# Starting a cricket colony- advice?



## Ryan313 (Nov 25, 2012)

I have a Leo that is just over 5 inches, right now I feed it around 10 small crickets a day and I just realized how much I will be spending on crickets. So, I would like to breed my own. 

I plan to keep my adults in a 10 gallon glass aquarium, but I haven't figured anything else out. I have researched what I need, but I don't know how many crickets I need to start out with. How many should I get? Any other advice?


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## tremerz97 (Nov 30, 2012)

Ryan313 said:


> I have a Leo that is just over 5 inches, right now I feed it around 10 small crickets a day and I just realized how much I will be spending on crickets. So, I would like to breed my own.
> 
> I plan to keep my adults in a 10 gallon glass aquarium, but I haven't figured anything else out. I have researched what I need, but I don't know how many crickets I need to start out with. How many should I get? Any other advice?


it wont cost much to just keep buying them? around £2 a week.


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## Ryan313 (Nov 25, 2012)

I am getting them for 10 cents each, if it eats ten every day that's a dollar day. So, that's $365 a year! Plus, it will only grow and eat more!

Also, if I am able to successfully breed them I want to get a crestie or beardie next.


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## thanatos (Oct 13, 2012)

It's pretty simple breeding crickets, get a plastic rub, heat mat, dry food like crushed dog food and either fresh fruit and veg every other day or water crystals, and some kind of lid full of damp soil for them to lay eggs in, and make sure you get a box of adults and then just wait. After 2 weeks change the soil box for another one and transfer the old one into a different container (if u want to separate baby's from adults) and then about a week later you should have baby crickets. Make sure you mist the soil at least twice a day also. Don't let it dry out. 

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## Kuja (Dec 14, 2011)

As said they are easy to breed, keep them well fed and offer a laysite(moist substate of some kind), you could seperate them out once you know the eggs have been laid as they may be cannibalistic, although if they are well fed i don't see why they would.


What about roaches? They don't smell half as bad, easy to breed keep them warm and well fed and they will breed they don't bite, and at least for dubia roaches they are useless at escaping lol

Locusts again are fairly simple, although i have had no joy lol mine all commit group suicide.


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## Ryan313 (Nov 25, 2012)

Thanks for the info!

What size heat mat do I need? What temp should the air be?


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## thanatos (Oct 13, 2012)

Ryan313 said:


> Thanks for the info!
> 
> What size heat mat do I need? What temp should the air be?


Temp about 30c but can be as low as 25c and maybe a 40w heat mat, long as it can go 30c or above is fine

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## Ryan313 (Nov 25, 2012)

I have my tank all set-up! I did not want to wait until I had enough paper rolls, so I cut some cardboard and made 6 triangular prisms instead. I then put a rubber-band around them, this way the crickets would also have room in between the prisms to hide in. I have a dish with dry food in it, and I will add veggies after I get my crickets. I have a container with eco-earth in it, will the crickets be able to get into the container easily?


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## MrJsk (Jul 29, 2012)

My advice - don't do it ahaha (I joke)

*HATE* crickets..

Good luck : victory:


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## Dragon Farm (Aug 7, 2009)

Ryan313 said:


> I have a Leo that is just over 5 inches, right now I feed it around 10 small crickets a day and I just realized how much I will be spending on crickets. So, I would like to breed my own.
> 
> I plan to keep my adults in a 10 gallon glass aquarium, but I haven't figured anything else out. I have researched what I need, but I don't know how many crickets I need to start out with. How many should I get? Any other advice?


What species are you using as food ?

I reckon if it is eating 10 a day, they are a little on the small side. You could potentially save money by using larger crickets. When it is adult it will eat alot less.


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## Ryan313 (Nov 25, 2012)

I got some crickets today. Some of the females have small spikes(forgot the name) but they are not the size they should be, so I think they have to grow more before they can lay any eggs.


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## Ryan313 (Nov 25, 2012)

Dragon Farm said:


> What species are you using as food ?
> 
> I reckon if it is eating 10 a day, they are a little on the small side. You could potentially save money by using larger crickets. When it is adult it will eat alot less.


I actually don't know the exact species, it is what ever the pet store has. Lol.

The problem is that the pet store only has small an large crickets, nothing in between.


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## Dragon Farm (Aug 7, 2009)

Until recently I think the only species available to hobbyists in the US was the house cricket. Now the US has that nasty virus in the house crickets that was in Europe from around 2000. 

House crickets are the easiest cricket to breed. Crickets are not all the same. So its difficult to give proper advice if you don't know which species you have. 

Imagine you do very well with your crickets. How are you going to clean them out when you have a cage with not only adults, but lots of babies from the size of small ants in their too ? The reality is that often adults and babies need need different conditions. The proper way to keep crickets is by having at least three and preferably five or more cages for different ages. After each group has grown up you clean the cage out for the next set of babies. I just can't see how this can be worth it to feed one gecko.


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## Jamesferrassie (Jul 14, 2011)

crickets stink and noisy as hell when they mature to adults!! id personally try breed roaches. 
However, to feed a leo, id personally just buy a tub of apropriatly sized crickets per week. save a lot on time and effort if you dont splashing out £2 a week.


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