Jump to content

nick barta

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    97

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

 Content Type 

Posts posted by nick barta

    Good plant based diet?

    in Food and Feeding

    Posted

    In my cheapest gut load I use field-ripened alfalfa, non-medicated chicken feed, and oats. I grind the mixture into fine powder, and leave some in 1/8-inch chunks. It is $5 per pound, you can purchase it on my website, fullthrottlefeeders.com. I also have a $10 per pound and 2 gut loads at $15 per pound. The ingredients are listed on all 4 gut loads.

     

    CHEERS!

     

    Nick

    Feeding Frequency

    in Food and Feeding

    Posted

    Typically the length of days between feeding depends on how much perishable produce you use for hydration. Too much apples, oranges,leafy vegetables, squash, etc will attract fruit flies, gnats, mold, and smell. Since most keepers have higher temperatures in our containers, it can get ugly quickly if perishables are left more than 2-3 days. So I try to put enough perishables in the containers that they are eaten by the 3 day mark. Carrots seem to last twice that before needing removal.

     

    CHEERS!

     

    Nick

    Chicken Feed..?

    in Food and Feeding

    Posted

    I mix Dumor (non-medicated) Chick Starter, Scottish Oats, and Alfalfa powder as the main protein for my colonies. I do a partial grind on the chick starter so that nymphs can eat it, but the Scottish Oats and alfalfa powder are fine enough they need no grinding. With 1/3 of each, my protein average of the 3 is 18%. Typically the only part left in the colonies is the larger chunks of Dumor Chick Starter. 

    • Like 1

    Enclosure for Panchola nivea

    in Enclosures and Barriers

    Posted

    Here is what I found works:

    Sterlite Gasket Seal boxes sold at Target will keep them in.

    Bark layered on the 3-inches of moist coco fiber, and apples to eat.

    To sort, never do it at night; they are active and uncontrollable. Have a tall sided empty plastic bin, place one of the bark pieces gently in the bin, pick out the green adults, then you can sieve the brown non-climbing nymphs.

     

    CHEERS!

     

    Nick

     

    Commercial Roach Chows

    in Food and Feeding

    Posted

    If you go to chameleon forums.com and look up my ad under the classifieds section-Feeders, "Gut loads and feeder supplies," you will see 2 Roach chows with the ingredients listed. The Wow Chow is made with 8 ingredients and is $10/pound. The Roach Bedding Chow is made with 3 ingredients and is $5/pound.

     

    CHEERS!

     

    Nick

    Shipping Ootheca

    in General Blattodea Discussions

    Posted

    I would ship with a 72-hour heat pack. The temperatures at your end are not as crucial as the temperatures at the receiving end. I think most DOA's happen in the last day in the delivery van and of course, on your porch/mailbox. You can order 72-hour heat packs from Superior Shipping Supplies.com.

    Another trick to protect the ooths/insects is to put the activated heat pack in a paper bad folded tightly up and taped, or wrap it up in paper towels and tape it so it doesn't roll out. This will give you longer heat time. I tape it to the furthest place in the box from the insect, so to not overheat them.

    I always check the customers temperatures, and some shipments I now need to build 1/2" insulation in some orders. You can buy a 4' x 8' sheet at Lowes for about $8.

     

    CHEERS!

     

    Nick 

    Roach Allergies

    in General Blattodea Discussions

    Posted

    13 hours ago, Hisserdude said:

    The roaches that most people are really allergic to are hissers and some of the feeder and pests species, I really don't think you are going to get allergic to your rhino roaches. I'm allergic to my hissers but I don't get any reactions to most of my other roaches. :)

    Hisserdude is allergic to Hissers...ironic, no?

     

    CHEERS!

     

    Nick

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

    Hisser tank smells like vinegar?

    in Health Issues

    Posted

    My 2 large G. portentosa colonies are in 54-quart Sterlite Gasket Boxes with a full screen top, and they both began to smell like ammonia. There was enough moisture that it was condensing on the sides, and making the coco fiber wet on the bottom, along the sides. Upon a member's suggestion I switched from 4-5 orange slices every other day to apple slices, and for the last 5 weeks have no odor. My colonies of G. portentous are pushing 1,000 each, so the numbers would magnify the problem I suppose.

    My E. javanica colony is about 50 adults, and my first hatch of nymphs. I keep them in the same 54-quart size container, and never have had the ammonia smell. They don't require near as much fruit hydration, and I have never had moisture condensation on the sides of the container.

    My temperature at substrate level is 90 degrees on both species.

    Hope this helps.

    CHEERS!

    Nick

    Options to Egg Flat Replacement

    in Enclosures and Barriers

    Posted

    Ok. I was just curious since I did not recognize the food in the dishes. I have not used these items (except for apples) for my hissing roaches. I tend to feed mine apples, dry dog food kibble and dead dried hardwood leaves. :)

    I too use dried Oak leaves, and the WOW Chow has Blue Wilderness Cat food as one of the protein ingredients.

    CHEERS!

    Nick Barta

    Options to Egg Flat Replacement

    in Enclosures and Barriers

    Posted

    I use Oats and WOW Chow for dry food, and I was doing 4 orange slices, but Hisserdude thought that that may have been the hydration issue. I was giving them the 4 orange slices every 2-3 days.

    I now hydrate with 2 orange slices and some apple slices, it seems to be working better.

    Any thoughts?

    Nick

×
×
  • Create New...