Breeding crickets

[Sputnik]

I spent another fortune in a petshop yesterday, stocking up on live crickets for our beardie and the frogs. Seems a bit silly, as they can't be that hard to breed yourself. So I did a bit of googling instead of tidying (my house is still a tip and we celebrate Christmas eve... ) and found this...


Raising Crickets


Looks good, ey?

[drache]

thanks for the link
I've just started breeding feeder roaches - they seem to smell much less than crickets, and they're much quieter

[zooplan]

What a nice and impressing care sheet!

[Lori P]

I keep reading that roaches are getting more popular than crickets as they don't have the smell and are hardier. Zephyr seems to be our resident roach expert on here.

[Sid]

I had seen that sheet, it is really informative. I was thinking about raising some, but opted to buy in bulk. A local shop get them for me at cost. $14.00/US per 1000. Much cheaper than buying by the count.

[Sputnik]

I've never noticed the crickets' smell. Maybe my house stinks already, but I think not. Are roaches more widely available in the States than in the UK?

[Lori P]

I've never looked for roaches but I keep seeing more ads for them. I never notice a smell with the crickets I buy, either, but maybe once you raise them you notice it.

[Snaky]

I know indeed some who breed roaches (dubia's) and not crickets. Apparently they are a very good meal, easier than crickets AND Dubias are really not the escape artists... Which is for some THE best reason to breed them.

I looked really quick for a link:
Dubia Roach Care and Breeding

[anji1971]

Thanks for putting up that link-- I may give it a try for Toadie. I've often had baby crickets that hatch in his tank from the eggs the adults lay in the plant pot. But I never was able to keep them alive long enough to grow big and be eaten!
As far as roaches go, I have yet to see any for sale at the shop I go to.......I shall keep looking!

[reptileparadise]

I've tried breeding crickets for some time, but I never really got the hang of it. A lot of them died in the first days.
After a while, I got them through the first 2 or 3 sheds, but they just kept dying or dissapearing.

So I switched to Shelfordia tartara (spelling? ) or as they are called in holland, Red Runners.
They are red...and they run! Breeding them was just wonderfull! I bought 4 cricketcontainers (aprox 50 per container) and after 1,5 years, they where still thriving. Sadly, they are real escape artists so I got rid of them about a year ago. Even worse...I found one (adult female) last week...alive...So no more Red runners for me! Never!

After the red runner fiasco, I didn't have the guts to breed raoches. But a few months ago, I bought some B. dubia. Wonderfull animals. They take a lot of time to really get going, but when you have a nice colony, they should be excellent!
I have had them for two months now and I guess I've got around 200 to 300 babies. A few more months (5 or 6 or something) and I might start using them as food.