Breeding crickets & meal worms?

[mmsi1002]

Other than buying a whole bunch, how does the set up need to be & how many do i need to buy at once to get started?

 

[gothra]

Breeding mealworm is very easy, I use oatmeal as bedding and just let them eat and eat until they pupate; then the pupa will turn into beetles in around 2 weeks time. I then move the beetles to another container and they will breed and reproduce in there. The baby worms are VERY VERY small, you probably won't notice them until after 1-2 months!

I had never breed crickets, but I believe breeding roaches (non-climbing species) is much easier...I personally (and my geckos' taste-bud also prefer) Dubias.

 

[CSgecko]

i have done neether but i hae read that breeding cricketss is a daunting task. roaches and mealies r much easier:main_thumbsup:

 

[Alusdra]

Breeding crickets is not something I even want to contemplate. I did it for a while but you need like 4 boxes and dirt for laying, special foods... too much of a PIMA to be worth it. Just buy crickets. Mealies are pretty easy, though- and cheap, too. It is hard to get enough all the time so you'll probably need to supplement.

 

[rhino43grr]

do you use oatmeal for the beetles to lay eggs in when you move them to the other box? also do they need any sort of moisture (cricket drink gel, carrots) in their diet or will they be good with just dry oatmeal?

 

[ALGeckos]

I used ProGutload, a little bit of oatmeal, and on a folded piece of paper towel I had a slice of potato, carrot, or apple depending on what I had at the time.

Bin 1 with mealworms & pupae, Bin 2 with beetles. I used clear tupperware containers so you can see everything, including little baby mealies!

 

[GoGo]

Mealworms are very easy to breed, crickets...NOT. That is all.

 

[Inlovewithherps]

Cricket breeding really isn't worth all of the work. I'm buying mine from now on.
Mealworms are simple. I mix dry oatmeal,wheat bran and bran cereal in the blender and then throw in a little store bought cricket gutload and calcium powder. Add a few pieces of carrot and potato a couple of times a week and that's all there is.
I seperate my beetles into another container but you don't have to.
If you keep the temps in the mid 80's your mealies will grow faster.

 

[MichaelJ]

Ahh yes the breeding of crickets question..

I bred crickets for about a year and now I have a hatred for the foul vermin that runs very deep.

It is extremely labor intensive, because you have to clean constantly. It also smells to high heaven because many die, molt, and poop.

they are also loud, you'll hear them all night unless they are in a shed or van down by the river.

they are also disgusting to look at.. the larva are maggot like and take quite a while to gain size..

Crickets are cannibals like other insects which quite a nasty thing to see, also the carcases attract carion flies which lay their eggs in the bodies and their food and then can be passed on to you animals..
Finally, although they are prolific they take too long to get to size for feeding you've already put in more than enough work..

we are breeding mealies right now and are about to try roaches (orange heads) soon, just for fun..

do yourself a favor and buy crix when needed and try to ween all your geckos to mealies.. I have only one that will only eat crix at this point.. we buy a few for them and pinheads for the babes occasionally..

 

[rhino43grr]

thanks for the advice everyone

 

[acpart]

I breed mealworms and have posted elsewhere on the site how I do it. I have enough to sell them by the thousand when it's not baby season. I looked up breeding crickets on the internet and decided it wasn't worth it. Meanwhile, my crickets took matters into their own hands (?) and laid eggs in the geckos laybox. I've been able to transfer the pinheads to my small cricket container so I have about 40 freebies. I've decided after that to try modified cricket breeding so I put a container of moist eco earth into my 10 gallon tank with 1000 crickets. I figure if they breed I'll have some more. It's worth it to me because I not only need large crickets for the geckos, my crestie and my beardie (who has caused me to start ordering crickets by the thousand) but I also need small ones for my day geckos and banded geckos. Obviously the small ones get to the right size sooner.

Aliza