Small scale cricket breeding attempt(And semi pet keeping)

[Tleilaxu]

I am attempting to start a small scale cricket colony for my pets and at the same time, get the cricket basics down so I can care for and breed some the the giant field crix we have up here. I designed the cage to gi Anyways the materials I used were an old 10 gallon tank with its gravel and the plastic aquarium plants it had. I also used two dishies one for the food and water and theother for breeding material. For food I am feeding turtle pellets(two types) Special cricket food(Bu8g Bites) and waxworms. Also I am using "cricket Quencher and "water Bites" for their water. Crix and standing water DO NOT MIX! A note to others, crickets are one of the dimmest bulbs on the invert tree, bear this in mind when caring for them.

Here is the Main tank before the additions
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3590.jpg

The breeding dish
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3591.jpg
I had to pile up gravel around it as the females had issues accessing it.

Here is the food dish
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3595.jpg
I have also placed large rocks in there so they can climb in and out easier.

Crickets exploring
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3599.jpg

A single female laying eggs
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3601.jpg

A prime example of cricket "stupidity"
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3604.jpg
Its not going to work there sweetie...

A massive egglaying fest!
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3609.jpg

Sometimes crickets do things that can endear them to their owners or at least illicit a chuckle
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3646.jpg
Here a cricket carries its pellet to a safe hiding place.

Here are some pics of certain crix that are due to be fed off. And thus do not get to enjoy the main cage. Though I do spare unusually large ones.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3641.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh195/Polistes/000_3644.jpg

A seconday goal of all this is to see if I can grow bigger and healthier crickets and possibley attempt to line breed a larger feeder cricket.

 

[xchondrox]

I figured free sling food!

I attempted this around a month ago, I bought afew dozen preggo female brown crickets from the petstore and put them in a kritterkeeper with an inch or two of damp peat/vermiculite in the bottom. They were kept in there overnight then fed off the next day,;P . I could see a ton of eggs the following morning, they were about half the size of hard white rice. I kept the substrate nice a damp and at room temp but nothing happened after 2or3 weeks and I tossed it. I figured either I didnt keep them warm enough, to wet, or I didnt wait long enough. I agree It would be cool to breed/feed those giant black field crickets, if I remember correctly from my childhood though they have a decent set of jaws on them as well as legs!

 

[Tunedbeat]

It's not worth it. They have high mortality rates, you will have more death than you could possibly feed off.

 

[dtknow]

Put some wire screening over the breeding bowl. Solves that problem.

The more I keep lobster roaches...the mor I think they are upgraded crickets. They even look very similar.