experienced crickt farmer

[Sequin]

okay i have a cricket farm going on, my first two soil rotations got a little dry, and i noticed the eggs have turned a whitey colour, does this mean the eggs are dead? or are they sposed to be that colour after a week and a half?
thanx for any replys
~Meagan~

 

[Abraxis]

My only Experience in breeding Crix...

I have a small Critter Keeper... 5x12 Rectangular... I have half of the substrate as the same as my T's... and half is a white calcite stone... Very small and ground up... I had about 30 adult Crix in there and they went on a laying frenzy... and thousands of eggs were laid... (I know cuz I had thousands of pinheads in there a few weeks later...) I accidently let the substrate dry up several times and the crix hatched a while later by the bucket load... and as for the eggs turning white... the eggs I could see along the edges of the tank were white after a while... "should" be ok... but I guarantee nothing in life... I plan on breeding my own crix soon... but need to get a real setup going for them... but my T's come first...

Good Luck

Peace Out

Ken

 

[Wade]

"A little dry" shouldn't prevent hatching. An extended period of ecessive dryness will kill the eggs, but short periods seem to do no harm.

Wade

 

[JohnxII]

The key seems to be similar with raising avic slings - i.e. not necessarily moist but good ventilation. When the substrate is too moist, more eggs seem to rot. And mites will come out of nowhere and consume them too.

Back to your question. You said they turned into a whitey color. Do they look floppy and gooey? If so, they probably are dead. Under optimal temperature (20-24'C) they should've hatched in a week and a half. And as they become close to hatching, they turn semi-transparent with a yellow/brownish tone. And you can see the less opaque head.