how easy is it to create and maintain a cricket colonee? do they need to be above a certain temp? what kind of set up is needed? how many should you start with? the woman at the pet store told me that it was really hard although I noticed that they seem to reproduce in the little cricket keeper that I have now. its pritty small and I think the most recomended in there at one time is like 30 or so. did that woman lie to me just so I wouldnt start my own? going to the store once or twice a week is starting to get to be a hasle.

They are not hard to keep up as long as you keep the enclosure clean and provide themw ith food/water/hiding places. They do have to be kept somewhat warm...maybe around 70 deg? I dont quite remember from my cricket breeding days. I used peat moss for them to lay their eggs in and that seemed to do the trick. As for food I fed mine organic bird food that my herp vet gave to me, I think it was called Harrisons? When in doubt--Google!!

How many do you use each month? The easy part is getting the pinheads. The harder part is growing them. To get them to grow quickly you'll need to use a heating pad under the rearing container.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa

And a word of warning.
Crickets in large numbers stink!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I dont even raise them, but having 1000 in a tank really doesnt smell great....at least the stink goes down as the numbers do....raising them is not for me lol....

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

i have a shed were I was going to raise them so smell isnt really a problem because its not even within 20 yrds of the house. i only use about 8 to ten dozen in a month but I know when my Chinese Water Dragon get bigger he will eat more. he already eats more than he was like a week or to ago. and because of the temp requirement I am going to wait till summer time to try to keep them.

Good idea. I need to build a shed sometime then I might look into breeding them again as well.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa