Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

gazza15919 · I'm new here... Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 11

hi all just bought a few hundred of these and have them in a big black dust bin with egg cartons in the bottom and a mix of wheat and and fish flakes in the bottom for them to eat and give them fresh fruit and veg daily

my question is will it be OK to put a heat mat inside the bin with them as it does not really get the heat inside if i have it stuck to the outside of the bin?
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mark68 · Contributing Member Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 160

i do that with my red runners, and it works well. However it is important to have it vertical (the heat mat).

Bri. · Posted: Mon May 19, 2008 11:43 pm Post subject:

Lobsters can climb smooth surfaces as long as there is a foothold (dust), so you may find they end up using the flex to climb out of the bin.

mark68 · Contributing Member Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 160

What I do is make a hole in the side of the container just big enough for the electric cable and feed the cable through that. If need be you can always use a bit of silicon to seal any small gaps.

I was tempted to say before, that I have bred lobsters, and would never do it again for the reeasons Bri mentions. I find red runners have all the advantages of lobsters (fast breeding and prolific), without the disadantages. Red runners can only climb dirty and/or rough surfaces and
are easier to contain in a feeder dish for that reason.

Bri. · Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 10:57 am Post subject:

...and come in a great range of sizes suitable for a whole range of animals Very Happy

...just they are bloody fast !!!!

mark_w · Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject:

I have to agree - I started with lobsters and got rid of them after twelve months. I was still finding them twelve months after that!!!

I've had red runners for five years or so and have never had any problems - they do breed inside some vivs sometimes and they are quite 'common' in my reptile room(!) but all I get is the occasional wanderer in the house. I only use crickets ocasionally but I find these wandering the house more often. They have never bred outside my reptile room and/or become a problem. This is surprising becuase my reptile room door is always left wide open. They just seem to stay in there. The same goes for madeira roaches which seem to be living wild in there!

Mark.
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gazza15919 · I'm new here... Joined: 27 Dec 2007 Posts: 11

so where can i get some red runners from then ?
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Bri. · Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 4:48 pm Post subject:

Try Rick's Livefood. The site is advertised once or twice on here Very Happy

They are described as B. lateralis or Turkish roaches on there I think.

mark68 · Contributing Member Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 160

Also known as Shellfordella tartara.

Jas · Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 10:35 pm Post subject:

I had someone give me a small tub of Lobsters early last year, i tried some with the rankins but found they ran up the sides out of reach of the Rankins so rather than risk them getting out into the room i put the lid back on the tub and binned them. Well for that small amount they i put in with the rankins must of bred because i still find Lobsters in the room a year later, i doubt i'll never get rid of them, and that was from only trying them once Shocked

Now i just use Dubia's. Cool

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