cricket breeding

Discussion in 'Feeder Forum' started by Geekoo, May 6, 2009.

  1. Geekoo

    Geekoo New Member

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    85
    (i posted this topic in leopard gecko forum by mistake"just now found a feeder section",so if any mods here wanna delete the topic there i have no problem with that.)

    i just recently this week decided to breed my crickets i got the supplys needed and i "think" i got the genders right.
    the crickets are juusst on the brink of full adulthood and are healthy.

    thes are the supplys ive done so far---

    1.6 by 4 gallon plastic tank
    2.food-fish flakes,turtle pellets,baby food,carrots,lettus
    3.shallow water
    4.tube and egg container hide
    5.moist dirt/sand in mini box
    6.hermet crab UTH
    and as for genders i think i have 3 males and 5 females.
    it whould be greatly appritiated if some one here could find/post a pic of the two genders....
    i cant beleve how hard it is to find a gender pic for crickets

    heres a pic of my setup--

    http://s721.photobucket.com/albums/ww213/w...ricketsetup.jpg

    ..ok for some reason im unable to add pictures...ive tried
    Email & IM
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  2. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  3. justkev

    justkev Hi :) Staff Member

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    the females have an ovipositor, (the stick thing sticking out of their butt) the males do not.

    Female cricket
    [​IMG]
     
  4. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  5. Geekoo

    Geekoo New Member

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    and its as easy as that to tell em apart. :)
    mine must be on the second to last stage of adulthood...still there droppen like flys on me"dying" :)


    [​IMG]
     
  6. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  7. Geekoo

    Geekoo New Member

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    ok so one of my females have hit the adult point of the scale and my single male is still 3/4 inch...will he shed in time to reach adulthood and breed my female..?

    the female did her last shed 3 days ago,im pretty much wondering how long do they normaly live after adulthood :)


    ;) "cmon male put some petel to the metel times a waistin" :D
     
  8. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  9. beefcake

    beefcake Member

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    you arent going to establish a breeding colony with one male and one female to feed your herps... ive had hundreds of males and hundreds of females in prime mating condition... ive had everything right for them and had them lay eggs... then i incubated and HATCHED the eggs... they just grow too slow, they are too dirty. they cannabalize too much. crickets suck.. just get roaches
     
  10. JEFFREH

    JEFFREH Administrator

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  11. Crazy4Herps

    Crazy4Herps Hooked on Reptiles

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    Hear hear! How can anyone stand crickets I have yet to understand. I lasted a few months keeping crix (not breeding) before I had enough. They smell, get loose in your house, and then they die! What use is a dead cricket to an animal?
    I started breeding dubia roaches a while ago, and I love them! Yes, they scare the daylights out of me, but I use a tweezers to pick them up. They are awesome. No smell, no noise, no escapees (as long as they are contained... can't jump, fly, or climb), and they are virtually indestructable. That part can be a problem if they escape though! They are a bit pricey initially (more than crix), but they are so easy to breed if you keep the bin around 90*.
     
  12. beefcake

    beefcake Member

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    499

    just got mine today and i have to say.. they are like the cadillac of feeder insects :)
     
  13. LittleLouie

    LittleLouie Well-Known Member

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    Okay, so ya'll like your roaches. That's great. I have discoids, and I will have to disagree, at least about that variety of roach. They do smell. Whenever I disturb the colony, they let off a bad smell. Their feet and mouths also make a lot of noise at night. I keep them in my bedroom, and all night I hear scritch scratch scritch scratch gnaw gnaw gnaw gnaw. I have a run-away size colony, and my two adult geckos aren't nearly eating enough of them.

    Now that I have a couple of babies and am expecting more, I am appreciating them, because the babies are taking to them quite well. But then, I haven't offered the babies anything else yet.

    So long as I keep the crickets dry enough and give them a good water source, I have no problem with smell. I much prefer the peaceful chirp of the crickets to the gnawing of the discoids.

    That said, the discoid colony is going strong, and should be able to feed a large army of reptiles. If I forget the crickets and don't take care of them properly and provide them with fresh water and mist the egg dirt regularly, I almost have to start over again (which is what has happened most recently)

    Really though, I prefer crickets to roaches.
     
  14. Ryan1990

    Ryan1990 Well-Known Member

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    2,190
    The one thing I can't stand about crickets is the jumping! I loose so many of them so just don't use them any more (don't need to as my gecko eats super worms). If you have too many roaches why don't you try selling them, basically bunch about 20-30 simular sized ones together and advertise them on a pet/reptile classifieds for a couple of $$ and I bet someone will snatch them up quick if its a good deal. That way you keep your colony size down and get a bit of extra money :).
    Back to the origanal topic now, as long as your female is healthy and you have husbandry right then your female should last long enough. However starting with just one female will be hard and it will take more than one generation before you can start feeding them. Try get a few more females (and males if that number is as low).
     
  15. Geekoo

    Geekoo New Member

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    85
    me too if i had the extra cash ide buy roach but also like most ppl "mom" when they hear the word rouch they instently think Cock roach :)
    so far i realy dont have problems with smell nor noise,i id have smell when i used dirt for moist bedding but i switched it to planter foam block and not only do it hold water REALY well they can be used for egg laying.

    so far all 4 of my femails are mature...still my male is lagging.....is there a maturing diffrence?
     
  16. Geekoo

    Geekoo New Member

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    85
    thanks
    now i have all four femailes matured and ready ive yet to check them thismorning so ill see how my male is holding up.
    also if this number of crix fails then ill buy 100 ofline because i wqas sent a link where i can get a GREAT deal on them--->100 for 5 dollors--when normaly i buy 3 dozzen for 3 dollors.

    thanks again
     
  17. beefcake

    beefcake Member

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    499
    theres no point just buying 100 off the net, they wont last long PLUS the shipping will be more then the crix.... just not logical
     

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