I'm volunteering at an exotic bird shop in my town and they wish to open up a herp section like feeders and accessories and such she asked me to come up with ideas for the types of bugs (roaches not included) that can be easily kept and bred in the store crickets and mealworms i thought of but what others could we try and what type of cricket is easier to breed?
Mealworms are a walk in the park, so are various species of Earthworm...although the latter isn't always an ideal feeder for certain lizards such as Bearded Dragons due to known paralysis issues. They seem to be quite a common feeder for use in amphibians though. Zophobas (Superworms) are probably more worthwhile to simply buy in bulk if they wish to have these available, although they are certainly easy to keep. They just take too much specialized care and time to breed efficiently for the price in my opinion. As for crickets, you have two options: The common house cricket (Acheta domesticus), which used to be and probably still is the most common feeder cricket but they have been plagued by a virus and are becoming less readily available. The new alternative is the Jamaican Field Cricket (Gryllus assimils) AKA the Super Cricket. These apparently breed quite easy, are quieter, and don't jump as high. BUT: This new cricket is know to be fairly vicious...they are larger than the typical cricket have significant mandibles. There have already been deaths as a result of them being left unattended in herp cages (even just a couple of them, overnight). So if you guys attempt to rear this species, be sure to properly arm any buyers with knowledge of their hazards. Silkworms would be too impractical, and fruit flies likely wouldn't appeal to a wide enough variety of people. Phoenix/Calci-Worms also could be purchased, but success in sales might be limited (hard to say).
I think Jeff's got you covered, but I just wanted to add that the mealworms could appeal to your bird enthusiasts, too. They make a great bird treat, especially for certain species of finches. =D
thanks to breed mealworms they have to be completely dry like oatmeal substrate? what about the eggs or young no moisture besides carrots?
