Cricket colony? Help needed

[Chris_Skeleton]

Okay so I went to my Lps today to buy crickets and all they had were giant ones, not a problem, but I have a small B. albopilosum and they are huge compared to it. So I looked at the crickets I got and there were many large females. So I took a kritter keeper and put all the females I could grab in it and a few males. They have some loose coco fiber substrate and a cardboard egg case in there with them, and some cabbage. So basically all the females are laying eggs now. Since my money is short and buying crickets every week isn't helping, I'm thinking of starting a colony and I need some tips or some help. How do I start a cricket colony? What are the conditions needed for the eggs and baby crickets? And would a 10 gallon be good for housng a colony. Also any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[xhexdx]

Get roaches instead.

Also, check the insects subforum.

 

[nic3805]

Crickets stink... I wouldnt try to breed them, I breed B. Dubias which everybody has their opinions on but they work for me. No smell, no noise, easy to do just keep them warm, feed them, and let them do the rest.

 

[SDiego]

Also any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Breed a roach called blatta lateralis. I promise you'll be happy you did. They don't smell like crickets, they don't eat one another like crickets, they are easy to breed and easy to take care of. (Though I did lose a couple of my males initially).

 

[nakazanie]

Um, gee, well let me actually respond to the question you asked (novel concept here, I know.) I have never done this, but I breeded some crickets by accident. I had 'em in with some coir and water and they started laying eggs all over. I thought one of my spiders had a mite infestation, but it turned out to be baby crickets. LOL. So, yeah, I don't think it's hard to get going. Probably high temp (75-80) for breeding, just going by other bugs, water crystals, cat food, veggies?

Nak

 

[Spider-Spazz]

i bred crickets before. i tolerate them wayyyyyy better then roachs barf. for food i usually throw in a sliced potato, or if i feel like they should have a treat, i'll throw in some carrots and lettuce and dead flies with it
temps are regular. just like outside your house. at least have it 70-80 or something.
and for water, i use the no drown water called Fluker's Farm Cricket Quencher, i don't enjoy fishing out water filling stinking dead mushy crickets
i know one thing. they stink worse then anything i own, and i always hold my breathe when grabbing them out.

With the egg laying part, from personal experience and chatting with others, a lot of people like to put small containers filled half way with moist substrate (eco earth or something) in it. when you buy the females with the males they're usually ready to lay, but if you buy them separately give them some 'alone time' together. when you're ready, put the containers in the cricket colony and the females will work their magic, jumping inside of them and injecting the eggs into the dirt.
when pretty much all the females disperse, take out the containers and put some mesh over them. make sure the holes aren't huge so the babies can't crawl out.
some people do, some people don't, but i use a heating pad and place it under the containers up on a shelf somewhere. after about a week or two you'll have babies running around! put them in a separate container from the adults, then go back to the adult females and let them work their magic again.

i don't know.. for some reason everything i just said sounds really complicated to me, but if you can figure it out go for it

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

Thanks for the info, Spider-Spazz. I'm also looking into selling them. There is a pet store near me that I frequent and is locally owned and if I get into breeding them, I'm going to try and talk to them about buying crickets from me. I'm gonna try and give them the advantages like they would be buying from a local breeder, no shipping costs, no possibilities of the crickets dying during shipping, etc. So does anyone have any experience with supplying stores?

 

[CAK]

No experience here. Seems like a lot of work for little reward IMO.

 

[pwilson5]

i seem to be the exception to the "crickets smell" thought.. i have like 20 or so crickets and they dont smell at all?? they are on coco fiber with a water dish, some egg crates and some dog food

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

No experience here. Seems like a lot of work for little reward IMO.

Well the only reward I'm looking at is saving money by breeding my own. I have three T's and my girlfriend has two. So breeding crickets for our T's is reward enough for me. I just thought I would check into selling them too so I can make a little extra money to buy more T's

 

[sntcruzan]

I usually buy 1000 large every 3 weeks and they can get smelly if you don't keep the container clean. Which reminds me i need to clean there container today after I feed my T's

 

[Spider-Spazz]

No experience here. Seems like a lot of work for little reward IMO.

Not exactly. I have tarantulas and geckos that need to be fed, and i enjoy giving them 'home grown' food rather then the store ones, who knows what pesticides are used at the store i used to buy them from.
it's a wonder why they got shut down.. nasty nasty nasty place. bought crickets from there once, and that was the last time.

Thanks for the info, Spider-Spazz. I'm also looking into selling them. There is a pet store near me that I frequent and is locally owned and if I get into breeding them, I'm going to try and talk to them about buying crickets from me. I'm gonna try and give them the advantages like they would be buying from a local breeder, no shipping costs, no possibilities of the crickets dying during shipping, etc. So does anyone have any experience with supplying stores?

No problem! glad to help too bad i can't help with this question. i have noooooo experience with supplying stores.

 

[forrestpengra]

If you're goign to do crickets the right way you need several large rubber maid containers. Put quite a few females in. On half of the container put a small tray of damp soil/peat/coir. they will lay eggs almost immediately. After a couple days transfer the dirt tray to a hatch out container. You will have pinheads shortly. Rear them by size, they will be easier to market. You could easily have thousands in short while, but they would STINK!!! They key with crickets is that you need to keep them super warm to be highly prolific.

I buy 1/4" crickets for my little slings and switch them over to B. dubia as soon as I can. My dubia breed like crazy. I had a couple hundred a few months ago and must have thousands now.

