Sorry to bump this since it is a bit old, but...
measuring / counting crickets! this is a tough one.
what you need to do is get a few tubes (depending on what size you are counting - pinheads = thin tube 1/4in , adults = wide tube 3/4in+ And clear or opaque of course!)... I like to use the containers that single use syringes come in - they have a wide(er) opening at the top and are tall enough to count decent units.
acquire some tubes and get some live crix, figure out what fits best in what tubes - pinheads are quite a pia! but grab your tube, and manually count, and mark a line. This is very rough, so having different marks and different sized tubes comes in handy.
I have been breeding crix for about 8 months for in house use and I can tell you a few things;
low humidity and good hydration is best for indoor / small house setups - high humidity will attract unwanted bugs and smells.
room temp usually works - if you have low yields, you may need to stimulate breeding with extra heat - but not much.
Diet is so important! I fed my crix monster diet for the whole life cycle - with occasional fresh fruits and veggies - remove fruits after 4-6 hours, veggies can keep a few more hours.
With the above method my eggcrate stayted clean for a long time.
I could never smell them with the above diet - well they never smelled icky or funky.
High humidity and cat food / table scraps leads to problems and smells!
Use water cubes - "timberline easy water" is the way to go, search around, you can get 10gal of cubes for about $15
Bring out your dead! Daily policing of the crix hab is a good thing to do... make sure everyone is alive, the water is fresh, and the food is not molding or caking.
As far as diet goes I like the monster diet more than anything - when I started breeding I was able to get 6 cans for $12 or so - no luck there anymore! If you are making your own diet, quality ingredients and the proper moisture is key - but I am still figuring this out. Also pinheads do very well on (high quality) freshwater flaked food if your regular diet is not pinhead friendly, as flake food can get expensive if you are feeding everyone.
When I breed my crix I introduce a fairly moist, but not muddy 'cup' (anything about 3-4in wide and 3-4in tall / deep will be fine for home use - I happen to have many many betta cups with lids, so I use these, and I can see what it is going on
) of ExoTerra Reptile Soil or similar. I ensure I have chirpers and mature females, drop the cup in for 48 hours and use a fresh cup every week. Now you can leave it in longer - but your pins will hatch out at very different times! I have had multiple cups begin hatching on the same day, but I figured this out as well
Once the cup is removed, it needs to be placed in a semi controlled environment - if anyone breeds birds, you know exactly what I am talking about (no incubation ontil the last egg has been laid) . I like to place them somewhere high inside a large ~30qt tall plastic tub or a 10 / 20 gal screened and escape proofed aquarium will work too.
In my experience, once they start hatching, remove the lid if you have one - a lid will help keep them humid and maintain temp! If you fail to remove the lid many of them may drown! When they pop out of the egg, humidity is released so if you have 200-300 hatching out in a few hours, this will sweat the container and drown them!
breeding crix is very simple, best way to start is go buy 75-200 (make sure they are noisy and matured!) from the local petshop and put them in a breeding setup asap! If they are mature, they are ready to go and you will have a loaded cup within 24 hours. Most stores (especially major chain) do not accommodate breeding for crix, so buy your stock from BigPet, not Joe's Reptiles if you want a quick start.
One more tip! once a 'cup' has matured to sub adult - as long as you have 150+, split them in half, don't worry about sex, just put them in seperate tubs, if something funny happens to one batch, you still have another, once you get the hang of it, you can ignore this, and if all else fails, swing by BigPet and get some more!
Good Luck!
edit...
If you plan on breeding another batch, hold back at least 50! this may vary per your needs
measuring / counting crickets! this is a tough one.
what you need to do is get a few tubes (depending on what size you are counting - pinheads = thin tube 1/4in , adults = wide tube 3/4in+ And clear or opaque of course!)... I like to use the containers that single use syringes come in - they have a wide(er) opening at the top and are tall enough to count decent units.
acquire some tubes and get some live crix, figure out what fits best in what tubes - pinheads are quite a pia! but grab your tube, and manually count, and mark a line. This is very rough, so having different marks and different sized tubes comes in handy.
I have been breeding crix for about 8 months for in house use and I can tell you a few things;
low humidity and good hydration is best for indoor / small house setups - high humidity will attract unwanted bugs and smells.
room temp usually works - if you have low yields, you may need to stimulate breeding with extra heat - but not much.
Diet is so important! I fed my crix monster diet for the whole life cycle - with occasional fresh fruits and veggies - remove fruits after 4-6 hours, veggies can keep a few more hours.
With the above method my eggcrate stayted clean for a long time.
I could never smell them with the above diet - well they never smelled icky or funky.
High humidity and cat food / table scraps leads to problems and smells!
Use water cubes - "timberline easy water" is the way to go, search around, you can get 10gal of cubes for about $15
Bring out your dead! Daily policing of the crix hab is a good thing to do... make sure everyone is alive, the water is fresh, and the food is not molding or caking.
As far as diet goes I like the monster diet more than anything - when I started breeding I was able to get 6 cans for $12 or so - no luck there anymore! If you are making your own diet, quality ingredients and the proper moisture is key - but I am still figuring this out. Also pinheads do very well on (high quality) freshwater flaked food if your regular diet is not pinhead friendly, as flake food can get expensive if you are feeding everyone.
When I breed my crix I introduce a fairly moist, but not muddy 'cup' (anything about 3-4in wide and 3-4in tall / deep will be fine for home use - I happen to have many many betta cups with lids, so I use these, and I can see what it is going on
) of ExoTerra Reptile Soil or similar. I ensure I have chirpers and mature females, drop the cup in for 48 hours and use a fresh cup every week. Now you can leave it in longer - but your pins will hatch out at very different times! I have had multiple cups begin hatching on the same day, but I figured this out as wellOnce the cup is removed, it needs to be placed in a semi controlled environment - if anyone breeds birds, you know exactly what I am talking about (no incubation ontil the last egg has been laid) . I like to place them somewhere high inside a large ~30qt tall plastic tub or a 10 / 20 gal screened and escape proofed aquarium will work too.
In my experience, once they start hatching, remove the lid if you have one - a lid will help keep them humid and maintain temp! If you fail to remove the lid many of them may drown! When they pop out of the egg, humidity is released so if you have 200-300 hatching out in a few hours, this will sweat the container and drown them!
breeding crix is very simple, best way to start is go buy 75-200 (make sure they are noisy and matured!) from the local petshop and put them in a breeding setup asap! If they are mature, they are ready to go and you will have a loaded cup within 24 hours. Most stores (especially major chain) do not accommodate breeding for crix, so buy your stock from BigPet, not Joe's Reptiles if you want a quick start.
One more tip! once a 'cup' has matured to sub adult - as long as you have 150+, split them in half, don't worry about sex, just put them in seperate tubs, if something funny happens to one batch, you still have another, once you get the hang of it, you can ignore this, and if all else fails, swing by BigPet and get some more!
Good Luck!
edit...
If you plan on breeding another batch, hold back at least 50! this may vary per your needs
