Breeding Crickets
Crickets are the main food supply of most carnivorous
and omnivorous lizards. The bill for constantly buying
crickets can add up quickly. Crickets are the easiest
insect food to breed, and if you have the space, a good
idea.
Housing
For a small crop of
crickets, a 40 gallon glass
aquarium with a screen top is sufficient. As your 'colony'
grows, increasing the size of the aquarium will be needed.
Crickets need space as well as your lizards, as they can
get stressed easily. You must give them a lot of standing
room, so you must include empty egg cartons and empty
toilet paper/paper towel rolls. This allows them a lot
of standing room and hiding places. These must be changed
whenever there is a lot of excrement covering them.
Food
& Water
You will want to provide the
crickets a wide variety
of food. The more nutrition you feed your crickets means
they will be healthier, which in turn helps the lizards
you are feeding. This is called '
gut-loading'.
Provide your crickets with an assortment of fruits including
apple slices, pears, small portions of oranges, slices
of banana and cut grapes. For the vegetable side, shaved
carrots, green leaves (avoid iceberg lettuce, it has no
nutritional value), sweet potato, broccoli, beans, etc.
Dry dog/cat food is also recommended as it is high in
vitamins. You can also purchase pre-made cricket food
from you local pet store to supplement the real food.
Do not leave standing water in your cricket aquarium,
as
crickets have a habit of drowning
in the smallest amount of water. You can use a hamster
water bottle, stuffed with cotton, for the water. You
should also mix a multi-vitamin supplement into the water
supply.
Breeding
Breeding crickets will require a substrate;
something to lay their eggs within. You can cut the bottoms
off of large pop bottles, but any small container will
do. Line these with a damp substrate, like peat moss or
potting soil. Keep the substrate damp, but not overly
wet.
Temperature
Keep the temperature of the cricket enclosure between
76 degrees F to 84 degrees F.