[Paul de Boer, Jr.]

I'm thinking about breeding grasshoppers to feed to my knobtails. I like the combination of alternating dubia roaches and crix, it's worked well, but they pound so many crickets. I'm wondering if it might be easier to keep up with them if I'm feeding grasshoppers.

Has anybody had much experience feeding ghoppers to knobtails (specifically amyae and wheeleri)?

[diplodactyla]

I regularly feed my wheeleri grasshoppers, and i have a baby amyae (not so baby 9grams) that yesterday night had its first one and liked it very much.

But i buy them online, or catch them in pristine and pure meadows far form crops and pollution.

I've heard people talking about the difficult of breedin them, so i dont want to try.

I think your diet based on crickets and roaches is perfect (i use only dubia and red runners), in my opinion you can avoid to start a colony of grasshoppers and use them only sometimes.

ps: please consider that you'll have to cut their legs, especially for babies and juveniles, cause they have dangerous spurs, i cut even their heads because of their pincers.

[Paul de Boer, Jr.]

Thanks for the very good info! I don't have any meadows around here that I would trust, so I'll see what I can find online. If anyone has a suggestion, let me know.

[meisen]

I have fed grasshoppers from the local organic farm to my leos for years with no issues. The leos love them and "grasshopper season" often stimulates reluctant laying/breeding animals to eat. However I'd be reluctant to feed my knobtails hoppers. I had actually thought about it but decided against it. Just seems like a unneeded risk on such pricey animals..... A lost $100 gecko is one thing but a lost $1000 gecko to save some money on crickets seems crazy.