Kecleon
Established Member
Just tought i would help someone that want's to rear there own Feeders.
Cricket Needs
Rearing Habitat
* Clean garbage can, aquarium or gallon jar
* 2" of straw or coarse grass clippings (cured and dried), or strips of paper
* Egg carton, old pine cones with little or no pine scent
* Cloth secured by rubber bands for container lid
* Small and large plastic caps
Food
Most dry pet foods are fine. Rabbit pellets or chicken feed are especially good. Pellets should be ground into a powder, and offered in a small plastic cap. Other foods crickets like include dry fish flakes, bran or wheat germ. Occasionally give the crickets carrots, apples and lettuce for a varied diet.
Water
Place wet tissue paper or cotton in a large plastic cap. Check tissue paper every two or three days for moisture. Do not allow tissue paper to dry out, or waterlog the tissue paper. Change tissue once a week.
Taking Care
Cleaning
Dead crickets have an offensive smell. Remove dead crickets as soon as possible, particularly if they are in the water dish. If the odor is completely overwhelming reduce the number of crickets in the container when it is cleaned out. When the bottom of the container becomes full of droppings or mites become a problem, the container should be cleaned. Accumulated cricket droppings can promote disease. It is best to plan the cleaning so that it is timed to coincide with the period when only a few old adult crickets remain. It is impossible to clean a container when many hatchlings are around without significant losses. When new hatchlings appear, they should be placed in a clean rearing container.
Handling
Field crickets are harmless, although they do have mandibles and can nip fingers. Hind legs are strong and may have spines, and you may be poked when the cricket kicks. If you are transferring a cricket, cup the animal in your hand. If you want to show the students, hold the cricket firmly on the sides of the thorax. To slow crickets down, place them in the refrigerator or ice chest for 15-30 minutes. The body of the cricket is soft and may burst if held too tightly or dropped on a hard floor.
Raising Young
Eggs may be laid in the wet tissue or cotton in the water cap. If tissue paper has eggs (small yellow cylinders), save in a polyethylene bag. When the eggs hatch, carefully remove the tissue paper and hold over the rearing container. Vigorously blow down on the hatchlings. Replace tissue paper in bag until more hatchlings appear. Harvest hatchlings every day. If the climate is arid, you may want to give the crickets a container of damp sand for egg laying. When the sand is filled with eggs, place it in a plastic shoe box and keep the sand damp until the eggs have hatched.
Other Concerns
Precautions
Use only old pine cones with little or no pine scent. Fumes from fresh pine cones can kill crickets. Old egg cartons can be substituted. Do not use a metal or plastic container lid that restricts ventilation and allows humidity to increase. High humidity promotes various cricket diseases and mites.
Special Considerations
Crickets do best in a dry atmosphere at about 85°F. Crickets are more likely to chirp if they are in the dark. A gallon jar can comfortably house 15-20 crickets if they have egg cartons to climb on. Over crowding is stressful and leads to premature death. Some species of crickets are territorial. Carefully watch crickets when you place them in the container to see how they react to each other. If they are territorial, keep one female and one male in the container.
Just let me know if it's good info and if it helped you guys?
Kecleon
Cricket Needs
Rearing Habitat
* Clean garbage can, aquarium or gallon jar
* 2" of straw or coarse grass clippings (cured and dried), or strips of paper
* Egg carton, old pine cones with little or no pine scent
* Cloth secured by rubber bands for container lid
* Small and large plastic caps
Food
Most dry pet foods are fine. Rabbit pellets or chicken feed are especially good. Pellets should be ground into a powder, and offered in a small plastic cap. Other foods crickets like include dry fish flakes, bran or wheat germ. Occasionally give the crickets carrots, apples and lettuce for a varied diet.
Water
Place wet tissue paper or cotton in a large plastic cap. Check tissue paper every two or three days for moisture. Do not allow tissue paper to dry out, or waterlog the tissue paper. Change tissue once a week.
Taking Care
Cleaning
Dead crickets have an offensive smell. Remove dead crickets as soon as possible, particularly if they are in the water dish. If the odor is completely overwhelming reduce the number of crickets in the container when it is cleaned out. When the bottom of the container becomes full of droppings or mites become a problem, the container should be cleaned. Accumulated cricket droppings can promote disease. It is best to plan the cleaning so that it is timed to coincide with the period when only a few old adult crickets remain. It is impossible to clean a container when many hatchlings are around without significant losses. When new hatchlings appear, they should be placed in a clean rearing container.
Handling
Field crickets are harmless, although they do have mandibles and can nip fingers. Hind legs are strong and may have spines, and you may be poked when the cricket kicks. If you are transferring a cricket, cup the animal in your hand. If you want to show the students, hold the cricket firmly on the sides of the thorax. To slow crickets down, place them in the refrigerator or ice chest for 15-30 minutes. The body of the cricket is soft and may burst if held too tightly or dropped on a hard floor.
Raising Young
Eggs may be laid in the wet tissue or cotton in the water cap. If tissue paper has eggs (small yellow cylinders), save in a polyethylene bag. When the eggs hatch, carefully remove the tissue paper and hold over the rearing container. Vigorously blow down on the hatchlings. Replace tissue paper in bag until more hatchlings appear. Harvest hatchlings every day. If the climate is arid, you may want to give the crickets a container of damp sand for egg laying. When the sand is filled with eggs, place it in a plastic shoe box and keep the sand damp until the eggs have hatched.
Other Concerns
Precautions
Use only old pine cones with little or no pine scent. Fumes from fresh pine cones can kill crickets. Old egg cartons can be substituted. Do not use a metal or plastic container lid that restricts ventilation and allows humidity to increase. High humidity promotes various cricket diseases and mites.
Special Considerations
Crickets do best in a dry atmosphere at about 85°F. Crickets are more likely to chirp if they are in the dark. A gallon jar can comfortably house 15-20 crickets if they have egg cartons to climb on. Over crowding is stressful and leads to premature death. Some species of crickets are territorial. Carefully watch crickets when you place them in the container to see how they react to each other. If they are territorial, keep one female and one male in the container.
Just let me know if it's good info and if it helped you guys?
Kecleon
