Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
What do grasshoppers need to live? What kind of food? How much water do they need to drink?
By Makala C.
Grasshoppers do not need water, they get the water they need from the food they eat. I have a lot of grasshoppers as I breed them. I would suggest giving the grasshopper something with a lot of liquid. I started with leaves and switched to apples thinly sliced because of the moisture in the apple. They love it.
Can a grasshopper live with just one leg? My cat got it! My cat was found with a lovely big grasshopper which is alive, but breathing visibly heavily. One of his/her legs is gone! My daughters and I have given it a nice box (open) and some leaves and grass to eat and a shallow water bowl.
He is in a warm place and I hope he doesn't die. He grasped my finger when I saved him pretty well so seems strong enough. But can he survive with one leg?
He would have to live in captivity.
The hopper will not survive with one leg. This site will help you to care for Hopper:
www.wikihow.com/
I have a grasshopper as a pet, how do I take care of it? Does it need sun light to live?
By Khanh Hy from Australia
Here's what I found on WikiAnswers:To take care of a grasshopper you have to give it plants and to eat and hop on, for grasshoppers do not eat insects like mantis's and wetas. put dirt and plants at the bottom of the cage which should be a jar or fish tank. make sure there are air hoes for breathing. For water soak a cotton ball often.
I'm so happy someone else out there appreciates life as much as me and my children do. We were appalled by all the "How to Kill" sites. The lubber is one of the sweetest, most docile pets we have ever kept. In fact, we are waiting on an egg sack hatch. I can't wait to see her babies! They hatch out all black, then change into colorful adults.
Grassy, the smaller male, loves lilies, bromilliads, carrots, banana peels and romaine lettuce. He also enjoys rodent seed mixtures. The grasshoppers will also drink water from a shallow bottle lid. All animals require sunlight, so if you are unable to take him or her outside, provide it with full spectrum UV lighting.
My 6 year old son especially enjoys to watch TV while the lubber sits on his hand and seems to "watch" with him. I have also noticed the males tend to stop eating if he is kept alone. The males very much enjoy female company and will hug his companion sometimes for more than one day at a time. Thank you for keeping and not killing the grasshoppers. We all have a place!
We live in the woods and "catch and release" critters all the time. Our weather has been bonkers lately alternating between warm and cold days. My son found and caught a grasshopper this weekend. We're hesitant to release it since it is now pretty cold and the forecast shows cool or cold weather in our future.
By AJ from Hillsborough, NC
A grasshopper can live for a year. You'll have to grow grass in your terrarium. Put soil down and untreated seeds. Also, plant some wheat grass from the grocery store because he'll need something to eat in the mean time. He can also eat bran flakes.
I recently found a grasshopper and a cricket outside of my home. I wanted to keep them as pets. They are in a jar with grass now. Where do I put them where they can be safe and live healthily.
I do not have a aquarium. So where else can I put them?
By Genaya A
You can keep them in the jar for a few days as long as the jar is not too small and it has a way for air to get in, such as a screen top or a metal lid with plenty of holes. Give them new grass and weeds to eat every day while you have them.
After watching them for a few days, let them go. Wild crickets and grasshoppers really do not want to be pets. At this time of year, most of them are interested in breeding and laying eggs which they really can't do inside a jar of aquarium.
If you would like to keep crickets as pets, you can get some at a pet store or bait shop. They are happy to live in an aquarium or large jar with a little bit of soil in the bottom. They eat things like oatmeal and will chirp in your house all winter.
I have a grasshopper that came to our back door in November. I've kept it in an aquarium, fed it, and kept it warm. It seemed fine. Just the other day it stopped moving.
It's body is still movable, not stiff. It is not eating. Is it dead or just too cold? I can't tell because it's legs still move when I pick it up.Most of them disappear in the winter to keep warm. If yours is still moving, I would think it is still alive.
Hi,
It is getting ready to molt, I believe. I kept a cricket as a pet once. The cricket shed its old exoskeketon for a new one.
---Robyn
grasshoppers do not hibernate in the winter they usually die but if it moves it is most likely alive
We have a big garden full of these beautiful lubbers which I really love and adore. However, we recently had our landscaper cut a bush and the next day to my horror I found, on what was left of the bush, a sweet little nymph lubber with a humongous abscess on it, coming from his back, area connected to the head (but abscess not connected to his head). I don't know exactly what it is or where it's from or what I can do to help him. But any information at all would be helpful.
Currently I am housing him inside, in an open airy box full of the leaves that he likes and some water. He is hardly moving but having body/muscle spasms and obviously very weak he can hardly stand/move around.
Please let me know if you have any ideas or direction :(
By Cam
It might be kind to euthanize it, It would stop the pain.
I don't know if there is any way to fix this problem. I'm sorry.
