George Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 I got 7 hissers at the beginning of January. If I'm counting/observing correctly, they've since had 4 broods of nymphs. I sold 20 to a kid from craigslist yesterday, but at this rate I'm still going to have a serious population issue in a few months if I'm not proactive. I'm removing the under-tank heater to slow them down a little bit. My plan was to get a carnivorous insect or two, or perhaps a bearded dragon, to help manage the population. According to this thread, they're too tough for most critters to eat. I don't particularly want a lizard big enough to get into fights with my cat. Are nymphs/juveniles too tough? I feel like the right hungry mouths could take care of most of them before they reach adulthood. Stray adults seem like they might be easier to pass to someone else than toilet paper tubes full of scuttling legs, like I sold yesterday. That may be more of a niche market. What options do I have for population control if they don't make good feeders for anything besides tegus or monitors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test Account Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 When they are freshly molted, the animals are squishy, white, and thus more chewable. I imagine most predators would easily handle young nymphs, whether freshly molted or not 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psydeus565 Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 The smaller ones are not that tough. When my beardie was small she ate copious amounts of the babies, I don't feed the adults to her though as they don't reproduce that fast. I recently got some assassin bugs and I'm going to see if the will take to the smaller ones too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allpet Roaches Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 They are good food for the large African assassins, certain turtles, and large monitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acro Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 As part of a varied diet, I've fed Hisser nymphs to: Red Eared Slider Turtles, Northern Red-Bellied Turtles, Mississippi Map Turtles, Leopard Geckos, Centipedes, African Water Scorpions, Tarantulas, Assassins, Large Goldfish and (I think) Hamsters. Maybe a few others over the years, but I don't currently recall. Good Luck! (PS, you could always separate Male and Female Hissers before they have the chance to breed.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axolotl Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 On 5/7/2018 at 1:10 AM, Psydeus565 said: The smaller ones are not that tough. When my beardie was small she ate copious amounts of the babies, I don't feed the adults to her though as they don't reproduce that fast. I recently got some assassin bugs and I'm going to see if the will take to the smaller ones too. Any luck on getting the beardie to eat assassin nymphs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Psydeus565 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 Sorry for the confusion, I didn't mean for my beardie to eat the assassin nymphs, they have venom and would not be a good mix. I have fed some I3-5 hisser nymphs to the assassin bugs now and they seem to love them. All their abdomens are quite plump from hisser guts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlon Posted June 3, 2018 Share Posted June 3, 2018 Friend feeds his tegu with them. Tegu and cat might not get along. Pacu (common fish in pet stores) eats anything. Including raw chicken including bones. They were fun until they destroyed the filtration / aeration system in their tank and died. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axolotl Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 6/2/2018 at 7:40 PM, Psydeus565 said: Sorry for the confusion, I didn't mean for my beardie to eat the assassin nymphs, they have venom and would not be a good mix. I have fed some I3-5 hisser nymphs to the assassin bugs now and they seem to love them. All their abdomens are quite plump from hisser guts. Ah! That makes more sense. I just read it wrong. I thought that was a risky endeavor. ? My adult male beardie loves hissers, especially E. javanica adults, and my assassins take the nymphs as well... But then again, I think they'll eat just about anything that moves. I had a nymph catch an adult male dubia the other day and drag it up to the top of a perch. I was actually quite astonished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantisfan101 Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Larger predatory fish like pacus, catfish, cichlids, etc would work, along with larger monitors/tegus, beardies, and if you want maybe larger tarantulas(nhandu, theraphosa, pamphobeteus, phormictopus, etc) or larger mantids. You'd need a lot of mantids to cull the population though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varnon Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I feel like I need a beardie just to help me with my population control. Also they are adorable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadstar Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 What options do I have for population control if they don't make good feeders for anything besides tegus or monitors? Putting them in a jar and then into your freezer overnight would be your most humane option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheIvory Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 If you have too many I would be glad to take some off of your hands ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker41 Posted May 18, 2020 Share Posted May 18, 2020 One of these beauties will cut your population down quick! When they're in glutton mode they can eat a couple meals a week of 2-3 adults. Heres one of mine I gave a big momma oblongata to and she went and popped out desert mid meal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axolotl Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 @Beaker41 What a gorgeous girl! I'm curious... Did the nymphs survive? How many did she birth during the ordeal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaker41 Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 She must have birthed half a dozen or so, the big lady went around and scooped up desert after the main course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogpack Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 Sounds like fast food to me. 🙂 Wonderful T which one is she and what is her favorite feeder? How large a feeder will she hunt and eat? I had a red knee many years ago and eventually hope to have a M. Balfouri communal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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