Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, it worked. I finally have thousands of baby crickets running around in my breeder tub.

Here's a pic of just a few. They are so tiny right now. And still hatching out.

Troy

Nice, mind disclosing your setup?

I kid, I kid.

Of course I will share. Not much too it really. I will add some more pics as soon as I get them taken but this is what I do.

I put about 50 adult females (females have the little egg straw coming out the back) into a large tub with about 10 males. I make the tub warm with a 60 watt light bulb. In my case, I used egg flats 4 levels high with food and gell water on top.

Then, down on the bottom, next to the egg flats, I put three 3" deli cups full of a mixture of 1/3 part potting soil, 1/3 part fine vermiculite and 1/3 part sand. (Frankly, I don't think this part matters much.) You could use all dirt I am sure.

Wet the mixture very well, but with no standing water. Just damp.
Lay an egg flat directly on top of the deli cups. This gives the females a sense of security. Every night, mist the underside of the egg flat and the top of the soil. Enough to keep it moist. It can dry out a little. Better too dry than too wet.

You will begin to see adult female crickets, sticking head out of the dirt. Like rows of corn just lined up. After you see this, wait a couple more days and then move the deli cups to a new tub. Put the deli lid on and keep it about 70-75 degrees for two weeks. Remove the lids but leave them loose on top of the deli cups.

You can see the eggs as little white lines on the sides of the deli cup.

When you start to see baby crickets, remove the deli lid and place a small piece of egg flat on top of the dirt with food and gell water on top.

Now, start the process all over again.

There you have it. Free crickets.

Good luck,
Troy Dozier
Reptilian Projects

>>Nice, mind disclosing your setup?

Getting pinheads isn't the killer part. To do that you just need about an inch of peat moss damped down with a sprayer in the bottom of a crix tub. Put in some trays (potted plant water trays work, etc) with more damp peat in them stacked off center so the crix can get in. Food, Water, stacks of egg carton. Toss in a couple hundred adult crix. Mist the peat every night, keep em 75-80* and wait.

It is the getting the pinheads to live long enough to grow that kills you and takes up tubs and space and time. Leave 'em in with the adults and they get eaten. Forget to keep them moist and they shrivel up and die. Don't give them enough space and they cannabalize.

Give me roaches any day.
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron