gonna start keepin feeder crickets

[JungleGuts]

well instead of buying crickets every week im just gonna start keeping higher numbers at a time. I got a 10g i put cardboard in, some gutload food, and i mist for their water source....is there anything else i should be doing to keep em alive and well?

 

[cacoseraph]

some ppl breed them with no extra effort

then there are ppl like me... i just can't seem to do it. i've read i might need to try using a heating light/source.

i've read staying on top of removing deaders is critical. my attempts always ending up smelling like ass, so that substatiates that to me, to a degree =P

 

[jester240]

breed with easy

I would start by setting a cricret tank up and buy a box of like 100. You well need to replinish the popoulation from time to time. I use the little ones you can barely see for my littest slings.

I have had sucess. Crickets need some where to lay there eggs. Old substrate works well, about 1 inch. Give them food, water and a heat sorce. I used just a desk lap. Keep soil moiste and you well here them when they start mating. The female implants eggs in soil a couple weeks later you well see flee like bug baby crickets.

 

[JLDomestics]

Misting the tank will cause them to die quicker, and it will cause odours. Also, feeding them gut load food will cause them to die way before you get a chance to feed them out.

 

[davegrimm1]

Roaches instead

Save youself a lot of time trouble and money and keep your own feeder colony instead of crickets. You won't be sorry. Here's a link to what I have for sale. I can set you up for full production.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=93494

 

[TNeal]

Hello all,

I raise roaches as well as purchase crickets. I purchase fromm 2000 - 4000 at one time. I keep them in a 35 gallon plastic bin. I use eggcrate and papertowel rolls for hidey holes.

I feed them the same thing I feed my roaches, moistened dog food, cooked veggies and some fresh fruit. I also sprinkle on some crickette diet that is loaded with calcium.

Water is very important. I use the water gell. They can't drown in it and it is an excellent water source. Make sure they have food and water at all times, this will heep them very healthy. If anyone is interested in water gell let me know. I sell it.

I buy my crickets when thye are 1/4 inch long. When they get too big for my critters I sell the big ones.

Hope this helps,

Tom

 

[8+)]

Save youself a lot of time trouble and money and keep your own feeder colony instead of crickets. You won't be sorry. Here's a link to what I have for sale. I can set you up for full production.
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=93494

I agree that roach colonies are great to have, but they just can't entirely replace crix.

 

[P.jasonius]

Why is that???

 

[Vermis]

Inertia and laziness. And maybe personal economics and what livefood dealers breed.

 

[138]

Why is that???

some inverts just don't like roaches.

 

[~Abyss~]

I don't like roaches. I have a phobia of them and stick to crix. I started breeding crix and gave up after 6 months. I'm gonna start again with a different technique. I'm gonna have them outside of my house in a plastic tub with water gel to drink and a variety of food. Of course I'm gonna need a heater for those cold nights. Has anyone ever tried to breed wild crix? I catch a few of them around my house. Mostly i catch females and i could never find those noisy males. Anyways they look different that the storebought one and tend to be a little longer and faster.

 

[Matt K]

My 2 cents:

I have not found something that wont eat roaches that normally will eat a cricket, so I prefer roaches. That being said I did raise crix at one point (have not in almost 4 years) and to this day I still find them in roach bins, carpet, or anything a female can deposit eggs in she will. The easiest kind is the common Grays Cricket, aka 'feeder cricket'. Grays are softer and reproduce year round (why they are a commercial product). 2-3 inches of very loose, slightly dry substrate is needed. Too moist and they smell bad, and eggs seem to die from soil-bound bacteria/molds. They will eat just about any fruit/veg/grain product. Water gel for a water source is best. Feeding tofu and dog kibble seems to be great with occasional extras like squash & such. Room temp. Keep out of direct sunlight. You will have gillions....like Blatta lateralis....only smellier.

Just my personal experience.

 

[Louise E. Rothstein]

My avocado seed is growing in some old peat moss that "sogs" on the bottom at one and the same time that it dries out on top until I water it... which fluctuates the water level for days afterward.

My banana bugs tend to do well in very similar surroundings...but they're live bearers that can eat "wetland" fungus without getting sick.

Would that avocado seed's old peat moss kill crickets?