Successfully Breeding Crickets?

[ChameleonAlley]

Out of curiosity, I wanted to see if anyone on here successfully breeds crickets at a larger scale than just here and there. I'm thinking of consistently having crickets hatching and then transfering them to tubs as they grow. This way, I'll always have all size crickets on hand, (pinheads to full grown). I'm guessing this will take quite a bit of space. Does anyone on here have a system that they use to always have crickets on hand of different sizes? Thanks all.

 

[gegeland]

If you are looking to have a steady supply of feeders that you can easily breed, and have many different sizes of them, you should consider starting a roach colony. They are a lot easier to breed and maintain than crickets.

 

[ChameleonAlley]

Thanks for the input. I already do dubias. Newborns can't eat dubias thogh. I figure crickets are better and more nutritious than fruit flies.

 

[jeanjacket812]

Some suckers down the road from me started breeding crickets and it does not look fun!

 

[ChameleonAlley]

Anybody doing this?

 

[ChameleonAlley]

Ok, so I think I've watched enough youtube videos, read enough how to's to get the crickets to breed and hatch them.

From what I've seen, most people are putting about an inch or so of dirt in the bottom of an aquarium and then letting the adults run around on top to lay the eggs. The aquarium is then heated from the bottom to 90 degrees, regularly misted to keep the soil damp, and the babies hatch after a week to two.

This method seems fine and looks like it works, but how do you go about separating the crickets once they hatch? To me this doesn't seem very efficient.

I'm thinking that I can get the crickets to lay their eggs in a little tupperware container filled with dirt and then transfer that container to an incubator. Once the eggs hatch in the incubator, I can transfer them to a larger tupperware container. Then I have a large tupperware container filled with pinheads.

Then I repeat this process with new containers until I have a steady flow of crickets growing in each container of each size.

This is what I'm thinking. Does this sound good to you all? Anyone have any input on if you think this will work, or any suggestions?

 

[Sir Spiral Tail]

I have found threads here about it, involving a tray of dirt for females to lay eggs in, and removing it for incubation. Search for cricket breeding...There was one recently that had three links for ideas...

 

[ChameleonAlley]

Thanks man. I'll check the threads.

Ok, this is from Jim at Chameleon Company: I'm just posting this in here so I can find it later.

You might do well using an intermediary laying container, such as a Glad sandwich container (1.75" deep, 6" square container usable area). Fill it 80% with a medium grade vermiculite moistened with 6-8 oz of water. Let your crickets lay for 24 hours, if a moderate amount, such that no more than 20 crickets are laying per container at any one time. If more than that, leave the container there for less time. Too many crickets for too long will contaminate the laying medium with their droppings, and you will get mold issues during cricket egg incubation that will ruin the eggs. With heavy laying, such that crickets cover the entire laying surface, you can only leave the medium there for approximately 4-6 hours.

Snap on the lid when harvested, with a 1/8" air hole in it. If kept at 85-90 F, crickets hatch in 9-10 days.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Seems like a lot of work man. Have you checked on how to breed silks or horns maybe they wouldnt stink so bad. Oh but you wanted a steady supply of pins avail that wont really help ya.

 

[KYchamguy]

Hey, I have success using small plastic containers as stated by Jim. I buy 1,000 adults(to feed my crew) and I put a mixture of moistened sand and vermiculite in containers then inucubate with a heating pad for about two weeks. This is the method I have found to be the easiest for me when I need pin heads. I only do this for hatchlings though as they are alot of trouble to fool with IMO.

 

[weezyboi94]

http://faunamorphfancier.webs.com/breedingcrickets.htm

doesnt get any better than this. Good luck.

 

[stickytongue]

Hey, I have success using small plastic containers as stated by Jim. I buy 1,000 adults(to feed my crew) and I put a mixture of moistened sand and vermiculite in containers then inucubate with a heating pad for about two weeks. This is the method I have found to be the easiest for me when I need pin heads. I only do this for hatchlings though as they are alot of trouble to fool with IMO.

i am also curious how to breed crix. so what are "we supposed to do"? liviing in canada i would love to breed dubias but it is illegal for roaches to be in canada. so i should buy 100 crix, leave them in a 20 gal tank for 2 weeks at 90 ferenheit and then some how take out all of the adult crix successfully???

 

[ChameleonAlley]

http://faunamorphfancier.webs.com/breedingcrickets.htm

doesnt get any better than this. Good luck.

This is really great info, and more what I was looking for. I know how to breed, it's successfully moving them up as they grow and sorting, etc. Thank you man.

 

[jeffro]

I use peat moss insted of soil its a lot easier

 

[ChameleonAlley]

I use peat moss insted of soil its a lot easier

This is what I'm using now. I've got a sandwhich tupperware in the incubator as we speak. It has a tiny barely able to see bit of mold. Do you think this will be an issue with the babies hatching? It's tough to get the moisture right.

 

[melric]

I know this is an old thread but has anyone figured out how to separate the pinheads afterwards. How am I supposed to get them without crushing them?

 

[melric]

Come on anyone?

 

[fluxlizard]

search youtube for dirty jobs crickets - dirty jobs did an entire episode on how ghanns (I think) cricket farm does it.

To get the pinheads out, you make ramps out of construction paper or thin cardboard. Bend into a "L" and put the short end into the edge of your container. 1 per side of hatching container so they can climb out.

 

[melric]

search youtube for dirty jobs crickets - dirty jobs did an entire episode on how ghanns (I think) cricket farm does it.

To get the pinheads out, you make ramps out of construction paper or thin cardboard. Bend into a "L" and put the short end into the edge of your container. 1 per side of hatching container so they can climb out.

Hahaha. Sweet. Thank you much!

 

[reptoman]

I use wet coco fiber inside butter tubs for the adults to lay eggs in. After 24 - 48 hours I move the tubs to another container, I take several toilet paper rolls, and line the bottom with a dozen or so cut in half. I take a couple of full size rolls and tear the end so I have a piece that will lay over into the butter tubs and place the other end on the floor of the hatching bin. In a week or 2, keeping the eggs moist through misting daily, as the pinheads hatch, they climb down the roll and begin collecting inside the other rolls. Cricket crack in a small pile in the corner and water crystals in a jar lid with a ramp for them to reach it. When feeding, shake one of the rolls with pinheads inside into a plastic cup with a pinch of calcium powder for light dusting.