keeping large amounts of crickets

[Christofear]

Okay so i'm kinda sick of having to go buy crickets all the time, whats the best way to keep big amounts of them?

 

[LPacker79]

4 key elements:

1. Don't crowd them
2. Food & water
3. Places to hide
4. Remove the dead crix.

I don't keep large amounts of crix anymore (just buy them on weekly feeding day), but when I did that's what worked for me. I'd buy around 10 dozen every two weeks and lost very few.

 

[Christofear]

Thanks

Does it matter what I keep them in? and what do they eat?

 

[LPacker79]

You can keep them in anything that isn't too crowded, as long as there is plenty of ventilation. If keeping a large amount, you could use a Rubbermaid tub with most of the lid cut out and replaced with metal mesh. Lack of ventilation will kill your crickets quickly!

For food, I used either unmedicated chicken feed (a 50lb bag lasts forever!) or that Fluker's cricket feed. I also supplemented with fresh fruit and veggies.

 

[Spydra]

I feed my crickrts a mixture of fish food, dog food,oatmeal. Put in the blender and chop really fine. I also throw in a slice of apple or orange every now and then. As for water, I found these really neat water pillows at the pet store, just soak it in water and put in the cricket cage, they last forever, plus you dont have to keep fruit or potatoes in the cage as a water source.

Renee

 

[heyjeyniceid]

I used to have seperate bins for my feeders.

Now I just keep my Orange Heads and my Crickets together for the most part, and sometimes Ill throw in a tub of mealworms

Have plenty of Hideing spaces for everyone.

also, if your trying to raise them, keep them warm.

The tub with the orange heads has a heator in it, and they are literally growing three times as fast as the tub without it.

space is really improtant too. Get a 4.00 rubbermaid tub from Wal-Mart

 

[Aragorn]

They need:

!. Plenty of food and water: I give them tropical fish flakes. When I see that there is a little food left in the dish I fill it up again with plenty of it. Sometimes, when there is a little left they can't find it and people have starve them to death this way, thinking that they'd be able to find it. For water I put in a tiny dish with gravels slope to one side so they can get out if they fall in accidentally. But for smaller crickets you might want to use apple slices or orange slices because they drown very easily.
2. Keep it warm! I keep them near my snake cage near the heat lamp.
3. Give them places to hide like toilet paper roll, or egg cartons laying against each other so they hide inbetween.


For food I give them tropical fish flakes or if you like you can give them salads mixed with oath brands and cereals and chopped fruits with reptile vitamins sprinkle lightly on and mix well.

 

[Aragorn]

And wash out the cage with soap and hot water at least every month--better once a week.

 

[Buspirone]

I'd cut holes in at least two sides of the rubbermade tub and glue the screen there. That way you can stack stuff on top of the tub and you get better air flow down toward the bottom. Ventilation is the key to keeping crickets alive. I use soil moist water crystals(polyacrylamide copolymer) as a water source. If I use fresh vegetables as moisture then I go with baby sweet carrots, oranges, romaine lettuce or raw yams/sweet-potato. A 50/50 mix of whole grain cereal and dog food will work as a staple diet.

 

[da_illest]

can you keep adult crickets and pinheads all in the same tank??

 

[Christofear]

Wow thanks for all the info guys, was alot of help =D

 

[BBlack]

I did a little reading into this myself, but right now don't own enough T's for it to really be worth the extra effort.

If you put a tray of topsoil in with them, keep it moist, they should breed happily too. Keep it in a tray to avoid the cricks kicking it all over. You can then take it out if you want to raise them in a separate tub.

By breeding them should mean you'll have a nice veriety of sizes to feed + if you do it well never need to buy any more.

Some places will sell you jelly like pouches for watering your cricks. I think in an earluer thread someone said they'd setup a system where a hamster bottle made contact with a cloth/towel. This drew the water from the bottle as the cricks drank form the towel. That would be cool since you'd rearly need to refill the water and it'd be easy to change the dirty cloth.

 

[Aragorn]

I think it would be easier just give them apple slices or orange slices. You can breed large number in a large garbage cage with lid if you have big collection of T's and other animals to feed.

 

[da_illest]

no one answered my question...

 

[LPacker79]

can you keep adult crickets and pinheads all in the same tank??

I've never bred crickets, but crix are cannibalistic so I wouldn't keep them together.

 

[Aragorn]

You can if you provide it with lots of food. I've kept the larger ones together with the small ones before without problems. Just make they have food and water, OK!



Namaarie!

 

[willywonka]

The ATS sells a booklet called "The Complete Cricket" that has some very useful information.