At Home Cricket Breeding

[Sgt. Bilko]

I’ve struggled this winter with my preferred method of cricket supply (mentioned in this thread). With support from this forum I’ve decided to take the plunge and breed crickets at home for our Cham. I’ll document my trials and tribulations in this thread. Wish me luck!

 

[Stlcards514]

Good luck, sounds like it should be a fun and interesting endeavor

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

1-Research

There was a a ton of research available in this forum and online. A couple I found informative include:



https://www.wikihow.com/Raise-Your-Own-Crickets



I combined advice from these and a number of forum responses for my setup.

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

2 - Supplies

Bins: Two of each. One on standby, cleaned and ready.

Main bin - one large bin containing food, water, nursery and egg laying bins. I went on the larger side to ensure I had enough space for the crickets to thrive. Also my bin is on wheels to cart off for cleaning. Sterilite 151L.

Nursery bin - Sterilite 14L. Where pinheads will grow until moving into the main bin.

Egg laying bin - Rubbermaid sandwich container.

Aluminum Screen - leftover from my terrarium built. Use gloves! You will get stuck and bleed. There was an incident….

Duct Tape to tape screen to bin covers for ventilation

Acadia Halogen Heat bulb 100W. This thing puts out some serious heat. My target temp is 88F

Temperature controller - Inkbird ITC-308.

Vermiculite - cricket substrate and odor control

Water Storing Crystals - Miracle Gro

Coco Noir - egg laying substrate.

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

3-Build

Fairly straightforward. I cut ventilation holes for the bin lids. Used the duct tape to fasten the aluminum screen into place.

For added anti-escape measures I used hot glue to seal up the screen.

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

4-Prep

I filled the the main and nursery bin with Vermiculite and the egg laying bin with coco noir. Now, I wait for my next cricket delivery. At -6 F, I wonder how many I’ll get.

 

[amf45005]

I will definitely be following you on this! I too have had terrible luck with receiving crickets for my Cham! I get all my other bugs no problem from Dubia.com but can’t find reliable crickets yet

 

[yoteango]

Good luck. Follow the guides. I tried cutting corners on a cricket bin and it failed, but now there is an accidental self sustaining population in my bioactive enclosure.

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

I will definitely be following you on this! I too have had terrible luck with receiving crickets for my Cham! I get all my other bugs no problem from Dubia.com but can’t find reliable crickets yet

Thanks! I’m definitely not a fan of adding breeding to the list and of responsibilities! But let’s see where this takes me . Stay tuned.

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

Good luck. Follow the guides. I tried cutting corners on a cricket bin and it failed, but now there is an accidental self sustaining population in my bioactive enclosure.

That would drive me nuts. I would never know how much Kam is eating! How do you do it?

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

Question. Now that I’m ready to start breeding, should there be special consideration on where the banded crickets are sourced from? I was considering Josh Frogs or Rainbowmealworms. Does it really matter where I start for a food quality feeder cricket lineage? Might be overthinking this one a bit.

 

[Wisto&Co]

Question. Now that I’m ready to start breeding, should there be special consideration on where the banded crickets are sourced from? I was considering Josh Frogs or Rainbowmealworms. Does it really matter where I start for a food quality feeder cricket lineage? Might be overthinking this one a bit.

I think any crickets that survive well (i.e. are good quality) should do. I have had good luck with Rainbowmealworms for my last batch, and I think Critter Depot banded crickets were good too (depending on where you are and which is closest). Could be that the Rainbowmealworms crickets aren't old enough in my case since I haven't seen eggs yet. But they are doing well

The Critter Depot ones laid quite a lot of eggs last time which was good for breeding. I would also order ones that aren't too small / young so you don't have to wait too long until they are mature enough to breed. Hope that helps Maybe someone else has more experience but just some ideas here

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

100W Halogen Heat lamp ran all night. Unfortunately, my max temperature never rose above 74 degrees. I guess I underestimated the heat load in the bins in my basement. After reading up on the issue, I’ve ordered an 11x17” heater pad which will go under the main bin. This is the guy I snagged off of Amazon.

 

[Raymond1412]

I could never with the crickets!!! I personally don't like them because they jump EVERYWHERE in the enclosure, and if your chameleon decides to be picky or is not hungry, the cricket will eat the chameleon alive when they are asleep!!! Idk about you, but I don't want to catch a million crickets before bedtime. However, this is now my choice. This is just something you have to consider when feeding crickets to your chameleon. Best of luck!

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

I could never with the crickets!!! I personally don't like them because they jump EVERYWHERE in the enclosure, and if your chameleon decides to be picky or is not hungry, the cricket will eat the chameleon alive when they are asleep!!! Idk about you, but I don't want to catch a million crickets before bedtime. However, this is now my choice. This is just something you have to consider when feeding crickets to your chameleon. Best of luck!

Thanks Ray. I use a Neptonion feeder and take away what is not eaten a couple of hours later. Kam is a ferocious cricket killing machine. He usually dispatches 10 or so in less than 10 minutes.

 

[Raymond1412]

Thanks Ray. I use a Neptonion feeder and take away what is not eaten a couple of hours later. Jan is a ferocious cricket killing machine. He usually dispatches 10 or so in less than 10 minutes.

That is very smart. My baby chammie used to LOVE LOVE LOVE the super fat and chonky crickets!!! Neptonion feeders are a good way to go, but I also like cricket domes! The only thing about the cricket domes is that they can get bulky if you're planning to keep it in the enclosure 24/7

 

[Sgt. Bilko]

Losing faith breeding crickets will arrive alive. Most likely will be a frozen popsicle cricket treat.

 

[amf45005]

Losing faith breeding crickets will arrive alive. Most likely will be a frozen popsicle cricket treat.

View attachment 349985

Omg tell me about it! I’ve had no luck with getting crickets! Two packages lost, one still hasn’t even shipped. If only my guys liked other bugs too haha

 

[amf45005]

I think I’m going to start this project as well. My only concern is I will breed way more crickets than what I need! Haha

 

[amf45005]

Losing faith breeding crickets will arrive alive. Most likely will be a frozen popsicle cricket treat.

View attachment 349985

Any updates?