Breeding crickets

[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.

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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.

[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!

[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.

[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.