# How's this cricket breeding setup?



## cdcrocks (Jul 21, 2014)

So breeding my own crickets instead of buying them has always appealed to me. After talking to my mom about it, she said it was ok for me to try! She's been paying for the crickets, as she preferred me taking care of bugs to playing video games like I used to, and it would cost us nearly twenty bucks every trip to the pet store, and that made me feel bad.

So! I read up a bit on what crickets need, and came up with this setup.





The bins are from Walmart. I included a shot that shows the label, which says the dimensions are 15"x11.5"x11.75". In cm, that's 38.1x29.2x29.8. Are these bins too small? I'm not planning on raising many thousands, just enough for my own 75 or so mantises, and hopefully, a friend's adult veiled chameleon. Will I be able to rear enough for my mantises at least, if I mist the soil every day and maintain their food and water? I'll have a desk lamp over them.




The lid holes are covered in some thick plastic meshy stuff from the fabric store, I don't know what it's called. My dad hates metal screen, so this is what we used. Will the four circluar holes be enough ventilation? Will the crickets chew through it right away? The lid on the left also has a fabric mesh, so if the pinheads that hatch out get up there, they won't escape right away.




The box on the right is fully outfitted for crickets, as I'll be getting some today. Is this a good enough dish of soil, and is that enough egg carton? I have more, but I didn't want it to be excessively cluttered. I'm going to be putting 5 dozen "large" crickets from the pet store in there.

On the left, there's a leaf of lettuce, and on the right, a dish of water with a towel in it to keep them from drowning, and some fancy dry dog food.

The box on the left doesn't have everything in it because it's for the babies, which I shouldn't have for another couple of days. The dish of soil in there is to swap with the one that will hopefully be full of eggs. The soil is miracle gro potting soil, the only sterile soil I have. I've seen videos where people use potting soil, so I'm hopeful that this is going to do.

Thank you for answering some of these questions, I know I've asked a lot!


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## PookaDotted (Jul 21, 2014)

You will want to add more egg carton and I feel like the food and water dishes are too small. As a base for food, you wont want to use lettuce because it doesn't have a lot of nutrition in it. Definitely a yes with the high quality dog food, but for a fresh veggies you should use carrots, or something equal in nutrition that way you properly gut load them and they are healthy when they're breeding. As for the mesh, crickets chew when there is no food or too little egg cartons. Give them lots of egg cartons and lots of food, and water and they will be fine.


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## cdcrocks (Jul 21, 2014)

I just doubled the egg cartons.

Would apple slices be better than lettuce? I was just feeding lettuce because we had some that is too old for people to eat. I'd use carrots, but I wasn't wanting to use those until I'd done some careful experiments, as they have a bad reputation, even if I wasn't feeding those crickets to my mantises.

Would just putting a second food cup and a second water cup do? I don't have many shallow plastic containers other than those little jello shot cups.

Thank you for the imput!


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## happy1892 (Jul 21, 2014)

Crickets (Acheta domesticus) are very easy to breed. You probably just need good, soft dirt and keep it a little moist. Something with protein to feed them might be good, but I do not know (it seems like you have dog food in there). Be careful with some types of food because the pesticides or GMO might kill the crickets. Use a jar lid or something like that as a water bowl. Though maybe the young hatchlings will drown in the water.


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## cdcrocks (Jul 21, 2014)

The crickets I've been getting from the pet store have been eating this dog food, and the mantises have been eating these crickets without issue, so I think it's safe.


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## happy1892 (Jul 21, 2014)

Okay. I thought the dog food might be a good source of protein.


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## Rick (Jul 22, 2014)

Add about a half inch of dry oatmeal to the bottom of the tub. This will give them an additional something to nibble on and helps them walk. You don't want a smooth surface as crickets will have trouble walking on it. It looks fine though as long as the dirt tubs are at least a couple inches deep and kept slightly moist.

You could likely have saved money by buying your crickets online from a reputable source instead of at a local pet store. You would have received healthier crickets too.

For water use a soaked sponge or a shallow gravel filled dish. You don't want standing water. And avoid those cricket cubes as it is a waste of money.


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## cdcrocks (Jul 23, 2014)

I picked up a natural sea sponge and cut it up into chunks, and I soaked a couple and put them in the cricket cage.

I'll buy some oatmeal the next time I'm at the store, I only keep a couple of pre flavored packets around.

I don't know why, but the adult males aren't chirping at all? I also haven't seen any adult females laying eggs. Most of the ones I bought weren't quite adult, so maybe these just molted and aren't old enough to breed. Is it possible to have this whole group not breed? How long should I wait before I get a different batch of crickets?


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## happy1892 (Jul 23, 2014)

Maybe it would be good if you filled up the whole bottom of the container with dirt for them to lay eggs in? It might make them feel more comfortable or it actually might not matter much because I have had Acheta domesticus chirp without substrate in a cup with paper egg cartons.


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## cdcrocks (Jul 24, 2014)

I'll be adding some oatmeal to the bottom, like Rick said. They do seem to scramble more than walk on the plastic. I want to be able to move the tray to a new box once there are eggs laid in it, so the adults don't eat them, so I'd rather use that than more soil. Plus, having the whole thing moist could make it more smelly. Thank you for the suggestion though!


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## Rick (Jul 24, 2014)

I never noticed the adults eating the eggs but that doesn't mean it does not happen.

I would remove the trays of eggs and place them under a low wattage lamp. I would typically see hatching in about a week.


