Post by Pooka on Nov 10, 2004 14:20:33 GMT -5
Hey all,
I figured to get this new section off to a good start I would post a care sheet of sorts for something to pin to the top. I selected the common cricket and found a great care/breeding sheet at www.justbugs.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=31
Here is a quote from that page:
Suggested Supplies for Rearing:
2 Large Plastic storage containers - 'Rubbermaid' or similar (Breeding containers)
3 Medium sweater boxes (Rearing containers)
6 - 500 ml ( 1 pint) plastic tubs (Nesting and food containers)
egg 'flats'
Heat pad (optional) - medical types available at most drug stores work well
Water dispenser - small chick waterer available at feed shops or specialty pet shops.
Several jar lids
Quilt batting or plastic scouring pads
Aluminum mosquito screening
Setup: The breeding colony is housed in one of the deep (26" x 14" x 16" deep) plastic storage boxes with egg flats inserted vertically throughout except for about 6 inches at one end where the water dispenser is located. Other containers may be adapted for this use. No substrate of any kind is placed in the bottom of this container. Holes (4" x 4") are cut in opposite ends of the breeding container and covered with metal mosquito screening secured with duct tape, to provide ventilation. (Do not use fiberglass screening, the crickets will soon eat through it and escape! Catching 1000 crickets loose in your apartment is not a task I would recommend, although I have done it, once). The water dispenser is a commercial chick waterer which is essentially a plastic jar inverted over a circular trough which holds the water. Plastic scouring pads or Dacron quilt batting should be cut to fill the trough. They will soak up water, making it available to the crickets while preventing them from drowning. The egg flats should reach to within about 4" of the top of the container. On top of these are placed two plastic tubs, such as sour cream or yogurt is purchased in. One contains food and the other contains egg laying medium. (See specific sections for descriptions of each). A heat pad is placed on top of the lid of the storage box to provide adequate warmth. Crickets thrive at temperatures higher than the average house temperature. They prefer 80-90 degrees F (26-32 C). If you place them in a warm herp room this should provide them with enough heat. At lower temperatures they will survive and even breed, but yields will be much reduced. They also seem to live longer at lower temperatures, something to keep in mind if you find yourself with an excess which you want to keep alive as long as possible.
Maintenance of the breeding colony comprises of filling the food, keeping the nesting material damp and filling the water when empty. A 1 liter waterer will last 4-5 weeks. Every 2 months or so, the entire colony and fixtures should be moved to the second container. The cricket waste and ex-crickets can then be dumped out of the first container and it can be washed. It is best to do this outside, if possible, as escapes are inevitable. Over time, cricket droppings will accumulate on the egg cartons and the cartons will need replacing. The egg cartons are most easily handled if they are glued together in sets of 4 or 5 for easy removal from the container.
Feeding:
Feeding the crickets the right diet is important for two reasons. Firstly the crickets need adequate nutrition to survive and breed. Secondly, the nutrition from the crickets will be passed on to your reptiles or amphibians and so it is important to keep them healthy. Crickets require a high-protein diet. Without, and often with, an adequate diet the crickets will prey on each other.
Commercial cricket foods are available in large and small quantities. The large sacks of cricket chow may not be available everywhere, check with a local feed store. The smaller jars of cricket food sold at pet shops are very expensive and I have heard mixed results about some brand's quality and acceptability to the crickets. Tropical fish flakes have also been recommended as food but the expense is astronomical if you are raising a large number of crickets.
Breeding:
As long as the crickets have food, water and a high temperature they will breed profusely. Their natural nesting material is damp soil and so to duplicate this. A 500ml (one pint) plastic tub full of moist nesting material is placed on top of the egg cartons in the breeding container. The nesting material can be damp sand, peat moss or my favorite 'turf'. 'Turf' or 'tuff' (it is similar to coarse bonsai soil) is a landscaping material consisting of small clay based pellets which retain water well. It does not mold as easily as peat moss.
