cricket breeding

[jdfan199]

hey everyone i just noticed that crickets get very expensive very fast!!!! haha i just wanted to know if i wanted to start to breeding them how many crickets should i start out with?

 

[a2zcreatures]

start out with a 1000 adults. Put food in with them and then a container of peat moss.. i wait a few days and then incubate the peat moss and bang there they are.

 

[jdog1027]

Are you wanting to raise crickets for a baby or juvenile chameleon, an adult, or a group of chameleons? There are some questions you've got ask yourself before you start or buy your supplies. I have tons of baby Veileds right now, and I have always tried to supply my own baby feeders. I breed crickets and a start a new batch of eggs every 3 days to keep up with feeding 100 baby chameleons. But nonetheless, I still spend about $20-30 a week on buying my adult crickets that I use as my breeders. You will rarely have a batch of pinheads to survive to adulthood in quantities sufficient enough to keep a colony going indefinitely, especially if your feeding them off at various stages of growth. If that is your plan, prepare to have about 120 sq. ft. minimum, several hundred dollars worth of bins (on average, a 20 gallon bin runs an average of $10-12 each- you'll need probably 15-20 of them). Not to mention depending on where you are geographically, you will need to supply 85-90F temperatures year round. I had a small building years ago and I bred my own crickets from birth to death and it is a part time job. Not to mention the problems associated with them such as pests, sudden crashes and the small grocery bill to feed them. Not trying to sound completely discouraging, but it is not as easy as it sounds. Breeding crickets for pinheads or small sized crickets requires a lot less commitment, space and supplies, but keep in mind your going to still need to buy several hundred to a thousand adult crickets every week for breeders anyway. It is a lot more involved than most people think.

 

[Elizadolots]

If you don't have a lot of chameleons, consider buying them in bulk (like 1000). Buy them smaller than your chameleons need so they can grow. You'll feed more at the beginning, but as you are only paying something like 3 cents a cricket, it ends up costing less than buying the right size at the store 3 times a week.

You'll need a container that can house that many crickets. Make sure it has lots of ventilation. Make sure you can store it in a way that ants won't get it.

Here's a picture of my cricket home:

It is currently hanging from the ceiling of the storage shed by fishing thread because ants got to it even when it was in a bin of water with nothing touching it.

 

[jdfan199]

well i only have one baby veiled cham. i just thought it would be easier and cheaper too bread my own because im going and buying crickets twice a week.

 

[Elizadolots]

It won't...with one baby you'll probably find going to the store the easiest, least expensive option. One he gets a bit bigger, you might want to try buying in bulk because it does cut the price. Plus, it's a secondary hobby: keeping the crickets alive!

 

[jdfan199]

yeah that sounds like a good plan for now... but when u say buying in bulik... how many do u mean? haha because i bought around 2 dozen and they where gone in just a few days haha (hungry little guy)

 

[Elizadolots]

I buy 1000 at a time. I buy 3 week old crickets which are smaller than my chameleons can handle. I feed more the first month, less and less each week as the crickets grow.