Getting the cricket eggs to hatch?

[Progrmor]

My 100 adults have been laying eggs in a smaller container with soil in it. I´ve seen them injecting their eggs many times. They have been doing it for 1 week now so I took it out, put it in another smaller container with nothing in it, put a 45w buld over them so it is warm and I keep the soil moist as much as I can.

I´ve been trying this method 4 times and no sucess so I must be doing something wrong
Any suggestions?
Here´s the hatch container setup:

 

[Psychobunny]

Are you sure there are eggs in it?
Because unless you put a piece of screen over the soil, the males will dig up the eggs and eat them!!

Also, it took more then 3 weeks for mine to hatch, and I had them in a 86F incubator.

Sounds like you are doing everything else right

 

[Progrmor]

Are you sure there are eggs in it?
Because unless you put a piece of screen over the soil, the males will dig up the eggs and eat them!!

Sounds like you are doing everything else right

When it is in the crickets container it has mesh over it

OKey, I guess I´ll just have to keep trying.

 

[NHenn]

My suggestion would be to wait and to also put the contain once you take it out of the cricket cage into a plastic sealed container to keep the humidity up. That could be your problem.

Also, I don't feel the mesh is necessary to keep the males from eating all the eggs, I don't use any mesh and I still end up with a ton of pinheads. Just be sure to keep enough food in the cage for them to eat that instead of the eggs.

I place moist soil in the cage with the crickets for a week, pull it out as you do and place them into tray bins as shown below. I keep all the bins in a warm closet next to the hot water heater so it stays fairly warm in there and they hatch in about 2 weeks.




These are about a week old and are from around 50 adults with one week of laying time and no mesh.

Bruce at Chameleon Paradise has some great information about breeding crickets as well. http://www.chameleonparadise.net/information/feeding-baby-chameleons/

 

[Progrmor]

My suggestion would be to wait and to also put the contain once you take it out of the cricket cage into a plastic sealed container to keep the humidity up. That could be your problem.

Also, I don't feel the mesh is necessary to keep the males from eating all the eggs, I don't use any mesh and I still end up with a ton of pinheads. Just be sure to keep enough food in the cage for them to eat that instead of the eggs.

I place moist soil in the cage with the crickets for a week, pull it out as you do and place them into tray bins as shown below. I keep all the bins in a warm closet next to the hot water heater so it stays fairly warm in there and they hatch in about 2 weeks.

View attachment 88720

View attachment 88721
These are about a week old and are from around 50 adults with one week of laying time and no mesh.

Bruce at Chameleon Paradise has some great information about breeding crickets as well. http://www.chameleonparadise.net/information/feeding-baby-chameleons/

Thanks! Great info.
but the container with the soil in it, should I dump the soil out of the container or let it be? Feels like the babies wont be able to get up out of the soil?

 

[Chameleon Company]

My 100 adults have been laying eggs in a smaller container with soil in it. I´ve seen them injecting their eggs many times. They have been doing it for 1 week now so I took it out, put it in another smaller container with nothing in it, put a 45w buld over them so it is warm and I keep the soil moist as much as I can.

I´ve been trying this method 4 times and no sucess so I must be doing something wrong
Any suggestions?
Here´s the hatch container setup:
View attachment 88716

Agreed with what Henn said, and wanted to add. It is likely that your light, and not having the container covered, is drying out the eggs too much. Use such as a Glad sandwich container, letting the crickets lay for 1-2 days, then pulling it, and putting in a fresh one. Use the lid provided, and put a 1/8" hole in the top for some oxygen exchange, then find a warm, preferably dark, place. If kept at about 90 degrees F, they will hatch in 8 days, give or take 1 day. If around 85F, then 12-14 days. And if 80F, 20+ days. As a few will escape out the hole, you should have these laying containers in a larger plastic container that they cannot climb out of.

Note: if too many females are laying on too little available medium, as you incubate those eggs, you will develop mold before the eggs hatch, which can often then kill the eggs. This is because the crickets are essentially leaving too much waste. If you see mold as you incubate, you will have to lessen the amount of laying, either with less crickets, less time allowed to lay per container, or more containers simultaneously. Or all of the above.

Peat moss or vermiculite work well also. You will have to kneed the peat moss to get it somewhat saturated, to where you can just barely squeeze a few drops out of a fistful. With the vermiculite, use a medium grade, and add about 25% water by volume (i.e. 1 part water to 4 parts vermiculite)

Not familiar enough with your exact laying medium, but you may want to try 3 laying containers simultaneously, with 3 different levels of moisture, and see which gives you the best results as you refine your system.

Good luck.

 

[SMCNARY]

Looks like you have been given all the good info you need,I don't cover my egg bins after I take them out but do mist them daily and also use a strip of egg crate as a bridge for the pinheads to climb down to their food and water crystal cups.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Looks like you have been given all the good info you need,I don't cover my egg bins after I take them out but do mist them daily and also use a strip of egg crate as a bridge for the pinheads to climb down to their food and water crystal cups.

That will work. But, once hatch begins, if one is able to arrange the hatch trays so that they are at an approximate 45% angle, such as by propping them against the side of their new containment bin, the pinhead hatchlings will migrate out just fine.

While I commend you for misting them daily, covering the hatch tray with a plastic lid, with one small hole for oxygen exchange, will eliminate the need for any added spraying while awaiting hatch.

Just trying to keep it simple ..........

 

[SMCNARY]

More good info!!!,thanks Jim and btw that girl you sent me is doing fantastic

 

[pssh]

Yeah. I think it's drying out too much. Even if you mist, the eggs can dry out before you can mist them again. I did what Jim recommended with mine and it worked out alright. Although, I once had some take 3-4 weeks to hatch even though the thermometer was giving a reading of 87 degrees! So I would keep the containers for 3-4 weeks just in case after that. I have up on crickets though. Too messy/stinky

 

[WebEviction]

Might be a little off topic haha but I breed tarantulas and it seems like I'm constantly having explosions of pinheads in all my enclosures! I keep them all at 75• and use coco fiber for sub they get misted good every couple days and it seems I get pinheads about every two weeks! I now have a tiny pair of scissors on the T shelf for clipping egg depositors