Since the crickets have no other substrate in the cage, the crickets tend to burrow into the nesting medium and disturb the eggs. However, if it is packed gently, the crickets will only disturb the top ½" or so and lay their eggs below. Use a container at least 2-3" deep so the crickets can lay their eggs down below, where they will not be disturbed. One or more of these containers can be placed in with the crickets. No matter how many containers of nesting material are placed in the container, the crickets will inevitably lay some eggs around the water dish. These generally will not hatch.
The nesting material requires constant attention. It must be checked every few days and sprayed if dry. Peat will need to be checked far more frequently than 'turf'. The nesting material can dry rapidly due to the heat pad above it. Once a batch of eggs is completely desiccated it is useless.
After 4-7 days the nesting material will be positively packed with oblate white eggs positioned vertically about 1-2" below the soil surface. The nesting dish should then be removed and incubated.
Incubation of the Eggs:
To incubate the eggs, the original lid is placed on the nesting container and it is placed on the heat pad on top of the breeding container. In about 7-10 days it will be swarming with pinhead crickets and should then be moved to a rearing container. At this time, the nesting container in with the breeding colony can be removed and replaced with a new one.
Rearing the Babies:
Once the eggs begin to hatch, the nesting container is moved to a small sweater box (16" x 8" x 4"). The lid of this should have holes drilled into it about 1" apart. There is little chance that the baby crickets will escape en masse through the holes, the boxes are usually too slippery for them to climb and they have little interest in leaving the food and warmth at the bottom of the container. If there is concern about escapees, a strip of wide cello-tape or packing tape can be fastened around the entire inside rim of the container. This is so slippery that the crickets will never climb it. A few small pieces of egg carton, a jar lid full of food and a jar lid with cotton wool and water are also placed in the container.
The nesting material must be kept damp and warm while the batch of crickets hatches - which can take up to a week. Snap the lid off the nesting container before placing it in the rearing box, but set it loosely back on top, with spaces for the baby crickets to get out. Without a cover, the nesting material will dry out and the water will condense inside the rearing container, drowning the baby crickets. If this is a problem, even with a covering on the nesting container, place the lid loosely on the rearing container with a gap to allow the water to evaporate. Put the nesting container at one end or the rearing container and place it on top of the heat pad to keep it warm.
Thus it is possible to heat the breeding colony, incubate several batches of eggs, and raise a batch of eggs, all on the same heating pad, within a small area. The rearing containers require more attention than the breeding colony, and the water dish must be kept damp with a spraying at least every two days. There is no doubt room for improvement in this stage of the described process.
Once the eggs have all hatched, the nesting dish is removed, the nesting material is discarded and the container recycled. Recycling the nesting material can cause problems with mold and small, mite-like insects infesting it.
The batch of hatchling crickets can be raised in the sweater box until about 1/2" long. The end result is a batch of several hundred to possibly thousands of small crickets, all of similar size, and all contained within their individual rearing container. Successive batches of crickets, each of a different size are then available to feed to your collection. The number of batches will depend on the desired output and size. Additional heating pads can be used to warm stacks of growing crickets.
Once the crickets have reached 1/4", about 50-75 should be returned to the breeding container. This is extremely important. The adults live for only a few weeks and if the breeding colony is not replenished regularly it will die out or contain only small crickets, unable to breed yet.
Although these instructions for breeding crickets may sound extensive, an established colony as described can be maintained with only a few minutes of attention every few days. It must be stressed that constant care and attention is required. If you have only a few animals it may be better to purchase half-sized crickets in bulk and keep and feed them as outlined here. (Purchasing large numbers of mature crickets is not recommended unless you can use them in 3-4 weeks - their average life span). The set up as described has been found to be more than adequate to supply several hundred small (pinhead to 1/8") crickets and a few dozen adult crickets weekly. Larger outputs are possible and several breeding colonies can be set up if you have the space and the need.
