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 #1912846


CanaKat
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 Your Setups

I was wondering if you guys/gals could post some pics of your setups to give me some ideas. I’m new at keeping large amounts of crickets (don’t know anything, really, but I’m learning ) and I hate having so many die on me! I got sick of paying $11.50 for 25 crickets at the petstore here so I started ordering them from a breeder...but I haven’t been keeping them properly and am losing lots. I don’t want to get into breeding them but I would like to keep at least 250, if not more. Any suggestions, tips, do’s and don’ts you may have for me would be GREATLY appriciated



12/11/08  04:14pm

 #1912988


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: CanaKat   In reference to Message Id: 1912846


 Your Setups


This is an incubation tub, which goes in my homemade incubator for a couple weeks at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. I put the food and water crystals in on the day I first see pinheads hatching and place the egg crate things in so they can climb out of the lay  tubs and have a place to roost. I keep them in the incubator after hatching for about another two weeks to give them a boost in growth; its cold at night where I live. When I first put the lay tubs in the incubation  tub I also put about a half inch of dry vermiculite on the floor so they have something to walk on and absorb their feces.


This is their grow out tub, a 58 quart sterilite tub with an aluminum wire screen top. Again I put the vermiculite so they have something to walk on and to absorb the feces. About every two or three weeks I change out the vermiculite. This controls the odor. They don’t smell bad if they have clean litter. They do have a sort of sickly sweet odor but proper sanitation can keep it down to a minimum. Also provide plenty of ventilation in their tubs. When I have a big tub of adults I start giving them lay tubs containing moist vermiculite, to keep the cycle going. I leave the lay tubs in for about four days, to give the females a chance to lay plenty of eggs. It is important to cover the surface of the little lay tubs with a piece of aluminum screen so the crickets can’t dig around in it. When I put the lay tubs in the incubation tubs I remove the screens.I feed my crickets ground dry cat food (because I already have a lot of cats, too) and carrots and water crystals. I check daily for any mold on their food, as this will make them ill. They tend to poop in their food and water crystals, so I give them small amounts that can be frequently thrown out and replenished. They like to stay warm, around 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but will tolerate cooler temperatures as long as they are not too cold for too long. Put them in the warmest place in your house, on a top shelf if possible, as heat rises. All the used vermiculite is very useful in the garden. This is working out so well I have just gobs of crickets now, in all sizes.
Generally I get about a thousand crickets in a hatch so that is about how many go into the 58 quart tubs, unless I feed some of them out to my baby fencies. I am raising Western fence lizards. They are easy to breed, which is a good thing as I sure am having great success raising these crickets! LOL!
If you are interested I will post some photos of my incubator. too.
12/11/08  07:29pm

 #1914180


Rae rae
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   Message To: Greatballzofire   In reference to Message Id: 1912988


 Your Setups

wow!! 11.50 for 25 crickets!!! i guess prices are going to be drastically different in another country. i get 25 crickets here for 4.00. i don’t think i could keep that many crickets at one time, the noise would drive me insane!! lol!!
12/13/08  09:04pm

 #1914718


Clouddancer22
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   Message To: Rae rae   In reference to Message Id: 1914180


 Your Setups

I think you need to purchase crx from a different place! Have you tried the internet? There are many places that will send you $500 for that price! I have a 20gal tank for my breeders, I originally got 500 meds for about $8 and grew them to breeding size. I have different tubs for the different size crx and change them all out every two weeks or so. Read some of the other theads for info. I haven’t had to purchase crx in over two years now!
12/15/08  05:44am

 #1914750


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: Clouddancer22   In reference to Message Id: 1914718


 Your Setups

Link
Where I initially bought crickets, until my own breeding project took off.
About the noise they are reputed to make; well, I still have the Ninja Stealth Crickets, who barely make a peep, even though they reproduce like mad, and are in all other regards healthy and vigorous. I wish they would sing! I have a few wild black crickets as pets, maybe they will sing when it gets warm again this summer.
12/15/08  09:12am