Regardless of if you go with crickets or roaches they need it warm 80+F.

I personally would go crazy to chirping of thousands of crickets! I have probably 2 dozen now that are driving me batty.

 

[nhdjoseywales]

no offense, but if you want to save money, dont buy them at a LPS. buy them at wal mart for 2 bucks a tube, or if you feed a lot of spiders, order from ghanns cricket farm. small scale you wont be able to touch the prices the LPS is paying and the market is pretty saturated with suppliers already. plus crickets STINK like there is no tomorrow. you absolutely will need a separate building to raise them in if you want to do it on any kind of scale where you make any profit doing it and still live in your house.
personally i think the roach people are right, less smell and they live much longer than crickets. but you have to find the roach that works for you and your spiders. dubias tend to burrow so they can be a pain unless you are feeding a spider that instantly snags them. of course you can always crush their head and then they dont burrow.

i just saw you are feeding 5 spiders. just go to wal mart dude, its a LOT easier and cheaper.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

I personally would go crazy to chirping of thousands of crickets! I have probably 2 dozen now that are driving me batty.

I know what you mean, last night I about went crazy listening to two of them lol.

The only problem with going to Wal-mart is I'm paying for them and they die or eat each other. It might be easier, but if I can just breed my own, for me, it will be cheaper. I already have a place to keep them so they won't be in my house. I would do roaches, but I don't think anywhere around me has them, everywhere sells crickets, and I don't want to order off the internet, plus neither me nor my girlfriend can stand roaches :barf: . I guess if my crickets don't work out, I will give in and get some roaches.

 

[nhdjoseywales]

I know what you mean, last night I about went crazy listening to two of them lol.

The only problem with going to Wal-mart is I'm paying for them and they die or eat each other. It might be easier, but if I can just breed my own, for me, it will be cheaper. I already have a place to keep them so they won't be in my house. I would do roaches, but I don't think anywhere around me has them, everywhere sells crickets, and I don't want to order off the internet, plus neither me nor my girlfriend can stand roaches :barf: . I guess if my crickets don't work out, I will give in and get some roaches.

I get crickets from wal mart and if you feed them and give them water just as you would ones you breed, they last for several weeks. I just dont see how breeding would be cheaper than 2 bucks a month or so for at least 100-200 crickets. Its definitely cheaper when you factor in your time spent sorting crickets from shed skins, waiting for them to reach the size you need, cleaning the tanks, etc. Watch the dirty jobs episode ab out a cricket farm, its definitely nasty and stinky. Two bucks a month is dirt cheap.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

I get crickets from wal mart and if you feed them and give them water just as you would ones you breed, they last for several weeks. I just dont see how breeding would be cheaper than 2 bucks a month or so for at least 100-200 crickets. Its definitely cheaper when you factor in your time spent sorting crickets from shed skins, waiting for them to reach the size you need, cleaning the tanks, etc. Watch the dirty jobs episode ab out a cricket farm, its definitely nasty and stinky. Two bucks a month is dirt cheap.

Well breeding them would just take time and no money. I know 2 dollars a month is dirt cheap, but wouldn't zero a month be cheaper lol. Anyway I guess it's a venture I'm gonna try and take. I'm really not concerned about profiting off of them, even though I'm gonna try. I just like the idea that if I ever need crickets, I just walk out my back door and grab some instead of driving to wal-mart and paying for them. And that's 2 dollars per month I have saved. Anyway I have found a rubbermaid container to use, what's next?

 

[jayefbe]

Well breeding them would just take time and no money. I know 2 dollars a month is dirt cheap, but wouldn't zero a month be cheaper lol. Anyway I guess it's a venture I'm gonna try and take. I'm really not concerned about profiting off of them, even though I'm gonna try. I just like the idea that if I ever need crickets, I just walk out my back door and grab some instead of driving to wal-mart and paying for them. And that's 2 dollars per month I have saved. Anyway I have found a rubbermaid container to use, what's next?

Time, food, egg crates, substrate...all those things cost money too. If you're feeding a single tarantula (or just a few) you may as well just buy them, it'll be cheaper and save you a lot of time. Look for someplace better than wal-mart to buy them. Usually pet stores are cheaper.

On a side note, crickets are so much more disgusting than roaches. Crickets stink like crazy, they bite (you or your T's), they eat each other, they're loud, and they die incredibly easy. Did I mention that they stink? Roaches do none of those things.

 

[xhexdx]

If you want to try it, go for it. I still think roaches are a better option.

Run a google search for 'breeding crickets'. I'm sure there are a few sites that give you step-by-step instructions.

 

[MIC]

i seem to be the exception to the "crickets smell" thought.. i have like 20 or so crickets and they dont smell at all?? they are on coco fiber with a water dish, some egg crates and some dog food

The same for me. I actually have in a 20 galons tank more than a thousand of brown crickets (acheta domesticus) and I don't have any smell problem. The only precaution against the smell is the good ventilation and the cleaning of crickets poop and the change of the water crystals (agar agar) and food, once a week.

For food I prepare a dry mixture composed by:
4 parts of bran
3 parts of oats
2 parts of tropical fish food
2 parts of milk in powder
2 parts of food for rabbits (ground)
1 part of croquettes for cats (ground)

and occasionaly apple, potato, orange, carrot, Roman rocket.