Breeding a small amount of crickets?

[Jakama]

For the past while I have been planning to buy a bulk package of crickets for my chameleon, and then breed those. But then, it occurred to me that this was a very stupid idea. Crickets only live for about three weeks, if the sites I read informed me correctly, so most would die off before they could be fed. I only have one chameleon (about 6 months old, female), and I feed her about 6 crickets every day. For the past while I have been just buying 30 crickets every five days. Would it work for me to get a large bin for these crickets and give them a place to lay, and breed them while purchasing them in small packages like this? I would imagine eventually I could get enough crickets to only have to buy a package every week or so.

 

[kinyonga]

I have had a lizard cage that for years I have not had to add crickets too. It has a soil substrate...in one area of the substrate I keep it moist when I want the crickets to hatch and let it dry out when I don't. I provide greens and veggies for the crickets (and the prehensile-tailed anole) that lives in the cage. Instead of dusting the crickets, I dust the veggies and greens and any other insects that I feed the anole. You could do the same thing with a large rubbermaid bin.

 

[Jakama]

That sounds really cool. Wouldn't the substrate get moldy, though?
I've been told that, when breeding crickets in their own enclosure, tupperware dishes filled with moist soil are best. Have you found that covering the whole floor with substrate works better?

 

[kinyonga]

I never had any mold on the substrate. Its only moist not soaking wet.

All I can tell you is that the whole floor of the cage has substrate on it....I moisten one corner of it and the crickets lay their eggs there and they hatch. When one batch hatches I let that area dry out and then there don't seem to be more crickets hatching. When the anole eats most of the crickets that hatched (when they get big enough for him to bother eating) I moisten the area again and the crickets reproduce again. Can't see why it wouldn't work if the same cage was set up minus the anole.

 

[jim734123]

any pics of your setup? i would like to see it.

 

[mardithepanther]

i use soil but it dries up too quick and the eggs die....