I figured to get this new section off to a good start I would post a care sheet of sorts for something to pin to the top. I selected the common cricket and found a great care/breeding sheet at www.justbugs.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=31
Here is a quote from that page:
Suggested Supplies for Rearing:
2 Large Plastic storage containers - 'Rubbermaid' or similar (Breeding containers)
3 Medium sweater boxes (Rearing containers)
6 - 500 ml ( 1 pint) plastic tubs (Nesting and food containers)
egg 'flats'
Heat pad (optional) - medical types available at most drug stores work well
Water dispenser - small chick waterer available at feed shops or specialty pet shops.
Several jar lids
Quilt batting or plastic scouring pads
Aluminum mosquito screening
Setup: The breeding colony is housed in one of the deep (26" x 14" x 16" deep) plastic storage boxes with egg flats inserted vertically throughout except for about 6 inches at one end where the water dispenser is located. Other containers may be adapted for this use. No substrate of any kind is placed in the bottom of this container. Holes (4" x 4") are cut in opposite ends of the breeding container and covered with metal mosquito screening secured with duct tape, to provide ventilation. (Do not use fiberglass screening, the crickets will soon eat through it and escape! Catching 1000 crickets loose in your apartment is not a task I would recommend, although I have done it, once). The water dispenser is a commercial chick waterer which is essentially a plastic jar inverted over a circular trough which holds the water. Plastic scouring pads or Dacron quilt batting should be cut to fill the trough. They will soak up water, making it available to the crickets while preventing them from drowning. The egg flats should reach to within about 4" of the top of the container. On top of these are placed two plastic tubs, such as sour cream or yogurt is purchased in. One contains food and the other contains egg laying medium. (See specific sections for descriptions of each). A heat pad is placed on top of the lid of the storage box to provide adequate warmth. Crickets thrive at temperatures higher than the average house temperature. They prefer 80-90 degrees F (26-32 C). If you place them in a warm herp room this should provide them with enough heat. At lower temperatures they will survive and even breed, but yields will be much reduced. They also seem to live longer at lower temperatures, something to keep in mind if you find yourself with an excess which you want to keep alive as long as possible.
Maintenance of the breeding colony comprises of filling the food, keeping the nesting material damp and filling the water when empty. A 1 liter waterer will last 4-5 weeks. Every 2 months or so, the entire colony and fixtures should be moved to the second container. The cricket waste and ex-crickets can then be dumped out of the first container and it can be washed. It is best to do this outside, if possible, as escapes are inevitable. Over time, cricket droppings will accumulate on the egg cartons and the cartons will need replacing. The egg cartons are most easily handled if they are glued together in sets of 4 or 5 for easy removal from the container.
Feeding:
Feeding the crickets the right diet is important for two reasons. Firstly the crickets need adequate nutrition to survive and breed. Secondly, the nutrition from the crickets will be passed on to your reptiles or amphibians and so it is important to keep them healthy. Crickets require a high-protein diet. Without, and often with, an adequate diet the crickets will prey on each other.
Commercial cricket foods are available in large and small quantities. The large sacks of cricket chow may not be available everywhere, check with a local feed store. The smaller jars of cricket food sold at pet shops are very expensive and I have heard mixed results about some brand's quality and acceptability to the crickets. Tropical fish flakes have also been recommended as food but the expense is astronomical if you are raising a large number of crickets.
Breeding:
As long as the crickets have food, water and a high temperature they will breed profusely. Their natural nesting material is damp soil and so to duplicate this. A 500ml (one pint) plastic tub full of moist nesting material is placed on top of the egg cartons in the breeding container. The nesting material can be damp sand, peat moss or my favorite 'turf'. 'Turf' or 'tuff' (it is similar to coarse bonsai soil) is a landscaping material consisting of small clay based pellets which retain water well. It does not mold as easily as peat moss.
Since the crickets have no other substrate in the cage, the crickets tend to burrow into the nesting medium and disturb the eggs. However, if it is packed gently, the crickets will only disturb the top ½" or so and lay their eggs below. Use a container at least 2-3" deep so the crickets can lay their eggs down below, where they will not be disturbed. One or more of these containers can be placed in with the crickets. No matter how many containers of nesting material are placed in the container, the crickets will inevitably lay some eggs around the water dish. These generally will not hatch.
The nesting material requires constant attention. It must be checked every few days and sprayed if dry. Peat will need to be checked far more frequently than 'turf'. The nesting material can dry rapidly due to the heat pad above it. Once a batch of eggs is completely desiccated it is useless.
After 4-7 days the nesting material will be positively packed with oblate white eggs positioned vertically about 1-2" below the soil surface. The nesting dish should then be removed and incubated.
Incubation of the Eggs:
To incubate the eggs, the original lid is placed on the nesting container and it is placed on the heat pad on top of the breeding container. In about 7-10 days it will be swarming with pinhead crickets and should then be moved to a rearing container. At this time, the nesting container in with the breeding colony can be removed and replaced with a new one.
Rearing the Babies:
Once the eggs begin to hatch, the nesting container is moved to a small sweater box (16" x 8" x 4"). The lid of this should have holes drilled into it about 1" apart. There is little chance that the baby crickets will escape en masse through the holes, the boxes are usually too slippery for them to climb and they have little interest in leaving the food and warmth at the bottom of the container. If there is concern about escapees, a strip of wide cello-tape or packing tape can be fastened around the entire inside rim of the container. This is so slippery that the crickets will never climb it. A few small pieces of egg carton, a jar lid full of food and a jar lid with cotton wool and water are also placed in the container.
The nesting material must be kept damp and warm while the batch of crickets hatches - which can take up to a week. Snap the lid off the nesting container before placing it in the rearing box, but set it loosely back on top, with spaces for the baby crickets to get out. Without a cover, the nesting material will dry out and the water will condense inside the rearing container, drowning the baby crickets. If this is a problem, even with a covering on the nesting container, place the lid loosely on the rearing container with a gap to allow the water to evaporate. Put the nesting container at one end or the rearing container and place it on top of the heat pad to keep it warm.
Thus it is possible to heat the breeding colony, incubate several batches of eggs, and raise a batch of eggs, all on the same heating pad, within a small area. The rearing containers require more attention than the breeding colony, and the water dish must be kept damp with a spraying at least every two days. There is no doubt room for improvement in this stage of the described process.
Once the eggs have all hatched, the nesting dish is removed, the nesting material is discarded and the container recycled. Recycling the nesting material can cause problems with mold and small, mite-like insects infesting it.
The batch of hatchling crickets can be raised in the sweater box until about 1/2" long. The end result is a batch of several hundred to possibly thousands of small crickets, all of similar size, and all contained within their individual rearing container. Successive batches of crickets, each of a different size are then available to feed to your collection. The number of batches will depend on the desired output and size. Additional heating pads can be used to warm stacks of growing crickets.
Once the crickets have reached 1/4", about 50-75 should be returned to the breeding container. This is extremely important. The adults live for only a few weeks and if the breeding colony is not replenished regularly it will die out or contain only small crickets, unable to breed yet.
Although these instructions for breeding crickets may sound extensive, an established colony as described can be maintained with only a few minutes of attention every few days. It must be stressed that constant care and attention is required. If you have only a few animals it may be better to purchase half-sized crickets in bulk and keep and feed them as outlined here. (Purchasing large numbers of mature crickets is not recommended unless you can use them in 3-4 weeks - their average life span). The set up as described has been found to be more than adequate to supply several hundred small (pinhead to 1/8") crickets and a few dozen adult crickets weekly. Larger outputs are possible and several breeding colonies can be set up if you have the space and the need.