 #1916497


CanaKat
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   Message To: Greatballzofire   In reference to Message Id: 1914750


 Your Setups

Thanks for the comments, etc. I have started ordering my crickets off the net...in fact I’ve totally boycotted the petstore here. It’s the only one and they see that as a right to jack their prices right up. Anyways, I order my crickets from a place not far away. I can only get no less than 250, for the same prices as the 25 I was getting locally lol. BUT 250 may be too many for me. They keep dying and when I go to take them out to feed to my girls, I can almost throw up hahaha!! The smell is soooo bad. I just bought a cricket keeper with handy tubs for easy feeding but I don’t think I can fit 250 crickets in there! I dunno what to do, I didn’t realize that when I got my beardies that I would be taking care of crickets too! I have a young son and not a lot of free time on my hands *sigh* but I’ll do what I gotta do...I love my girls too much!

P.S. Ninja Stealth Crickets?! That sounds too cool lol...but actually I kinda like the sound. Makes me feel like I’m outside, camping out under the stars!
12/18/08  01:36am

 #1917342


Oaklandrae
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   Message To: Greatballzofire   In reference to Message Id: 1912988


 Your Setups

I am about to attempt cricket breeding and would love to see pics of your homemade incubator.
12/19/08  04:57pm

 #1919267


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: Oaklandrae   In reference to Message Id: 1917342


 Your Setups


The incubation tub, which is a Styrofoam shipping box for fish. It is setting in a guinea pig cage just to keep it from being bonkeled about.


The heat mat, which is a 17 watt seed germination mat ( you could use a zoomed mat, too) the rack it sets on, the thermometer and thermostat going into the vermiculite tub (which was incubating my lizards) the white insulated shipping envelope under the lizard tub as a baffle, but I don’t use that with the crickets’ tubs, four bottle caps to keep the rack from resting on the mat anywhere.


The incubation tubs in place. The one on the right has just hatched so I have put food, water crystals, some egg crate to roost in, and strips of paper towel so they can climb out of the little tubs easily. The pinheads get a couple weeks boost in the incubator to get them going. If your house is warm (unlike mine!) you could probably just take them out of the incubator.
Write the date on the container so you can keep track. Incubate at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you see pinheads give them food and water crystals.
12/23/08  10:48am

 #1921086


Clouddancer22
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   Message To: Greatballzofire   In reference to Message Id: 1919267


 Your Setups

Wow, that whole thing looks so intimidating to me!

Canacat, it doesn’t have to be this way. I am also a single mom, with four kids, five waterdragons and a mountain horned dragon. I just have a 20g tank, with a heating pad on top, and two shoe box sized tubs on top of the pad for the hatching tub and the tiny crx.

If there is no humidity, no dead crx and no rotting veggies, they don’t stink at all. Trust me, they are in my living room! I have been doing this for nearly two years now. I also raise supers and mealies in the living room, and no one ever knows, unless I point it out.

Pm me if you have any questions, I would be glad to help.
12/27/08  09:26am

 #1921244


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: Clouddancer22   In reference to Message Id: 1921086


 Your Setups

clouddancer22,
Please post a photo of your very simple set up. Simpler is always better.
12/27/08  04:05pm

 #1932501


Clouddancer22
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   Message To: Greatballzofire   In reference to Message Id: 1921244


 Your Setups

Well this is my simple set-up I came up with two years ago. The crx are eating the oatmeal and cat food mix, I have my veggie tray in there for water and nutrition. The box is what the crx came in, I have replaced that with egg crates. You can see the laybox. They are still thriving, two years later. I now keep a heating pad on the top of the tank, covering about 2/3 of the top. I place my shoebox sized tubs on top of the heating pad, one for hatching and one for the babies. I also now have an extra tub for the med crx.



01/14/09  11:31pm

 #1933811


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: Clouddancer22   In reference to Message Id: 1932501


 Your Setups

Thanks, clouddancer22!
I do believe I will put together a similar set up in a big tub for my crickets that are in the incubator when I need the incubator again for the lizard eggs this summer.
01/17/09  08:25am


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