# breeding crickets ??



## BillReptiles (Aug 13, 2011)

ok, so im getting two baby bearded dragons soon and was thinking about breeding crickets so i dont need to go back and forth to the pet shop. ive already got the stuff i need to breed them but i was just wondering if its worth breeding them for 2 baby beardies ? 

and what can i do with the adult crickets as i cannot feed them to the babys, and i know noone that has lizards, to give the crickets to. ?

and also i want to breed them outside in the shed. ive got power in there to plug in a heat light. would that be okay ? 

any help will be much appreciated thanks


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## bucket (Aug 13, 2011)

i breed woodies so i'm not much help but i'm thinking about breeding them i think there is alot of different set ups on you tube just be careful about temps if there from usa


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## K3nny (Aug 13, 2011)

you could always chuck the adults in the freezer and mush them in later with their salad? always defrost first tho


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## leamos (Aug 13, 2011)

I used to breed crickets in my shed in syd years ago, I started with one box of adults from the pet shop in a plastic storage tub, soon i had more crickets then i knew what to do with. In winter i slipped the plastic tub into a styrofoam box to help insulate them


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## BillReptiles (Aug 13, 2011)

leamos said:


> I used to breed crickets in my shed in syd years ago, I started with one box of adults from the pet shop in a plastic storage tub, soon i had more crickets then i knew what to do with. In winter i slipped the plastic tub into a styrofoam box to help insulate them



hay leamos i live in Sydney too. just wanted to ask u if u had any problems with ants killing them because i read on the net that people get ants infesting there tank when they keep them outside ?


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## leamos (Aug 14, 2011)

My shed had a concrete floor and never had a problem with ants, all i did was fill a chinese takeaway container with a 50/50 mix of damp sand and peat moss (the stuff that comes in dry compressed bricks) and the females would go nuts laying their eggs in it, changing the container once or twice a week, you'll need to incubate the eggs for a week to 10 days, i used to put them on the hot water system in the laudary cupboard (till mum found out what i was doing). Personally now i just breed woodies alot easier IMO


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## BillReptiles (Aug 14, 2011)

oh yeah, well if i hadnt already bought all the cricket stuff to setup the tank, i probably wouldve went to woodies too. :/ lol 

thanks for the help too.


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## Dragons_Lair (Aug 14, 2011)

I have been breeding crickets for years and it really is the go if you have a large collection of critters to feed or are planning to breed your dragons. They breed in greater numbers and grow a lot faster, but compared to woodies there is a lot of work involved with cleaning tanks and incubating eggs. Personally if I had only two beardies to feed I would breed a small colony of woodies and just grab a box of crickets here and there for a treat. If you are hell bent on breeding crickets I’m sure any fishermen you might know would be happy to take the big ones off your hands. Other than that you could always just feed them off to the local bird life. I know the magpies love them, you might even end up with some regular visitors like I have.


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## Aimees_Dragon (Aug 14, 2011)

If you have a cat, you could give the adult crickets to it.. My kitten loves to chase down the stray run-away crickets from my lizard..  Then he eats them!  mmmmm...


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## leamos (Aug 14, 2011)

BillReptiles said:


> oh yeah, well if i hadnt already bought all the cricket stuff to setup the tank, i probably wouldve went to woodies tooQUOTE]
> What stuff have you bought? the setup for crickets and woodies are pretty much the same, only thing u would need to buy for woodies would be teflon paint(available from herp shop)


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## BillReptiles (Aug 15, 2011)

Dragons_Lair said:


> I have been breeding crickets for years and it really is the go if you have a large collection of critters to feed or are planning to breed your dragons. They breed in greater numbers and grow a lot faster, but compared to woodies there is a lot of work involved with cleaning tanks and incubating eggs. Personally if I had only two beardies to feed I would breed a small colony of woodies and just grab a box of crickets here and there for a treat. If you are hell bent on breeding crickets I’m sure any fishermen you might know would be happy to take the big ones off your hands. Other than that you could always just feed them off to the local bird life. I know the magpies love them, you might even end up with some regular visitors like I have.


yerh not a bad idea. but if i let them go to the birds and one gets in the house my mum will murder me LOL i might freeze them and crush them up like K3nny said in a comment.



Aimees_Dragon said:


> If you have a cat, you could give the adult crickets to it.. My kitten loves to chase down the stray run-away crickets from my lizard..  Then he eats them!  mmmmm...


haha  my cats too lazy to chase after anything lmao  he just waits for me to feed him lol 





leamos said:


> BillReptiles said:
> 
> 
> > oh yeah, well if i hadnt already bought all the cricket stuff to setup the tank, i probably wouldve went to woodies tooQUOTE]
> ...


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## Jen (Aug 15, 2011)

You bought a water sprayer for crickets? Why? Spraying them with water will just encourage mould to grow which will kill your colony. Grab a bin from bunnings, some fluon and some egg cartons. Woody set up done, IMO sooo much easier than crickets (bred both). You don;t have to worry about putting in a laying tub or incubating it, woodies do it themselves. Stick the heat mat under the tub and hey presto, millions of woodies - which you don't have to snap the legs off or refrigerate for your reps either.


