Raising Crickets
A Short Guide To Raising Crickets
Raising crickets ca be a tad bit lucrative, and at the very least can save you the money and trouble running around to buy live bait and feed. There are many captive pets who appreciate the nutrition and the sport of live crickets at feeding time, and this is the major market for those raising crickets. There are a few tips that you may need to follow, as well some general conditions that you must maintain in order to keep your crickets thriving and healthy. Buyers don’t want lethargic live feed in place of vibrant young hoppers, so offering healthy crickets, in sizes to order, will be your most prominent claim to success. To begin raising crickets, you will need a few common items that you might find laying around your home.
First, depending on how many crickets you intend to raise, you will need a deep and completely enclosed container, save for the top which will need to be fitted tightly with a breathable fabric such as cheese cloth. A 20 gallon aquarium works very well for a round number of 1,000 crickets. You will need to completely sterilize the tank and everything that you put in it, as crickets are highly susceptible to disease and bacteria. A sterile substrate will be needed, such as dark sand or something of that nature. It should be spread all the way across the bottom and be around ½ to 1 inch deep. This is where your females will lay there eggs, usually about five per day until she reaches a maximum number of 100 eggs deposited per season. Each clutch will hatch in succession, five to ten babies per day per female.
The next things that you will need for raising crickets are proper feeding supplies. You can sterilize a couple of peanut butter jar lids, as these offer the proper depth and size for the job. Their food, which will preferably be an egg chicken mash, will need to be baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes in order for it to be safe for them to eat. As a water source, you can either submerge a sterile cotton ball in water and squeeze out most of the moisture before placing it in the other feeding lid, or you can put a fresh slice of fruit or potato in the lid each day.
The last two steps to raising crickets will be a heat source and your chosen mating pairs. Your heat source needs to be safe, and the temperature needs to hold steady at 88 degrees for optimum hatching and growth. This is best done with a reptile warmer. Also, your mating pairs can be identified for maximum egg production. The female gray cricket has fully developed wings and three marks on her back, whereas the male has underdeveloped wings and only two marks. Try starting with three to six pair, and see how it goes.