Thermobia domestica - the firebrat

This variant contains a mix of all sizes (from a few millimeters to 1.5cm).

It's almost the ideal feed. These firebrats require a one-time preparation of the container, after which we only need to heat them, sprinkle some bran or fish flakes every few months, and change the water tube about once every half a year. There are two drawbacks. The first is that for reproduction, they require constant heating; at least one point in the container must be heated to at least 30 degrees Celsius (86°F). The young will live and grow at lower temperatures, but the adults will not lay eggs. The second disadvantage is the long developmental cycle; it may take up to half a year before the culture starts to function well. After this time, however, we have an incredibly good feed that is loved by most animals, requiring feeding only about 4 times a year. Firebrats live for several years and lay a huge number of eggs.

Depending on the size of the individual, the firebrat can be great feed even for mantis nymphs. Still, it can also be suitable for feeding larger colonies of small ants or medium colonies of large ants. Some ants are so picky that they won't touch most foods, but they will eat firebrats whole, for example, small colonies of Oecophylla smaragdina.

Feel free to check out a blog from one of our affiliated breeders about them.

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