Breeding crickets

[Sputnik]

I spent another fortune in a petshop yesterday, stocking up on live crickets for our beardie and the frogs. Seems a bit silly, as they can't be that hard to breed yourself. So I did a bit of googling instead of tidying (my house is still a tip and we celebrate Christmas eve... :() and found this...


Raising Crickets (http://skylab.org/~chugga/cricket/)


Looks good, ey?

[drache]

thanks for the link
I've just started breeding feeder roaches - they seem to smell much less than crickets, and they're much quieter

[zooplan]

What a nice and impressing care sheet!

[Lori P]

I keep reading that roaches are getting more popular than crickets as they don't have the smell and are hardier. Zephyr seems to be our resident roach expert on here.

[Sid]

I had seen that sheet, it is really informative. I was thinking about raising some, but opted to buy in bulk. A local shop get them for me at cost. $14.00/US per 1000. Much cheaper than buying by the count.

[Sputnik]

I've never noticed the crickets' smell. Maybe my house stinks already, but I think not. :D Are roaches more widely available in the States than in the UK?

[Lori P]

I've never looked for roaches but I keep seeing more ads for them. I never notice a smell with the crickets I buy, either, but maybe once you raise them you notice it.

[Snaky]

I know indeed some who breed roaches (dubia's) and not crickets. Apparently they are a very good meal, easier than crickets AND Dubias are really not the escape artists... Which is for some THE best reason to breed them.

I looked really quick for a link:
Dubia Roach Care and Breeding (http://www.nyworms.com/dubiacare.htm)

[anji1971]

Thanks for putting up that link-- I may give it a try for Toadie. I've often had baby crickets that hatch in his tank from the eggs the adults lay in the plant pot. But I never was able to keep them alive long enough to grow big and be eaten!:D
As far as roaches go, I have yet to see any for sale at the shop I go to.......I shall keep looking!

[reptileparadise]

I've tried breeding crickets for some time, but I never really got the hang of it. A lot of them died in the first days.
After a while, I got them through the first 2 or 3 sheds, but they just kept dying or dissapearing.

So I switched to Shelfordia tartara (spelling? ) or as they are called in holland, Red Runners.
They are red...and they run! Breeding them was just wonderfull! I bought 4 cricketcontainers (aprox 50 per container) and after 1,5 years, they where still thriving. Sadly, they are real escape artists so I got rid of them about a year ago. Even worse...I found one (adult female) last week...alive...So no more Red runners for me! Never!

After the red runner fiasco, I didn't have the guts to breed raoches. But a few months ago, I bought some B. dubia. Wonderfull animals. They take a lot of time to really get going, but when you have a nice colony, they should be excellent!
I have had them for two months now and I guess I've got around 200 to 300 babies. A few more months (5 or 6 or something) and I might start using them as food.

[Zephyr]

GO FOR THE FEEDER ROACHES!!!

Might I suggest B. discoidalis or B. dubia for your beardie and Blatta lateralis (Shelfordella tartara) for your tree frogs?

Lateralis are good escape artists, but this is only because they are good at finding faults in careless husbandry. Using a small sterilite container with micro screen glued for ventilation and about 3 inches between the top of any tank decoration/accessory, you should be able to keep them in their tank and breed them. Use some peat moss with potting soil for humidity as they are egg layers. Keep the temps at room temp for a good, steady flow of nymphs or higher for them to start cranking them out. These guys lay egg cases. VERY soft bodied and ideal for amphibians.

Discoids...
These are very easy to rear. They give live birth and need no substrate. They get to about 1 1/2 inches and are a favorite of beardies.

Dubias...
These, from personal and other's experience, either do really well or really badly. You will most likely be able to purchase adult males and females, and a few weeks after purchasing will find you are overwhelmed with bebies. XD
They are live bearing and can be cared for the same as discoidalis.

Contact Us (http://www.doubleds.org/contactus.html)
This page shows how feeder roaches are nutritionally superior to crickets. *Plus, there's a lot of back breaking labor in raising crickets, where roaches thrive on neglect. ;D* ((PLUS PLUS, 1 adult discoid or dubia = the size of 5-7 crickets.))