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## BillReptiles (Aug 15, 2011)

i bought the sprayer to keep the peat moss damp :s i watched it in a acouple of videos so thought thats how you do it. lol 
yerh everyones says there much easier and they dont smell. would you know if you can feed the roaches to baby beardies ? 
thanks


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## Thyla (Aug 15, 2011)

leamos said:


> My shed had a concrete floor and never had a problem with ants, all i did was fill a chinese takeaway container with a 50/50 mix of damp sand and peat moss (the stuff that comes in dry compressed bricks) and the females would go nuts laying their eggs in it, changing the container once or twice a week, you'll need to incubate the eggs for a week to 10 days, i used to put them on the hot water system in the laudary cupboard (till mum found out what i was doing). Personally now i just breed woodies alot easier IMO



Thats good advice, to breed something else. I've recently got the job of Insect Colony Keeper at Amphibian Research Centre (ARC) where I work with only the crickets. It's a challenging task to breed crickets and avoid pests like ants, mites or molds. All correct living conditions have to be maintained to be successful. And at small quantities (for just two lizards), there's no point to go through all the hassle of laying boxes or incubation etc. Just get some crickets (I'm guessing around the 20DO or 25DO size?) delivered to your door, order online at the ARCade ARC where all proceeds go towards the programs run by ARC.

Good luck whichever way you go


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## Jen (Aug 15, 2011)

I don't keep beardies, but if it is only a size issue (and someone who does keep them will let us know I'm sure) then just feed off baby roaches - I feed baby roaches to my baby milii, and adults to the adult milii.


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## BillReptiles (Aug 15, 2011)

Thyla said:


> Thats good advice, to breed something else. I've recently got the job of Insect Colony Keeper at Amphibian Research Centre (ARC) where I work with only the crickets. It's a challenging task to breed crickets and avoid pests like ants, mites or molds. All correct living conditions have to be maintained to be successful. And at small quantities (for just two lizards), there's no point to go through all the hassle of laying boxes or incubation etc. Just get some crickets (I'm guessing around the 20DO or 25DO size?) delivered to your door, order online at the ARCade ARC where all proceeds go towards the programs run by ARC.
> 
> Good luck whichever way you go



yerh thanks mate i dont know what i should do. but ill figure it out. maybe ill just breed woodies. 



Jen said:


> I don't keep beardies, but if it is only a size issue (and someone who does keep them will let us know I'm sure) then just feed off baby roaches - I feed baby roaches to my baby milii, and adults to the adult milii.


 
yerh but i wont have anything to feed my adult roaches to. i might just buy them and crickets until the beardies get old enough to eat adult crickets/woodies. 

thanks for the replys guys


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## Jen (Aug 15, 2011)

BillReptiles said:


> yerh but i wont have anything to feed my adult roaches to. i might just buy them and crickets until the beardies get old enough to eat adult crickets/woodies.



That's where having reptile keeping friends nearby is good, you can swap different sized food items so everyone gets what they want! (Maybe the petshop will buy them off you if you have spares)


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## BillReptiles (Aug 15, 2011)

:O thats a good idea. lmao ill ask my local pet store if theyll buy them or mayb give me someones number who will. thanks for the idea


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## Hindy (Sep 26, 2011)

Im going to start breeding crickets, just want to know what is the best way to heat the eggs? (If needed)


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## Xcell (Sep 26, 2011)

I just put the container with sand and eggs in another slightly bigger container in put it in a corner of one of my lizard enclosures. Once they hatch take em ou and put them in a bigger tub


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## Hindy (Sep 26, 2011)

When yous are breeding crickets, do yous use any form of heat? Just most of the videos I have seen do??


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## frogface (Oct 2, 2011)

crickets r much eaiser too breed and they dont feel disgusting like cockroaches and if they escape around the housse their not a pest like roaches eww and woddies take months to get them to breed i just put the chinese containers with the eggs in the beardy tank for 14 days and presto little white pinheads in thousands and u dont need to buy 30 dollar fluon paint for them cheaper easier to breed

oh yeah u use a heat matt or a heat globe, and jen ur rong spray bottle is very usefull it doesnt cause mold because ur only suppose to spray it when its very dry in the tank/container


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## Thyla (Jun 15, 2012)

Thyla said:


> Thats good advice, to breed something else. I've recently got the job of Insect Colony Keeper at Amphibian Research Centre (ARC) where I work with only the crickets. It's a challenging task to breed crickets and avoid pests like ants, mites or molds. All correct living conditions have to be maintained to be successful. And at small quantities (for just two lizards), there's no point to go through all the hassle of laying boxes or incubation etc. Just get some crickets (I'm guessing around the 20DO or 25DO size?) delivered to your door, order online at the ARCade ARC where all proceeds go towards the programs run by ARC.
> 
> Good luck whichever way you go



Update: I am no longer at this job and cannot guarantee the quality of the crickets anymore


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