Is it easy to get crickets & cockroaches to breed?

[maybon]

I was told at my local pet shop today that cockroaches are easy to breed just by feeding them some veggies & providing some hiding spots with egg cartons.

I was wondering if crickets would be just as easy.

If I was to do this should I be feeding the insects a specific diet to ensure the nutrients are passed on to my mantids?

 

[itzjustjeff]

Roaches are a lot easier and smell far less than crickets. I feed my roaches chicken mash and veggie scraps. You can always dust your feeders too

 

[maybon]

Roaches are a lot easier and smell far less than crickets. I feed my roaches chicken mash and veggie scraps. You can always dust your feeders too

what do you mean by dusting? Calcium powder? I am new to this whole hobby & am trying to learn quickly :smarty:

If it is calcium powder is that it or should I get a mixture of different stuff? P.S i heard cat food was good can I use this instead of chicken + veggies?

 

[PhilinYuma]

I' recommend that, for a start, you breed cockroaches. Actually, it is much easier, given the right temp, to breed them than not! Google your particular species and you will find a lot of helpful advice. I would suggest that the smaller species are generally more useful for mantis food. Do remember, though, that roaches will "hide and freeze" when introduced to mantids who only attack moving prey, so you may find it easier to either feed them directly, with forceps, or in an environment, like an undecorated 32oz pot, where they cannot hide.

It is well established that mantids are "tritrophic feeders' in that they can benefit from the nutrients absorbed by their prey, but don't worry about it beyond making sure that your roaches, in addition to their favorite fruit and veggies, receive some animal protein, usually in the form of dog or cat food. I grind mine, because i have several nifty grinders, but it is not essential.

There is a lot of info on the net about raising crix, and I know that Rick has discussed this, but most mantis breeders seem to find it easier to buy crix in bulk rather than breeding them. If you raise your own, though, you have a much better chance of avoiding contaminated stock.

Good luck, and let us know how you make out!

Edit. Just saw the old Ca question, and the answer is NO! Reptiles and amphibians have bones that benefit from Ca addition; mantids' bones are so tiny that there is no need for calcium! Don't waste your money on additives designed for the herp trade! Fruit, veggies and dog/cat food are all you need!

 

[maybon]

Alright awesome, I have spent the last 30minutes watching videos on how to breed roaches on youtube, crickets seem like much more effort. I keep hearing about water crystals or something which I will have to look into now & heat mats of course. I will be sure to let you guys know when I have set up the breeding colony. By the way can I upload more pictures some how, it says I have a 1mb limit.

 

[itzjustjeff]

If you plan on staying in the hobby for a while this will last you a VERY long time

http://www.amazon.com/Soil-Moist-JCD-030SM-3-Pound-Granules/dp/B00061T03G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333439853&sr=8-1

 

[maybon]

wow that's a bit of money for some water crystals. Although I do believe you are right in that it will last me ages, I am unsure as to if I should do this or not... Are roaches a good enough diet for mantids on their own?

Total price I'm currently seeing is:

heat mat ~$25

container ~$20

water crystals ~$30

cat food - on going cost

But this is about $100 which is a lot more than I was expecting to breed some cockroaches! I am willing to spend this of course if it is worth the effort, maybe since I just started I should get smaller versions of everything and look @ around $50?

Is it worth doing this is basically what I want to know and are roaches the best food for my mantids? If I do this will I need other food for variety? I was planning to catch random bugs & get meal worms every now and then

 

[patrickfraser]

Skip the water crystals. I just offer mine oranges and it does the same thing. Oranges are said to help with breeding, as well. My colony is cranking. I had a dubia colony and bought some hissers from a pet store in hopes of expanding my feeder selection. I didn't want to bother with another set=up, so I tossed them in the dubia bin. They seem to thrive well together and I am now getting hisser babies. WOOT WOOT! Those things are big and meaty. I'm not feeding any of the hissers until I get some adults from the babies.

