastic containers with enough food to get them to the size you need for your chameleon.  Do not feed them tomato plants or they will become poisonous.

 

  • Silkworms:  Although we do not grow or sell silkworms at this point, I do recommend making silkworms part of your cham’s diet.   These days you can buy eggs and grow the silkworms on artificial diet or you can feed them fresh Mulberry leaves if you have a large tree, and the tree is making leaves.  Just know that once you feed silkworms fresh Mulberry leaves, you will not be able to go back to artificial diet.

 

  • Waxworms:   We grow and sell waxworms and we will soon have 32 ounce wax worm cultures for our customers to buy so that they can grow the wax worms to the size they need for their pets.  We will not treat these culture, which means that they will be more active. This also means that they will spin cocoons, which is something that treated waxworms do not do.  On the flip side, not treating wax worms, keeps them more active so they move faster and climb and that will entice chameleons to eat.  The one caviat is that waxworms should not be used as a staple food.  They should be fed sparingly, as a treat or to help put weight on a sickly Cham.   They larva can should be dusted with a vitamin powder.

 

  • Mealworms:  Mealworms are a great food for chameleons.  Mealworms are the larva of a beetle alled Tenebrio Molitor.   They can be gut-loaded and dusted to help increase nutrional value.

 

  • Cockroaches:   As with most of the feeder items on this list, you can buy cockroaches from us or any number of vendors online.  We currently have 25 different varieties of cockroaches breeding at any one time.  Some climb, so don’t.  Some cockroaches grow large and some are the size of fruit flies when they hatch.  You can purchase a few and  keep them warm and well fed and you will have a constant supply of roaches after a few months.   Try a couple species of roach to see if you Cham goes for them.  Once you find a species that he/she prefers then breed that type, dust and gutload them and have another item in your food variety arsenal.

There are so many great feeders coming on the market.  For instance, we will soon have Firebrats and curly-wing houseflies for sale, and Lesser Wax Worms moths which are also a great food for smaller Chameleons.

Remember, variety is key in the diet of a chameleon, and common sense efforts must be made to ensure that they are getting all of the vitamins and minerals that they need through gut-loading and dusting that variety of insects.

Perhaps it is time to come up with a chameleon feeder insect variety pack.  What are your toughts on this idea?  I would love to hear from you.

 

We rarely promote other people’s books or products on our blog but this is a very good introduction to Chameleons for about $10 that I bought a while back and you might enjoy.
Click Here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a link to free guide that will also help you learn more about chameleons.

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What is in my Worm Composting Bin?

Invariably, no matter how faithful you are at guarding your worm bin, critters will get into your worm composting bin.  Those critters run from harmless and benign to downright repulsive and harmful.

There are many critters that actually help your worm bin thrive.

Isopods and springtails are a couple of compost bin invaders that actually help break down food waste into nutrient rich worm and critter castings.  They are good inhabitants and should be kept, if possible.

 

There there are the not so great worm composting bin critters.  Those are bugs and mammals that attack worms, eat their cocoons or compete with them for food.

 

Roach
Roach

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of those harmful pests of your compost bin are mice, rats, roaches moles, earwigs, mites, flies, centipedes roaches and ants and millipedes.

Kill roaches where you find them and remove the bin to an outdoor area immediately if they are found in your worm bin.  Call a pest control specialist if you believe that you have roaches in your house.  The worm bin most likely did not bring the roaches in.  They were probably attracted to your worm bin because it was moist, warm and filled with things that they like to eat.

 

Mice and rats will feed on food in your composting bin and not usually the Redworms themselves.  They will eat the food meant for the worms, they will tunnel through the worm bedding and they will use your composting bin covers as nesting material.  There are humane traps on the market that can help you get rid of mice and rats.

 

Moles are also a major pain and they will invade your worm beds from the bottom, tunnel through the bed and feast on the worms.  You will have to poison, trap or kill moles or you will lose your worms.

 

Earwig
Earwigs
Centipede
Centipede

 

Millipedes and centipedes will eat small worms and cocoons.  Smush them when you see them.  The same goes for nasty earwigs.  Have gloves on hand and smash them between your thumb and forefinger when you come across them in your worm composter.

Ants will also compete for food and they will carry the food away to their ant world.

Flies will not carry your worm bedding contents away but they will lay eggs in the worm compost bedding and the larvae will hatch and eat the food and make a stinking mess of your worm bin.

Pests are drawn to food.  The only way to stop them is to keep your area clean, keep the worms indoors, or have a tight fitting lid on your worm beds/bins so that nothing can get into your worm bedding.

Practice common sense composting and keep your area open and clean. Debris provides hiding places for vermin and the vermin will then be attracted to your worm bin.

 

 

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Firebrats are Breeding, Babies are Hatching. Firebrats For Sale Soon!

live firebrats

We are generating a new generation of Firebrats every two weeks from the culture that we highlighted a couple of months ago (That Firebrat post is here).  We set up a small culture using dollar store items to create the habitat.

We created a Firebrat incubator out of a large cooler, hooked up a thermostat to it and hooked the thermostat to a heat emitter bulb used to warm reptiles.

This video is of that same culture which is now swarming with baby Firebrats.  We have started several other cultures from that Firebrat culture.

We will have Firebrats for sale shortly.  We have thousands breeding and hatching every day.  We look forward to servicing your Firebrat needs very soon.

What are the secrets of culturing Firebrats (Thermobia domestica)?  Well, heat is very important.  95 to about 105 degrees seems to be the best range.

Firebrats need a source of humidity but they do not do well if their home is moist.  They need airflow and a bowl of Cricket Crystals to maintain just enough humidity, which helps them shed as they grow.

Firebrats need a constand source of food.  We keep fish flakes in a bowl, as you will see in the video, at all times.

You will need cotton balls for the adult Firebrats to lay eggs in.  The eggs will hatch after about two weeks at 95 degrees.

If you are looking to breed and care for your own Firebrats just drop us a line or ask your questions here.

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Zebra Isopod Care Sheet

Roach Care Sheet

Isopod Care Sheet:

   Zebra Isopods

  Armadillidium maculatum

 

Common and Scientific
Name
Zebra
Isopods


  Armadillidium
maculatum
Breeding Information and
Defining Characteristics

They will breed readily if their requirements are meant. This isopod likes a drier substrate with drier leaves but with a moist retreat.  They love fish flakes and fresh vegetables.  They also like it warmer than many isopods.  If you keep them between 75 and 85
degrees they will breed well.  Lightly mist the enclosure weekly but to not make wet.

 

Feeding Preferences Fish food flakes, fresh vegetables, dried
tree leaves.
Housing Requirements
Zebra Isopods will do well in a shoe box or any container or aquarium with a lid to keep out pests,
flies, spiders and that sort of thing.
Difficulty Rearing
Medium difficulty because of the substrate  requirements.
Lifespan
8 to 12 months which comes from us tracking individual breeders over time.
Substrate
Peat moss or Coconut Coir bedding.  With a covering of dried leaves.
Temperature and Humidity
They like it on the warm side, which is
between 75 and 85 degrees.  You can easily reach this temp by keeping them near furnace, on a refrigerator or on
top of a heating pad made for reptiles or plants.  I
have linked to a couple as a reference.
Pictures

 

 Zebra Isopod 

Care Video

Video