[Zephyr]

BTW, you can order some starter colonies from me. :D

[Zephyr]

I keep reading that roaches are getting more popular than crickets as they don't have the smell and are hardier. Zephyr seems to be our resident roach expert on here.
LOL
I just noticed this post. XD
15+ species and 10 more coming after Christmas! :D

[drache]

I just got into the roaches and I so much prefer them over crickets
I used to get 500 crix at a time and they smelled
I've got three roach species right now:
Blaptica Dubia, which are live bearers and can't climb (or escape)
Blatta Lateralis, which are egg layers and can't escape either and they're a cool colour
Nauphoeta cinerea - those can climb, but are easily foiled and they're live bearers too
all of these have required less work than crickets and breed relentlessly as long as they're kept warm enough

[Zephyr]

I love lobsters. ^^
I've got a colony 10000 strong. ^^

[jewel-dragons]

we breed roaches and crickets.... and that's going perfect....

[Loren]

I started with a few dubias a couple months ago- still waiting for the colony to build.
I have bred crickets in the past but found it to be alot of work. I'm sure there is a better system out there that makes it easier, but in the meanwhile I also started buying bulk- box of 500 half grown crickets for 8 or 9 bucks, lasts me for 2-3 weeks. So, I figure if I eat sandwiches instead of buying a lunch for a couple days at work each week, I can call it even.
I keep them in a large sterilite tub(66 qt?) with a large panel of screen taped over a large hole in the lid. Not really any escapes, and I feed them carrots and alittle bit of collared greens. They live really long for me that way.
I have also started cutting down on insect eaters- mostly just snakes on my wishlist anymore- and a separate shed for raising rodents.

[Loren]

I also raise mealworms. They are a piece of cake to raise.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/My_mealworm_farm.JPG

[tikichick]

What's the red stuff?

[Loren]

What's the red stuff?

The large red chunks are carrots. They get all of their moisture through carrots. I use oatmeal for the main food. I have them in a large 3 drawer sterilite storage set-up. In the drawer in the pic, I ground up the oatmeal in the blender- makes it easier to pick through. The 2nd drawer is also full of mealworms- didnt grind up the oatmeal in it(works fine either way). The 3rd drawer is where I am raising dubia roaches.
I just put a bunch of oatmeal, and put a few chunks of carrot in each week or so. I also lay a few paper towels on top, as they like to congregate under them. I never clean it- only top off the oatmeal occasionally(it lasts a really long time), and toss any carrots that get nasty. It just keeps itself going. Had it going for a few years now, and could probably feed all of my insect eaters out of it, but I like crickets as the main diet for some of my lizards.
All you need to do to start a farm is set up a container like that one(any sterilite type container will work,just so it has some ventilation), add a handfull of mealworms, and let them turn into beetles and they will mate and lay eggs in the oatmeal. Dont use the supersized mealworms- they have been given a hormone that keeps them from morphing into the beetles- thats why they get so big.

[tikichick]

Ahh, carrots, nice! Probably lasts longer than potatoes ;)

Blending the oatmeal - great idea!!

[Lori P]

Hey, what kind of beetles do mealworms turn into??

[Stefan-A]

Mealworm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenebrio_molitor)

[Lori P]

Thanks Stefan! They're the worms in tequila candy-- lol-- ewwww.

[tikichick]

LOL I didn't realize that! EW EW EW!!!

[Loren]

Ahh, carrots, nice! Probably lasts longer than potatoes ;)

Blending the oatmeal - great idea!!

Carrots stay decent for several days- even at 80 degrees. Not that I would eat them after that.
I use them as the main food and water source for my crickets and as the main water source for my roaches as well. I occasionally supplement scraps of collared greens or whatever other greens I feed my desert lizards.

[Sputnik]

BTW, you can order some starter colonies from me. :D

I'd take you up on that if you didn't live on the other side of the world! :D

Anyone know where I could get starter colonies from in the UK?
Do you know, almighty James? There isn't much you don't know the answer to...:cool:

[adamanteus]

Anyone know where I could get starter colonies from in the UK?
Do you know, James?

