# Breeding Crickets?



## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

I am going through a rediculous amount of crickets and would like to breed them myself so I don't have to go to the pet store every week. Does anybody know how to do this? Someone once told me the way they do it but it was complicated and involved having to buy an expensive incubator. If there is a cheap, uncomplicated way I would like to try it.


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## insularexotics (May 3, 2005)

I don't know all of the details on breeding crix, but you should be able to find it on the web. I can tell you it's incredibly smelly and it takes a good bit of time and space. I would recommend ordering in bulk from Southern Cricket wholesale and save yourself time while saving $$ compared to buying by the dozen from pet stores. Better yet, for PDF, breed your own flies.


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

I have a shed behind my house that I can put them in so I wontt have to hear and smell them. I think I'm going to try it. The problem will be keeping it warm enough since it is winter, and they also said not to keep the babies with the adults because they will eat the babies. I'll have to work out another container to move the eggs into before they hatch. I'm feeding tomato frogs. I will be getting darts soon and will do FF for them, but I can't imagine the number of flies that my tomato frogs would need to get full! If I have FF and crickets going, I should have something to feed either frogs in a pinch. I've been going through 50 crickets a week and the frogs are not full grown yet. I wonder also if I must purchase the crickets from a pet store, or is it okay to get them from a bait store? I live so far away from town, so going to the pet store to get the crickets is really a bother. We have a bait and tackle store down the road. Do you think there would be anything wrong with using those?


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## insularexotics (May 3, 2005)

The bait store crickets are probably the same. But, by far, your most cost-effective method would be to buy a box of 500 or 1000 and feed/keep them until it's time for more. THis also allows oyu to gut load the crickets with all kinds of good stuff (sweet potatoes are my preference). A box of 1000 is about $11 plus another 10 for shipping. So that would make your cost 50/$1 and they'd be delivered to your door. Southern Cricket is in Hernando, MS if I remember right. Their phone is 800-545-6418.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Breeding crickets is great if you need a couple thousand, and/or a ton of springtails. I used to breed my own crickets - but I also had a breeding colony of 30 leopard geckos, babies, a couple pairs of other species of aussie geckos, not to mention 3 breeding groups of tricolors, their offspring, and a couple other darts. I was going thru thousands of crickets a WEEK. And I used to wonder how I developed allergies to them :roll: 

While it may sound like you're going thru a lot of crickets, its not enough to really warrant breeding them (way too much effort for so few crickets needed). Its cheaper, and less hassle, to buy 500 crickets every couple of weeks from a good dealer. I got mine from ReptileFood.com.

What you do need to do is figure out a set up to keep these guys alive in. I've used large rubbermaid containers where I cut a hole in the lid that basically left a rim on the lid of 4 or so inches. The whole was covered with METAL window screening. Do NOT use fiberglass, as they can, and will, chew thru it. You'll need a food source, a water source, and something for them to hide in. I use romaine lettece and sweet potatoes as the food source, nutritious, cheap, and easy. I use slices of sweet potato and change them as they dry out (once a day is fine for large crickets). There are cricket water dispensers available on the market that I'd recomend using over the gel water stuff. Having plenty of hiding spots is important, crickets are territorial and the only way you can keep high concentrations is with lots of territory - the cardboard egg crate is simple, easy, and cheap. Do *NOT* use preused egg crate, use fresh stuff that has never gone near a chicken


*KEEP THEM CLEAN* I basically use the two container system - one in use, one clean backup. When it came time to clean the tank I moved the crickets from the dirty tank to the clean one. I set the two containers next to each other, the new tank being empty, take out one of the sheets of eggcrate from the dirty tank, give it a good smack in the new tank to get the crickets off, then toss the dirty egg crate out. Repeat with all the egg crate and a majority will be transfered. The rest running around the dirty tank would be caught easily by a cricket scoop. When all the bugs are transferred, add fresh food, water, and new egg crate to the tank. The old tank is then cleaned (mild bleach and a good rinse works well, especially with a power washer :twisted: ) and is ready to go for the next switch. How often you do it depends on how fast the tank gets dirty (which depends on density of crickets). Keeping them clean improves survivorship and reduces smell, so I recomend doing it a lot. At one point I was cleaning the tanks every couple of days, replacing the egg crate weekly. Fed daily for the larger crickets, water dispenser should be cleaned daily as well to keep it clean. 

Once you get a system down, its pretty mundane and easy to do. Pinheads are a lot harder to take care of, unless you just feed them straight to your frogs  When I was breeding so many crickets, my PDF collection was fed pinheads as the staple in their diet, it was great. If you want to breed a couple adults for a snack for your future PDFs, its not that hard if you've already got a couple hundred adult crickets lol.