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## aNisip (Jul 24, 2014)

Yes after about a week of seeing the females depositing eggs, I would replace the dirt bin with a new one and place the old one in a miniature version of your current setups...then put back the soil dish into the "breeding/laying containter" after a week after the initial cricket swarm has hatched


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## Krissim Klaw (Jul 24, 2014)

I had a breeder tank going for years and the adults aren't going to be a bother to the eggs unless they are starving. This goes for their nymphs too. Personally I find it easier not to bother transferring stuff because I am hugely lazy. That is why I preferred going with one large bin over smaller ones to try and segregate sizes.

How deep is the soil in the containers? From the photo it looks rather shallow to me. Depending on how many crickets you realistically want to keep at once, you are going to need to add a lot more eggcrate. Like Rick, I like to have some-sort of substrate on the bottom for texture. I also like to crush the dog food with a hammer first. It lets the crickets grab a chunk and move off which makes it much easier for the little ones to get a piece without being crowded out by the larger adults.


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## cdcrocks (Jul 26, 2014)

I'll try and find a container that's a bit deeper. Since I'm separating them and they're all about the same size, I'd rather keep my dog food easy to move. I'll try crushing it if there's ever a large size difference, though.

Thank you all for the suggestions!! The males have started chirping a little bit, and I bet I'll get some eggs any day now.


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## cdcrocks (Jul 29, 2014)

Since my last post, I've replaced the container with one about 2 inches deep, switched to some soil dug up from the backyard, and put a layer of oatmeal on the bottom. However, there's still no eggs. If this doesn't work, we'll have to keep buying crickets. Roaches aren't an option.

The males are chirping regularly, though I haven't seen any mating. I hope it's just that the females take longer to mature.


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## dmina (Aug 13, 2014)

So how are your crickets doing now... give us an update... maybe new pics..


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## cdcrocks (Aug 17, 2014)

Very well, actually! Switching to different soil seemed to do the trick. My first batch of eggs recently hatched out of the garden soil, but the adults are currently laying the second in some substrate meant for reptile enclosures. "Jungle Mix" I think. The garden soil dries out about every 3 hours, or so it seems. I've seen them digging down in the new stuff and dug up some eggs to be sure, and it looks like my second batch should be just as succesful as the first.

Does anyone know how to get the pinheads out of the laying dish so I can reuse it? They're still hatching out right now but it seems that they prefer to stay there than go down to the egg cartons. I even created a bridge for them, but they're staying put.

I tried the oatmeal like Rick suggested, but it's molding now. My spray bottle drips sometimes, and I had a feeling that would be an issue. I think I'll use newspaper or something else in the bottom for them to grip instead.

Does anyone have an idea how to get the pinheads out of the oatmeal? I could go through it very slowly and get them all but that's a pain. And I don't want to leave them in molding oats, or throw them away with it.

Here's pics. They're fairly hard to see in the soil. You can see the green mold on the second one.

My adult container needs cleaned too, there's mold growing here as well. There ARE crickets in there, under the egg cartons.


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## tlchams (Aug 19, 2014)

Hi -

We raise pinheads for our chameleons.

We use moistened cocoa fiber in a 20 oz deli cup filled almost to the top. When the crickets have laid eggs in it, we put a vented lid on it to avoid gnats getting into it. Once a week, we spray it with water to keep it moistened so the eggs can hatch.

Once they begin to hatch set the cup inside a clean plastic bin.... set egg crate on top of the cups and then shake them out of the cup as they fill up with pinheads. We don't use anything but clean plastic containers to house our crickets, no substrate. We use empty a couple of toilet paper rolls to transfer them out to feed the reptiles/insects.

We feed them grated up squash - because that gives them the nutrients and the water they need. They let you know when they are hungry/thirsty by climbing the sides! You may hear of people using water crystals to keep their crickets with liquid... don't do it... we had a baby chameleon die a few years ago, after he ate a cricket with one.  

You replace your deli cup for the adult crickets to lay in as they fill it up with eggs.


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## dmina (Aug 21, 2014)

tlchams said:


> Hi -
> 
> We raise pinheads for our chameleons.
> 
> ...


Wow... thanks!

How often do you feed them? and is that all you feed them?

Do you spray them?

** It is so nice getting everyone's opinion... then you can see what works for you..

Thanks for sharing!


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## tlchams (Aug 21, 2014)

You're welcome.

Twice a day. They start climbing the sides when they are hungry/thirsty.

We also feed them "Repashy Bug burger powder". It's finely ground, perfect for pinheads.

No, we don't spray them. They get their liquid from the squash.

Anytime! That's part of the fun in learning it all, is passing it on.


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## dmina (Aug 22, 2014)

Thanks! I have to do more work on mind... also need taller containers... work in progress... I will post pics soon.. for analysis... LOL

I have limited space... and I want more mantid!


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## DrakeLineous (Aug 22, 2014)

I tried breeding my own crickets a while back but I gave up because it just wasn't worth it. Might I suggest breeding roaches instead? Specifically Blaptica dubia, in your case. The biggest difference between them and crickets is that they're a much better food source (healthier, more protein, etc.) and they won't munch on your animals. From a keeper standpoint, they don't make noise, can't climb plastic or glass and most importantly they won't stink up the place, at least not nearly as much as crickets. I've been breeding them for years, ever since I learned about them. I've rarely ever bought crickets from the store after I had them and when I did it was just to add variety. I had a lot of animals (mostly reptiles) to feed so it was very cost effective, I actually ended up breeding more roaches than could be fed out so I had started selling the extras instead of just throwing them away. I think it's safe to say all herp keepers agree that dubias are better than crickets, at least all of the many, many keepers I've encountered. But again, variety is key. Care for them is pretty simple, in my case just a vented bin, egg cartons, water gel and repashy bug burger along with fruits, vegetables and whatever else food I throw in. A heater isn't necessary but they will breed faster at higher temperatures.


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