I can find out for you, Esther.;)

[Sputnik]

Thanking you very muchly. :D

[adamanteus]

Anything for you! http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/images/smilies/flirt.gif

[adamanteus]

Here you go, Esther.:)
Cockroaches for sale (http://www.exotic-pets.co.uk/cockroaches-for-sale.html)

[Zephyr]

Hmm... UK roaches...
I came across a site a while ago, lemme find it...
**Edit- BLAST YOU JAMES. That's the site. XD

[Sputnik]

Oooh, what quick service! Thanks again. ;)

So if I got some Turkistan and some Lobster roaches I'd be making a wise move?

[Zephyr]

However, although James beat me to the site, I can beat him to some advisories. :P
The roach they have advertised as false death's heads may actually be Blaberus fusca *the dwarf cave roach* or an odd hybrid that's been floating around the trade for a while now that has been mislabeled as discoid.
The hissers they have are G. oblongata, not portentosa, and finally their lobster roaches may actually be H. flexivitta, the giant lobster cockroach.

[adamanteus]

Somebody really knows their roaches!:eek:

[Zephyr]

I've never been good at identifying lobster from giant lobsters though.
It's a regular Russian roulette with UK roaches. XD

[Sputnik]

A bit like you and your spiders, James, ey?


Which ones do you think I should order for our bearded dragon and the tree frogs?

[adamanteus]

Just love my European spiders!:D No offence intended, but roaches are something I would just put my heel on!:eek:

[adamanteus]

Of course, I'm joking Kyle. I have nothing but respect for anyone who has an in-depth knowledge of their chosen subject.

[Zephyr]

http://www.minizoo.donetsk.ua/petiverianaM.jpg

Somehow I don't believe you'd put your heel on that. ;D

[Sputnik]

Ok, now that's cute! You don't expect me to feed that to anything or anyone, do you?

[Zephyr]

Of course, I'm joking Kyle. I have nothing but respect for anyone who has an in-depth knowledge of their chosen subject.Y thnk u.
Your response was a lot better than some of the others I've had. x.x

[adamanteus]

That's lovely! Have you got half a dozen more of those? I'm thinking 'shirt buttons'!:D

[Zephyr]

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q152/Matt_Kaplinsky/Bug%20Things/LuridaY1.jpg
<3

[Sputnik]

Please, you two, just tell me what to get, then get back to your roachy chat,lol.

[Zephyr]

Whoa, big image. x.x

[adamanteus]

Hey, don't ask me! Ask Kyle!

[Sputnik]

Kyle, pleeeeeeeease... :D

[Zephyr]

Please, you two, just tell me what to get, then get back to your roachy chat,lol.
For your tree frogs, it's really a matter of preference. Lobsters can climb, so maybe that would be more appetizing to the frogs, but turkistans are softer bodied and higher in protein, but can't climb. Also turks are egg layers, so your setup would have to be a bit different.
As for the beardie, a small colony of those "discoids" they have would work nicely, although it would take about 6 months to get fully established, whereas a massive colony of lobsters would do good as well.

[Zephyr]

Judging from what the site has, I would DEFINATELY buy 5-6 cultures of turkistans from them. That's a great price.

[adamanteus]

Kyle, do you keep roaches just as feeders or for their own sake too?

[Zephyr]

Started as feeders, grew to a hobby. *I've got 15 species and 15+ are being shipped as we "speak". :P*

[adamanteus]

Wow. I think you should start a whole new thread, featuring photos of your roaches. Maybe educate us all a little. Would you do that?

[Zephyr]

Wow. I think you should start a whole new thread, featuring photos of your roaches. Maybe educate us all a little. Would you do that?
Do I have to re-arrange the roach rack again? XD

[Zephyr]

Um, where should this topic go? XD

[adamanteus]

Um, where should this topic go? XD

The Garter Snake Lounge is as good as anywhere, Kyle.:)

[Sputnik]

Stupid site won't let me checkout. :mad: