Keeping and Breeding of Feeder Crickets

Sooner or later just about every hobbyist ends up with enough lizards, frogs, and other instect eating reptiles and amphibians that it is no longer practical to get crickets from your local pet shop any longer. It's time to start ordering crickets in bulk. The problem is how do you keep your crickets alive long enough for them to be food for your reptiles and amphibians. Hopefully this guide will help.

The Brown House Cricket or Acheta domesticus is the most common feeder cricket. A crickets life span is only about eight weeks and young crickets develop rapidly depending on temperature. Once mature, an adult cricket will only live about two weeks. If you are purchasing feeder crickets, be sure to only buy as many crickets as you will use in two weeks.

Once you've purchased your crickets, you'll need some place to keep them. There are a few different options available. Commercially purchased cricket tubs, plastic tubs, aquariums, or even garbage cans can all be used to house your feeder crickets. Whichever container you choose, it has to be big enough to house the crickets and allow room for waste to accumulate with out the crickets having to be in constant contact with it. Try to keep the container at least 18 inches tall to prevent the crickets from jumping out while cleaning or gathering. Putting plastic boxing tape to the upper third of the container will prevent crickets from climbing up the walls since the surface of the tape is too slipper for the crickets to grip. A tight fitting lid with plenty of ventilation is still recommended to completely eliminate escapees. The plastic lid that came with the container can be usually be modified by making a large hole in it and gluing mesh screening in place. Metal screening tend to work the best since crickets can chew through the fiberglass screens over time.

It's best to avoid using any substrate in the enclosure to make it easier to clean. Crickets need to be kept between 75°F and 85°F. While no special lighting is required, an incandescent bulb can be used to provide heat if needed and should be on a schedule of 16 hours of light with an 8 hour night cycle. Egg crates, paper towel tubes, or other small boxes should be added to the enclosure for hiding places. Crickets are territorial and cannibalistic and without these hiding spots the will kill and eat each other.

A food bowl should be in the enclosure at all times. Crickets are omnivorous and can be fed a variety of fresh vegetables, chicken mash, grains, cat food, meats. Commercially available cricket diet is also available. Vitamins and calcium should be added to the food bowls. Crickets fed a good diet will be more nutritious for the reptile or amphibian they are being fed to. Crickets should always have source of water. The problem is that crickets can drown in even a shallow bowl of water. A damp sponge, paper towels, cotton balls, or fresh fruits all work equally well to provide a safe water supply to the crickets. Commercially made watering devices are also available. No matter what option you choose to use, the water should be dechlorinated before offering it to the crickets.

Crickets are sensitive to fumes and cleaning chemicals and they should not be allowed to come in contact with them. The enclosure should be cleaned at least once a week. Dead crickets, casings, and waste all need to be removed. Decaying crickets produce toxins that will kill living crickets and create an unsanitary environment. Fresh food should be offered several times and fresh water should be available at all times. When you are between cricket shipments the entire enclosure should be cleaned with hot water and possibly a mild soap/bleach solution. Be sure to rinse the enclosure completely to avoid poisoning your new crickets.

When you receive an order of crickets they will need to be transferred into your cricket enclosure. One simple way is to put the box of crickets into a large trash bag and then cut open the box and shake out the crickets and egg crates into the bag. Each egg crate should be shaken out and placed in the enclosure one at a time. Once all the egg crates have been emptied into the bag, the remaining crickets can then be dumped into the enclosure in a controlled manner. If possible, do this outside to prevent any escapees from taking up residence in your house. To remove crickets for feeding to your reptile or amphibian use a paper towel tube or something similar. Crickets in the tube can be shaken into a cup or other container and then dusted with calcium and vitamins prior to feeding you reptiles or amphibians. For animals that may have difficulty catching crickets, they can be chilled to slow down their activity level. If you need to feed with forceps try holding a back leg in the forceps.