Care Sheet for CricketsAverage Rating Given To This Care Sheet Is 4.44 (1=lowest, 5=highest) Last Updated: 11/28/2003 |
Main Category: | Misc |
Sub Category: | Crickets |
Care Sheet Submitted By: | Stephr |
Years Experience: | 3 to 5 Years |
Species: | Black Field Cricket |
Other Species or Phases this Care Sheet May Cover: | Gryllus
bimaculatus |
Sexing and Characteristics: | Males use their wings to chip to attract females and warn other males. Males have only two ’feelers’ at the end of their abdomen.
Females have two ’feelers’ and an ovipositer at the end of their abdomen. The ovipositor (long tube-like organ) is used to lay eggs, and is much longer than the ’feelers’. |
Mostly Active During: | Both |
Substrate and Water Needs: | I use dry dirt about 2 inches deep for my crickets. To ensure that my crickets are adequately hydrated, I feed them plenty of greens and veggies and use my hand to flick water on the side of their cage, every other day or so. I do not use bowls or shallow lids with water, as some of the crickets always seem to find a way to drown themselves or become stuck upside down in the water, by their wings. |
Lighting and UVB: | None. |
Temperatures and Humidity: | Room temperature or a little above (70-80 degrees) works well. Keep the cage clean and dry, and they should do well. Avoid extremes; crickets need some humidity, but too much will allow mold and bacteria to grow abundantly. |
Heating and Equipment: | No heaters required. |
Caging Provided: | A ten gallon aquarium is ideal. I prefer glass to plastic, as plastic isn’t as sturdy as glass, and plastic tends to retain odors. |
Diet: | Herbivorous |
Description of Diet: | My crickets are fed a diet of various greens & veggies. They love carrots, potatoes, grass, leaves, and oats. |
Supplements, Nutrition and Usage: | There are many supplements available for crickets, many of which are "gutload" supplements, which are for ’feeder’ crickets. |
Maintenance: | I regularly change the dirt and disinfect the cage. How often you clean the cage depends on how many crickets you house. Obviously, the more crickets you have, the more often you will need to clean the enclosure; I clean mine when I notice an odor other than the dirt. |
Some Words on this Species: | Crickets can be fun to keep and breed. At night, the crickets are kept in a dark room, and in the daytime they are kept in a room where only a bit of indirect sunlight falls on their cage. |
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