cricket breeding help

[henward]

Ok, the tank is 100cmx45x45.
i want to breed crickets here.
here is wha ti read in a nuttyshell.

You put the adult breeders in the breeding containr, witih some damp soil or vermiculite.
They will lay eggs after 1 week? or 2 weeks? then the eggs will hatch, you should remove breeders to avoid them eating the babies.
babies will eat food and grow up.

here is my questions.
Keeping in mind im not looking at industrial breeding, just private use!

1: how long do i wait before taking breeders out?
2: how do i tell if eggs are laid?
3: can i leave the breeders providing there is plenty of food for everyone? (I mean do they eat babies cos they love to eat them or hunger?)
4: can i have a tank that size, and just hav a constant cycle of eggs being laid, babies hatching and growing?

 

[Sturt]

1)

Rather than fishing out all of the breeder crickets, its far far easier to put the sand in a small tray and remove that, replacing it with a new one. Put the tray into another enclosure, with a heat mat if you want to speed up hatching, and the crickets will hatch in a week or two depending on the temperature. When they do, feed them to your reptiles as normal and once they are too big to be fed return any that have not been eaten to the colony. You can have a constant supply of crickets available, and if you have too many you can stick them up for sale.


2)

Leave the tray in for about a week to 10 days. You will see the female crickets laying their eggs if you watch for a short while.

3)

As I said in part 1, its best to separate them but by the easier method!

4)

The only way to STOP a constant cycle is to stop placing the trays in the colony. The number of crickets produced can be varied almost limitlessly by varying the time you put the trays in for and how many trays you use. Just be sure that enough crickets are making it back into the colony to keep it thriving.


A word of warning:

A colony can make a LOT of noise, put it somewhere where you don't sit watching tv, and definitely not in a bedroom.

 

[Sturt]

For an even more detailed description, try this :main_yes:

Its the same method but with a lot more detail. The post above is a summary.

http://www.reptileguides.com/feeders_crickets.html

 

[henward]

can i use vermiculite as a substrate on the trays?

 

[Sturt]

I've never tried it, but as long as its kept moist and the crickets are happy to lay in it, I don't see why not.