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Thank you. that sounds like basically the same thing I would need to do for breeding, except for breeding they need to be provided with a dirt container to lay eggs in. I have some kind of a lamp with a hot light in it that was used to keep some puppies warm last winter. I wonder if I use that light and put them in the shed (the shed is not insulated) if that would keep them warm enough. I have bought that orange cricket food, and have read that it is okay to put something like a paper towel or washrag soaked in water for them to drink from. I think I will do that. I just need to get the egg crate now.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Yeah, they probibly would need a heat lamp to stay warmer, I'd recomend hooking it up to a rheostat so you don't have to worry about cooking them. I currently have to use a heat lamp on mine.

Its not a whole lot harder to breed them, but the pinheads can be tricky to keep alive (dehydrate really easily but will stick to waterers and the gel foods). I used to toss my pinheads into a hovabator I had for incubating gecko eggs ($40) and I could fit a whole bunch in there (little 1-2 cup gladwares just stacked), but I've used heat pads for smaller collections of just one or two containers to hatch out.

I will tell you right now, that gel food stuff will get expensive, and I've not had very good luck with it. I tried it for a while, and my die off rate went up.

Since you're having them in a shed you'd gonna have to keep an eye out for other nasties that will show up in the containers - spider, centipedes, beetle larvae - check regularly and remove/kill intruders.


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2006)

back2eight said:


> I am going through a rediculous amount of crickets and would like to breed them myself so I don't have to go to the pet store every week. Does anybody know how to do this? Someone once told me the way they do it but it was complicated and involved having to buy an expensive incubator. If there is a cheap, uncomplicated way I would like to try it.


I used to grow them for baby old world chameleons....pretty simple. Here's how I did it.

Larger crickets won't eat the pinheads if they aren't hungry. Good ventilation and cleanliness keeps them from being too stinky.

You can use a substrate but I didn't bother.
1 container. I like the larger Rubbermaid tubs, large plastic critter keepers, or a 5 or 10 gallon tank. Something small but tall enough that the adults can't leap out. You need to use vaseline (sp?) around the rim as pinheads and below can climb just about anything.

You need a few adults. I buy mostly adult females (ovipositor sticking out of the back) and a couple of males which I keep in a separate Rubbermade tub and then put them (the females only) in the critter keeper with a substrate (I don't use it as the pins are to hard to "liberate" for feeding) or a container of moist, loose, right outta the bag (not soggy) potting soil or garden soil. The Container being a low butter tub, onion dip container, or something of the like. Be sure to place some twigs on the tub to allow the females to climb up into the tub to lay eggs (you will see them sticking their ovipositors into the soil). Mist the soil daily to keep moist. In a few days you will have "dust" crickets that become pinheads in a couple of days. You will have LOTS...but they don't stay small for long. I use cricket keeper gel (they'll die in it) to hydrate them when they get older... at first I use a halved baby carrot or piece of potato changed daily. I feed them fish food (flakes are easier for them at this stage) and gutload and or a mix of flakes, vitamins, Minerall as they get older. I use 3 containers started about a week apart. I remove the females after a couple of days and change out and clean the whole thing after the eggs hatch and I have collected and fed the pins or dust crickets to the Chams. I've also had people put the females directly into the Viv or habitat but I find this too dangerous with baby chams and I would imagine, Darts. You could leave them in for a few hours and then remove them I guess. They will lay quickly if they are "true" adults and not just 3/4". when the pins hatch the Darts can hunt them in the viv substrate. I wouldn't do it however as you have no control.
Man.... figuring out how to type this is harder than hatching them out.
If any of this doesn't make sense... ask and I'll try to explain it better.

I only have two Phyllomedusa sauvagii now so I use Bug Box crickets. 24+ in a box with a food source and water source. They last about a week. All I gotta do is open the little door, shake a few in to the enclosure or cricket duster and I'm good to go. Not the cheapest way to do it... but no Cricket escapes EVER (that keeps the wife happy).
Wait till the wife finds out about the FF!


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## bluedart (Sep 5, 2005)

I agree- you should probably just order them. It's really less hastle. I've bred before, and it's not worth it. I had 15 geckos and a bearded dragon. That wasn't worth it, and you've got a couple tomato frogs. In the end it's your call, but you asked for some advice, and we gave it to ya. :wink:


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## back2eight (Dec 19, 2005)

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I have a Rubbermaid container, and I will get it set up with adult crickets probably tomorrow. You don't put a top on the container, right? All I have to do is figure out a way to keep them heated, now, since I will have them in a shed outside. Thanks again!


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2006)

back2eight said:


> You don't put a top on the container, right?


Depends on where I'm keeping them. If I'm not worried about predation then I leave the top off (better air flow = less smell). If I use a top it's a metal screen set up like Kero Kero explained. I also cut holes in either end and metal screen those regardless of whether I'm using a top or not. I like airflow!
Mac


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