# Easy Pinhead Culture



## TropicalJewels (Nov 25, 2006)

Sorry! Switching Picture hosting and post will be restored once recoding is complete!


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, wow that does look easy, how do you seperate the hatchlings from the foam and container? Just tap them into another container?

Thanks, Curt.


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## TropicalJewels (Nov 25, 2006)

Sorry! Switching Picture hosting and post will be restored once recoding is complete!


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## Tim F (Jan 27, 2006)

Hey Perry, thanks for the tutorial! I'm going to get right on this!!!


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## themann42 (Apr 12, 2005)

now if only they didn't smell


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## jejton (Sep 3, 2006)

Where do you get the foam ? Will they be nutritious enough with only the orange slice for a food/water source?


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## Grassypeak (Jun 14, 2005)

I haven’t cultured crickets, largely because I’m afraid of bringing coccidia in with the adults, but I’ve heard that the smell comes from the feces getting wet. I’ve noticed with wild crickets that they produce a lot of waste while they are hiding out during the day. Last summer I had a beach umbrella stashed in a corner. Crickets were using it as a hide out. There were a ton of droppings below the umbrella. This makes me think that you could give the crickets vertical paper towel tubes for daytime hides. The feces could be collected in a cup below the tubes and this might help to eliminate some of the smell.


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## Jayson745 (Dec 13, 2006)

this is pretty interesting. And seems alot easier than trying to seperate the babies from the adults. I dont know what you mean by stagger though.

"I stagger placement every two to three days as the hatch out period is fast. This staggering allows a steady reliable supply daily. "

whats that mean?


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## TropicalJewels (Nov 25, 2006)

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## pa.walt (Feb 16, 2004)

*staggering*

4 pieces, one piece in with the crickets wed. then the next piece say sat. then the next say mon. and so on. so you don't have 4 pieces all with eggs. did i make sense. that is what the staggering means to me.
geez 30 to 35 for a 1000. that is alot of money. 
walt


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## Jayson745 (Dec 13, 2006)

I get what you mean now. I guess that makes sense, so you dont go from overloaded with them, to not having any.


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## superjalami30 (Mar 28, 2007)

Great Idea.
I too have been playing with the idea of culturing mt own crickets but havent due to how complicated it seemed.

You say you use a ten gallon tank for the adults and hatch outs....what do you cover the tank with to keep the crickets in?
A 10 gallon screen I suppose?


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## TropicalJewels (Nov 25, 2006)

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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

pinheads tend to stick to the jell... and just about everything else you use to "water" them too! Try lettuce. 

I use both sweet potatoes/yams and lettuce for both adults and pinheads, and give the adults another water source as well, or at least some veggies with a bit more water to them. Having fresh, not wilted lettuce and freshly cut sweet potato works fine for the pinheads.

Eggcrate that is put vertical, rather than horizontal like you would if you put eggs in them, is a great way to give the adult crickets the space they need. These are easily replaced when they get too soiled, a hard smack will displace the crickets, then just toss in the trash. To reduce smell, make sure the tanks have completely screened lids for the best air flow - the more humid the more stink they make - and make sure to clean them regularly, at least a couple times a week, removing waste and dead crickets. Sweeping out the container will work for a while, but once a week or two I completely switched their containers and cleaned (soap, water) the containers. I used the largest sized critter keepers as their lack of seams made them easier to clean, the crickets had no aquarium silicone to climb up, and extra containers stack within each other for storage.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

floral foam won't get damaged from warm temps, will it? (heat pads, for example to incubate the eggs). That stuff is usually in the fridge with the cut flowers.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

As long as you don't have a really hot heat pad (most reptile heat pads shouldn't be too hot) and it doesn't melt the plastic container, the floral foam should be fine.


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## TropicalJewels (Nov 25, 2006)

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## superjalami30 (Mar 28, 2007)

I went out and bought me some floral foam ($1.00 for a foot long piece) and 30 adult crickets earlier today.
On the way home I grabbed some poutine containers from "Burger King" to use as hatch out containers.
I'll post my results later next week!

Thanks TropicalJewels for the easy culture instructions.

I actually havent paid for a single cricket yet as I've been trading my fresh water plants and fish in exchange for the crickets at 3 of our local fish stores.
I figured if I cultured my own I could trade for other supplies I need and even trade my excess crickets as well.


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## superjalami30 (Mar 28, 2007)

Quick question for TropicalJewels.
Are the eggs laid "in" or "on" the foam?
If they are laid in the foam how do the pin heads get out of the foam?


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## TropicalJewels (Nov 25, 2006)

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## superjalami30 (Mar 28, 2007)

Ya, let us know what you see!


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## skronkykong (Jan 1, 2007)

What risk is involved with cricket water gel?


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

Pinheads stick to the water gel and die... as for adutl crickets, some animals have show up in necropsy with water gel in their systems that was carried that on the bodies of crickets. With plenty of other ways to give the crickets water (such as veggies that also serve as food), best to avoid it.


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## TropicalJewels (Nov 25, 2006)

POST REMOVED


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## stuckonfrogs (Oct 27, 2006)

does anyone have this thread saved prior to tropical jewels removal? I really want to try this. I had bookmarked it and then when I came back I saw the post was removed.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

The article was reproduced with permission here. I didn't use all the pics, but the text was more of the important part anyways. Enjoy 

<edited to underline hyperlink, Catfur>


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## stuckonfrogs (Oct 27, 2006)

Thank you very much!


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## Kentanner11 (Sep 30, 2007)

Thanks! I was hoping for someone to fill in the blanks! lol!


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