Got a few questions about crix

[[Username]]

I would like to try breeding crix and cut out feeder cost completely. What I need to know is what is needed for this and what conditions are needed to get them to mate. I can house maby 100-150 crix in my crix tank. Secondly I was wondering what those of you how feed crix gut load with. Right now i'm useing natural oatmeal oats and baby carrots in a very shallow dish of water to keep them moist. Should I dust the carrots with calci powder s that they have it in them or is dusting the crix enough?

 

[Gregg M]

Why crickets??? You should do something better like roaches... They dont jump, are easier to breed and keep and they do not stink like crickets do... And besides all that, they are much more nutritious than crickets...

 

[[Username]]

Well the idea of keeping roaches in my house kinda bugs me out (no pun intended) those things are hard as hell to get rid of and honestly are kinda nasty to me. Yea crickets stink and not the greatest food but with a good gut load they are just as healthy right? Well I think I would have to see a colony in real live to make a final decision. Are they an escape risk how big of a tank do I need to keep a good sized colony? What and how much do they eat and how often does their tank need cleaning? What do I put in there (ie. hides, egg crates)? Are there any other good feeders other than crickets and roaches that will give my gecko a good run around the tank and stimulate him like crickets do but still be healty?

 

[Gregg M]

Well the idea of keeping roaches in my house kinda bugs me out (no pun intended) those things are hard as hell to get rid of and honestly are kinda nasty to me.

I am not talking about New York City roaches... LOL

You breed a tropical species that can not infest your house even if any did get out... Blaptica dubia are great... They cant climb, dont fly, have NO smell at all and are pretty slow moving... Plus they are easy to keep and breed...

They make for the best feeder roach in my opinion...

 

[spike777]

I also would suggest the dubia and belive me, I do not lie when I say they dont smell! Had them for a few months and never had die offs and only have to clean their cage every 2 months or so..

 

[mayabear52]

I second that..... I raised roaches for my geckos for about 6 months and they never smelled, they don't drown in the water dish (alot smarter than crickets) and easier to breed. The only reason I stopped breeding them was my wife has this huge phobia with them.

 

[curiousKathy]

Okay...so are there any links or previous threads that discuss how to raise these little "lovelies"? I am finding since I have the leos that I am having to be alot more open minded and deal with skittishness...people at petstores must think I am crazy when I finger through the mealworm cups and look at the all the superworm containers before I buy!!! I can't believe I am asking how to raise roaches!!!! VBG

Kathy

 

[acpart]

I looked into raising crickets awhile ago and found good info using google. It was too much for me to get into though. You could probably find roach raising info by googling if you don't get responses here. I'm doing a bit of an experiment by putting crickets in my day gecko's planted tank to see if they'll breed in there. They sound happy and don't bother the gecko, but no babies yet.

Aliza

 

[ledhead]

I would think having omnivores reproducing in your pets cage would be a bad thing?

 

[Scott&Nikki]

Yeah... Aliza I don't think that is the best idea...

 

[Snowberry]

Where would you buy these roaches?
I'm attempting to culture some mealworms right now. Have them at the beetle stage and hoping they lay eggs like they are supposed to.