Keeping Crickets and Breeding cheaply. =D

Davii

Okay so those of you who have read my other comments will know that I am a huge lover of the 'Really Useful Boxes'
And this is how I got my crickets/locusts breeding.

I bought a 5L Really Useful Box from Stationary Box for about a fiver. It was a dark blue one, Giving the crickets more privacy than the clear ones, hoping to get them feeling more secure so they can thrive.

I drilled some rather large holes in the top, then over it I stuck a white vent that builders put in buildings. This gives more protection from escaping crickets than just holes. (trust me.. you dont want escaped crickets in your room.. Its a nightmare)

NOTE: The glue I use is called Araldite, It is a tradesman glue and sets Rock hard.. when I say that I mean you have more chance of breaking what ever it is stuck to than breaking the seal this thing has.

The substrate I used was a fairly deep layer of black Calci Sand.

Then, all I added to it was a small shallow pot of water, with a slanted side, so they can crawl out if they fall in.

Also, I put stacked egg boxes in there for them to hide in, and also for you to take them out and tap them into the viv housing your reptiles.

Note: Due to crickets excreting alot.. these will get moist and soggy, so every couple of weeks need changing.

In another corner I have food, such as cabbage and lettuce.

Note: Remember not too feed them anything that is toxic to the reptile you are feeding..
The crickets food is their food.
Also don't feed them.. I think its tomatoes.. as this gives them severe cases of dioreha (sorry can't spell) and can make them all very Ill.
(If I have the fruit wrong please correct me)

Finished! now buy a couple of boxes of crickets from your local herp store, and empty them into your box. After a month or so they will be breeding well.. but do remember to give the baby crickets time to grow.

A couple of reminders:

-> Your water bowl is a key place for your crickets to excrete. This will need cleaning out regularly.. I recommend daily.

-> Don't have the box in a place you go most.. without frequent througha cleaning out (which.. with a box full of crickets is near impossible)
THEY WILL SMELL.

This is very easy to do and should save you alot of money in the long run.

It probably wont help anyone.. but I hope it does =]]
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Davii
[www.herp-observer.uni.cc]

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Tegster · Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:54 pm Post subject:

Excellent info Davii. You covered every detail. Thank you. This website is all about sharing what you know. Someone out there needs your info. I drive to the pet store every week for crickets. I'm not quite ready to breed them yet. But I'll remember this post.
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Renee

i0r · Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:10 pm Post subject:

Yes you can breed any live food that your tegu consumes....the thing is that you have to consider the species you breed as your pet and give them as much care and attention as any other pet for them to be healthy. So basically....you want crickets for pet to later on give them to your tegu?? Then go right on. You want them only as tegu food?? Then keep buying them when needed.

Me personally i couldn't care to breed crickets nor super worms...First off. They do require daily attention. They are also quite delicate from what i've heard as well. 1 gets ill and they all do.

Good guide though! 5 stars

I found a good one for super worms if anyone's interested

Davii · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:31 am Post subject: RE: crickets..

Yeah, I actually gave up because it stunk my room out.. But I've been thinking of different ways to a more convenient way to care for them..

Such as Taking the bottom off the tub, and covering it with a really fine mesh.. and then holes in the mesh to slide water pots and food pots under.. and on the tray underneath put the substrate in.. or even just some news paper.. Sort of how a bird cage works..Only problem I can think of with that is that the crickets can't burrow to lay their eggs.. so maybe some sort of artificial soil or something mounded up at one side would do the trick.. not sure.
Either that or make some sort "slits" in the substrate.. similar to what you do when planting potatoes.. if any of you have seen that.. making grooves in the soil then filling them in with potatoes then covering them up..

Tbh, crickets here are £1.50.. and I maybe go through 1 to 2 tubs a week.. and I can afford it.. but this sorta thing would maybe be useful for the extreme herp enthusiast... but saying that if they were that extreme they would probably have the proper equipment..

Arr I Dunno.. lol
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Davii
[www.herp-observer.uni.cc]

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ApriliaRufo · Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:32 pm Post subject:

Most small and large reptile specialty stores do not breed crickets, they are inexpensive if you buy a lot, and the smell is near unbearable. I would never breed those devils.