Breeding Crickets
Some Tips About Breeding Crickets
Breeding crickets can be quite lucrative, as this is the most common and nutritious food source for a great many captive animals. Frogs, lizards, snakes, spiders, and even some birds are privy to these delicious bugs as natural prey, and those who have to spend their hard earned money keeping their pets in constant supply would agree as to the cost of this food source. What if you starting breeding crickets for your own use and for sale to others, both as live feed and as bate for angling? It isn’t nearly as difficult as you may think, and there are no stenches or big messes to be had when raising these little insects. The most popular and easy breeder crickets to find and care for are of the gray cricket species.
To begin breeding crickets for personal use and for sale, you will want to begin with some common household items. If you plan to raise 1,000 crickets for starters, you will need a container 20 gallons in size. The container must be deep and solid on all sides, save for the top which you will need to secure tightly with a breathable cloth. Screening can work, but you will want to be sure that no predator bugs can get in, and no talented jumpers inside can hop out. A large, clean garbage can will work well, though the preferred container would be a 20 gallon fish aquarium.
Air flow and sealed container taken care of, you will now need to determine a heating source for breeding crickets. The most successful clutches of cricket eggs are born at around 88 degrees. Though they can survive lower or higher temperatures, this will guarantee the optimum egg baring and nymph survival rates. A light bulb can be used if you have no other choice, though it is difficult to control the temperature when using this method, as well as the increased fire hazard present with this method. For best results, you can keep your breeding container in a furnace room that is warmer than the rest of your home, or use a reptile warmer which is equipped with a thermostat and fire safety features.
You will need a peanut butter top for the chicken mash feed, and another top on which to place a slice of fruit or potato onto once a day, as this is the best way to feed water without causing drowning or bacterial death. Everything needs to be completely sterile, even the feed which you can bake in the oven for 30 minutes and allow to cool before you offer it. Cover the entire bottom of the container with sand and substrate for egg laying. The females will have three excursions on her back and fully developed wings, and the male has only two markings and undeveloped wings. Start with at least 6 pair of breeding crickets, and watch them go!