RAISING CRICKETS I learned quite by accident about crickets and there having young ones. We had a pet in a pen which had soil for the bottom. Along with moss, plants, driftwood and other items in the tank to make it pleasing to look at. Our pet spent most of his time hidden under a hunk of bark. He was a night eater. We placed about ten crickets ever week into the pen. It had a screen top and heat light above. It looked nice relaxing even in the dark winter months. But, one evening our small poodle (Amy) was actively watching the pen, whining and barking now and then. We though she was just watching our pet lizard or maybe seen an cricket now and then. Turns out after I sat down with her and watched for a while, there were no large crickets there, what she was watching was a bunch of pin head crickets which had hatched. So there you have it, We were not trying to raise crickets, and yet they did there own thing with no special care. hehe Introduction The house cricket (Achetus domesticus) is a staple and nutritious food for many herp species. Obtaining a reliable supply of these insects can be a bother, especially if one requires a constant supply of newly hatched 'pinhead' crickets, to say nothing of the costs of feeding a large collection with pet-shop-bought crickets. The following is a method for cricket raising which I have read about and tried with luck. There are several things to consider before you decide to raise crickets: The crickets will make a lot of noise. I myself like to hear them sing. Did you know it is good luck to have crickets around singing for you. A Description of the Basic Setup The breeding colony is housed in one of the deep (26" x 14" x 16" deep) plastic storage boxes with egg flats inserted vertically throughout except for about 6 inches at one end where the water dispenser is located. Other containers may be adapted for this use. No substrate of any kind is placed in the bottom of this container. Holes (4" x 4") are cut in opposite ends of the breeding container and covered with metal mosquito screening secured with duct tape, to provide ventilation. (Do not use fiberglass screening, the crickets will soon eat through it and escape! Catching 1000 crickets loose in your apartment is not a task I would recommend, although I have done it, once). The water dispenser is a commercial chick waterer which is essentially a plastic jar inverted over a circular trough which holds the water. Plastic scouring pads or Dacron quilt batting should be cut to fill the trough. They will soak up water, making it available to the crickets while preventing them from drowning. The egg flats should reach to within about 4" of the top of the container. On top of these are placed two plastic tubs, such as sour cream or yogurt is purchased in. One contains food and the other contains egg laying medium.(See specific sections for descriptions of each). A heat pad is placed on top of the lid of the storage box to provide adequate warmth. Crickets thrive at temperatures higher than the average house temperature. They prefer 80-90 degrees F (26-32 C). If you place them in a warm herp room this should provide them with enough heat. At lower temperatures they will survive and even breed, but yields will be much reduced. They also seem to live longer at lower temperatures, something to keep in mind if you find yourself with an excess which you want to keep alive as long as possible. Feeding Feeding the crickets the right diet is important for two reasons. Firstly the crickets need adequate nutrition to survive and breed. Secondly, the nutrition from the crickets will be passed on to your reptiles or amphibians and so it is important to keep them healthy. Crickets require a high-protein diet. Without, and often with, an adequate diet the crickets will prey on each other. Tropical fish flakes have also been recommended as food. Along with this I add flake potatoes, crushed crackers, orange slices and apple slices and veg. scraps. Breeding the Crickets As long as the crickets have food, water and a high temperature they will breed profusely. Their natural nesting material is damp soil. The nesting material can be damp sand, peat moss. If you keep just a clean tank bottom with nothing on it except the small containers which contain nesting material, it will be full after 4-7 days. You should remove the container. Put it into a place for the incubation and hatching of the pinheads. Incubation of the Eggs To incubate the eggs, place on the heat pad on top of the breeding container. In about 7-10 days it will be swarming with pinhead crickets and should then be moved to a rearing container. At this time, the nesting container in with the breeding colony can be removed and replaced with a new one. Rearing the Babies Once the eggs begin to hatch. You can either move to another tank, or use as food for your pets. You should as always keep some water and food for them to eat on hand in the cage. Don't ever let the eggs or the baby crickets dry out or you will loose them. And keep them warm. Once the eggs have all hatched, the nesting dish is removed, the nesting material is discarded and the container recycled. Recycling the nesting material can cause problems with mold and small, mite-like insects infesting it. Once the crickets have reached 1/4" , about 50-75 should be returned to the breeding container. This is extremely important. The adults live for only a few weeks and if the breeding colony is not replenished regularly it will die out or contain only small crickets, unable to breed yet. Catching the crickets to feed to your pets I have found that the easy way to catch them to move to your pets cage is the just lay a empty paper roll ( from paper towels) in the container and let them craw inside (and they will), then move the container to the pet cage and shake them into the pen. This is the easiest and most safe way to move them, so they don't get injured in the process. Also make sure to dust them a little with a calcium powder just before you feed to your pets. Your pets need the calcium to grow strong bones and stay healthy. DO NOT COPY