Help setting up a cricket colony...

[paul112]

I've currently just started keeping crickets in cereal tubs. They are the kind of tupperware in the picture below, completely sealed to keep the buggers in, crushed weetabix layer on the bottom, stacked egg carton, moist cotton for water, and fish flakes for food.

My plan for February is to buy a half bulk bag of standard black crickets (250-400 insects), and separate them between two cereal tubs, with the same setup as above. These should last me ages, but I want to have a go at breeding them to keep a continuous supply.

If I remember correctly, breeding crickets isn't hard. You give them some soil for a few days and they lay eggs if they're mature enough. I once left an adult female in my lizard cage overnight, had hundreds of pinheads jumping about my room weeks later...

Anyway, what can I use to act as the breeding area? Most importantly, it needs to be sealed to keep those tiny buggers in. I was thinking maybe some kind of oversized jar, but with each cricket laying up to 500 eggs each, thats gonna be a bit cramped...

Any ideas? I live in Northern England, so I can't keep them outside, and escapes are not a possibility. How do you guys do it?

Thanks,
Paul

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Well to be honest Paul I think you should scrap breeding crickets all together and breed roaches instead. It's so much easier, all you have to do is feed, water them and keep them warm. Plus roaches don't stink at all unlike crickets. I bred crickets once and I will never do it again.

http://www.blapticadubia.com/

 

[kafiltafiisch]

most of the guys on here do dubia roaches but really i hate keeping crix they stank but i do know how...
for an egg laying site you can put in a small pot or jar full of moist 50 soil/50 sand mix that worked well for me and if you can make a moss ball dry it out and put it in the tub itll help them shed

 

[paul112]

I knew someone would mention roaches. I want to, but I can't find anywhere that sells them in the UK, and secondly I'm under my parents roof, hence why escapes must be prevented at all costs. I'd be killed if they found me breeding roaches.

As for my original question, maybe it was a bit longwinded. I know that I need to provide soil or something for them to lay eggs in, but I need to know what container to keep the pinheads in.

My idea is to take a few adults out of the tubs on occasion, and put them into another container with soil/cocopeat substrate. Leave them in there for a few days to lay eggs and return them to the main cereal tubs. I can then keep and grow the pinheads in the soil container until they are a decent size, but I need ideas for what container to use for this, because I don't want any pinheads escaping at all. Been there, done that, barely escaped execution from the mother....

Cheers,
Paul

 

[cjohll]

I will never forget the smell of crickets.

 

[paul112]

They certainly do have a strong scent. Luckily, these cereal tubs hold it in, you only get a whiff off the strong stuff when you're catching them...

Just thinking about the pinheads, do you think margarine tubs with clingfilm on top would work? Could they possibly chew through clingfilm?

I could maybe set them up in something simple like that, and keep those inside another container for extra security...

Paul

 

[varanio]

Dubias dont climb glass nor plastic and smell a lot better than roaches! Trust me

 

[arowana man]

IMO its a waste of time and money.