 

[maybon]

awesome news then, which is good considering I just bought a huge plastic tub & with some left over PVP plastic casing I have made a divider (was thinking of separating nymphs from the adults to avoid cannibalism as much as possible. But eventually I could have two colonies in there which is great news! (if i can get stuff into Australia that is stupid laws protecting our awesome wildlife... lol jks i love being pest free but its a pain sometimes like now)

Oh and any idea on how to upload more than the limit given? I have 1000kb limit (which I used in two pictures) do I need to become a supporting member of the forum or something? <happy to do this as you guys are awesome & very helpful.

 

[Rick]

I never had any trouble breeding crickets but found it was just easier to buy more since they're inexpensive. But to breed them I just added a shallow dish of damp soil/coco fiber into a cage of adults. Once the dish was full of eggs I placed it under a low wattage lamp and in about a week I had pinheads.

 

[Psychobunny]

I never had any trouble breeding crickets but found it was just easier to buy more since they're inexpensive. But to breed them I just added a shallow dish of damp soil/coco fiber into a cage of adults. Once the dish was full of eggs I placed it under a low wattage lamp and in about a week I had pinheads.

How long do U keep your dish of moist soil in the tub with the cricks and can you see the eggs?

Also, do U use a under tank heater (UTH) for your crick tube?

I have to with mine, because to cool basement is the only place I have to put them.

I keed the heating mat under 1/2 the tub, where I put the egg cartons, the other have is unheated

and where their food and water are.

They do better with a temp gradient I think.

 

[warpdrive]

OMG, Phil's back and he stays that mantids can benefit from gutloading? I must be still dreaming, back to bed for me then.

Welcome back my friend.

Harry

 

[maybon]

what is the gut loading stuff you mentioned? I have heard about it lots but cant seem to find a good explanation of how to do it...

 

[Mvalenz]

I just buy my crix from the pet store. Very easy. And I caught a ton of fat flies yesterday by placing a piece of lunch meat outside to attract them and catching them with a fish net from an aquarium. Easy and almost free. Mantids love flies too. My landlord wont let me keep roaches in my place. Not sure if I want to anyway.

Go to the photo section on the forum. I think it's the first thread. It tells you how to post big beautiful pics with no limit.

 

[Krissim Klaw]

Never tried roaches but I have always found crickets to be insanely easy to breed even when you aren't trying. I had a breeder tank going for a several years with no extra effort on my part. What I did to keep the adults comfortable just resulted in babies. Although they are cheap, it is nice to have pinheads to adults at any given time so you always have exactly the right size on tap.

 

[Rick]

How long do U keep your dish of moist soil in the tub with the cricks and can you see the eggs?

Also, do U use a under tank heater (UTH) for your crick tube?

I have to with mine, because to cool basement is the only place I have to put them.

I keed the heating mat under 1/2 the tub, where I put the egg cartons, the other have is unheated

and where their food and water are.

They do better with a temp gradient I think.

I think I left it in there with them a few days. I never used any external heat for crickets.

 

[sinensispsyched]

I tried putting an adult male and female cricket in a 32 oz. deli cup alone, to limit competition. The little ###### ate his spouse!

 

[Myrmecologist2]

I tried putting an adult male and female cricket in a 32 oz. deli cup alone, to limit competition. The little ###### ate his spouse!

They can be pretty cannibilistic, it's pretty annoying. What annoyed me the most is when I tried to keep a bare bottom tank 20 gallon with a container a couple gallons big, filled with soil. The females would lay tons of eggs, but then the males and other nymphs would dig holes and eat just about half of the eggs that were laid like candy, even with lots of food and water crystals.

 

[Rick]

I tried putting an adult male and female cricket in a 32 oz. deli cup alone, to limit competition. The little ###### ate his spouse!

You don't need to pair up a single male and female. Just offer the entire batch of crickets a place to lay eggs. And I have never seen a cricket eat another healthy cricket.