You should put it in your garden
My daughter wants to know how to train a grasshopper so it's tame when held. I think one is an adult and the other is nearing adulthood.
By eebee from Kent
It is impossible to train any insect. They don't have that capacity. If she wants to keep them she and you need to understand that part. What you both need to learn about is what their physical needs are. Foods, water, light, space, what their natural habitat is like and set up an aquarium as close as possible to that.
You should really contact an entomologist (insect specialist) for the information you need.
I have many times trained grasshoppers the trick as with any other wild animal is to get him/her to trust you don't pick it up that frightens it instead put your hand inside it's artificial environment and let it get used to your hand touch it gently and try to get it to craw on you if it doesn't right away be patient! Grasshoppers are very intelligent creatures it has to understand that your not trying to hurt it once you have it on your hand keep your hand still and slowly lift it out of the environment there you have it repeat this action as often as possible and soon you will have a trusting tamed grasshopper
Contrary to what that that other person said I have trained and tamed many grasshoppers and it can be done they are very intelligent creatures just like any other wild animals you have to get them to trust you. Don't try to pick them up it frightens them instead put your hand inside the environment and let them get used to it try to get them to crawl on you it won't be easy at first but it will work Be Patient! Soon you will have a trusting and tamed grasshopper
My mother was weeding and she found a grasshopper laying eggs. Before she saw the grasshopper she somehow uncovered the area where the grasshopper was laying her eggs. I didn't want them to be totally exposed so I put them in an 10 gallon aquarium I used to keep my rats in. I washed it out and put dirt on the bottom. I also added some grass, sticks, and rocks. I then carefully put the eggs into the aquarium and buried them under a little bit of dirt.
After that I did some research on how to care for grasshoppers. I think I know enough to care for them now, but I cannot find the answer to this question. What kind/brand of soil/dirt should I put in the aquarium? I will carefully change the soil if need be, I just need to know if I should change it and if so, what is a good brand that is safe for grasshoppers? Thank you for reading and/or answering.Grasshoppers live in the wild and use what ever soil is available in the area. You should be fine with the soil you have added to the enclosure. I wouldn't worry about this and try and change it now. Just leave them alone and see what happens.
I found a grasshopper in the middle of the path. I discovered it was a bit black and burnt underneath and looks a bit swollen. I've put it in a net butterfly house. It's not really hopping and is a bit wobbly, but is wandering around.
By Jess
First of all, that's a katydid. Second, they don't live that long anyway. I'd let this full grown female go on the off chance she's pregnant. Let her go in a safe place where she can lay her eggs. As long as she can walk, she'll be fine.
I have a grasshopper and I don't know if it's male or female. We can't go to an insect scientist cuz we don't have the money. To add to all of that, I don't know if the jar is big enough. I also don't know what to put the water in. Please help with a very detailed answer.
By M.J.H. from from Chandler, AZ
Hi MJH:
If you were able to go to an "insect scientist" I am sure he would tell you to be kind to the grasshopper and let him go free. He is not happy living in a jar - would you be? - He needs to be out there in the grass, hopping around with the rest of his family. I am sure, if you think about it, you will do the right thing. Best wishes.
So I live on the 6th floor and a grasshopper somehow made his way up to my balcony, and he's been up here for about 2 weeks! ' I kept expecting him to be gone, but he hasn't gone, and I guess I have a new pet! Never would I have expected this and I have no idea how he got up here other than climbing(?). Can they fly up high?
I put out some some carrots because he's is living in a flower pot and eating the flowers (marigolds). He is actually eating the bloom buds which may be killing them, and I want my flowers to thrive.
I would never ever hurt him, and actually very much love and respect nature (perhaps that's why he picked my balcony?). I'm kinda freaked out she (?) will lay eggs and then what will I do? I can't have dozens of grasshoppers up here! In other words he's up here on his own free will, and seems happy. :) Any input would be appreciated. Also I'm trying to figure out what kind he is. He seems to be an adult at about 2 inches long, green with what seem like black stripes along his body and he has wings. I'm in Denver, Colorado, if that helps.
By Julieta from Denver, CO
I don`t have great answers, but want to comment since you took out time to create this post. First I would Google grasshopper types and see what you can learn. And, I guess I would just buy a whole lot more Marigolds since you know it is a hit!
How do I make a grasshopper habitat?
By Louise from South Lake, WA
Do the cream colored grasshoppers like the sunlight or the dark better?
By Lindsey
How much food should you give your grasshopper a day?
By Luke
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Can I have a grasshopper as a pet? What do they eat and most of all are they not dangerous to have near?
I have a grasshopper as a pet. How do I take care of him?
I found a grasshopper and I put him in a little glass container. He likes to hide so I put soil in half of the container and his favorite hideout is a cup and I set that on a paper towel. I put a flower pot holder a food bowl to hold his grass and lettuce and carrots.
