Cricket breeding help?

[Hornets inverts]

Yet again ive decided to give cricket breeding a go, currently i have them in a plastic tub with a fly mesh lid, plenty of egg carton to hide in and a chinese container of coco peat to lay in, heated to 33-34c. Sound ok or should i cut down on ventilation?

 

[ShawnH]

I'm not really sure on how to do the crickets properly. I know you may have already considered this but avoided it for your own reasons but I would highly recommend using roaches instead of crickets if your trying to breed a steady feeder insect colony. There are different species of course but in my experience (I currently have about 15 different roach species). They are easier to breed, make no excessive mating calls, and have a much less noticable odor. The maintenance is alot less too from what I have heard.

 

[rvtjonny]

I'm not really sure on how to do the crickets properly. I know you may have already considered this but avoided it for your own reasons but I would highly recommend using roaches instead of crickets if your trying to breed a steady feeder insect colony. There are different species of course but in my experience (I currently have about 15 different roach species). They are easier to breed, make no excessive mating calls, and have a much less noticable odor. The maintenance is alot less too from what I have heard.

I agree with ShawnH, Crickets are a pain,they stink, and way too much maintenance.

Your set-up will work though.


To breed crickets(Acheta domestica), simply place a container with moist soil or sand in with the adult crickets. This will be what the females lay their eggs in. I use small 8 oz. deli cups full of moist coconut husk fiber mixed with play sand. Larger containers can also be used. The soil or sand should be moist but not wet, if it is squeezed in your hand very little water should drip out. Leave the container in with the crickets for up to 48 hours, remove it, and then cover it. If the egg-laying medium dries out the eggs will have died and you’ll need to start over. Store the eggs between 75°F (24°C) and 90°F (32°C). At lower temperatures the eggs will hatch after two to three weeks of incubation. At warmer temperatures the eggs may hatch in as little as one week. It is important that the soil or sand stays moist during incubation. It may be necessary to lightly mist the medium once or twice during incubation to prevent it from drying out.

Once you notice tiny crickets hatching, move the container into a small aquarium or plastic tub. This container must be kept warm, 75°-85°F (24°C-29°C), or you will have high mortality. Remove the lid from the container, and spread crumpled up newspaper or paper towels on top of the egg laying container and around the aquarium it has been placed in. The hatch-ling crickets can be fed a similar diet to adults. They are very susceptible to dehydration, and it's a good idea to replace their source of moisture daily. When kept warm, they will grow quickly, and can reach adult size in 5-8 weeks.

 

[Hornets inverts]

Being in australia we only really have access to one feeder species, lobster roaches which i already have 3 large colonys going, unfortunatly some species dont take them, buthid scorps and my gecks seem to prefer crix so just wanna breed crix to keep those species happy

 

[HepCatMoe]

crickets suck, but your setup will work.

if i had an outdoor reptile room/shed then i would do crickets. but in the house? no way.

 

[bioshock]

yea crickets do suck but breeding em should be a piece of cake i tried once and it worked so good luck!!

 

[super-pede]

In my experience crickets are much more prone to carry harmful bacteria.And if they get out, they can do some damage to your house(and constant chirping).

 

[Hornets inverts]

cheers guys, lucky they are in the shed so chirping isnt an issue. Got heaps of eggs so should see the pin heads emerging in a few days i'd say