I've been using potting soil but recently wanted to try vermiculite. I made the switch but cant tell if it is being used or not. Does vermiculite work for crix to lay their eggs in or should I switch back to potting soil?

I tryed vermiculite for Crix once and all they did was dig it up and scatter it around the bin

Ya I don't think Its working.

Im probably going to switch it to milled sphangum peat moss. I have some soil but I always make it too wet.

The milled peat is already full of eggs, and I put it in an hour ago.

While I was checkin I removed the vermiculite and I dumped it out. It did have some eggs but no where near what I am already seeing in the peat. I plan on leaving it in there until its almost too dry. Now as soon as I get some pinheads Ill be asking how to keep em alive

Hello,
Feed the pinheads the same foods as the adults. They can eat quite a bit, so keep them stocked so they don't go cannibalistic on one another.
They will drown themselves fairly easily if they have the ability, so try to use one of the gel moisture sources or potatoes.
Still water, sometimes even with precautionary measures, can still lead to some loss by drowning. They certainly are not the smartest insects on the planet. lol

Thats for sure! I do beleive you could have a 55 gallon tank with a thimble full of water in one corner and the silly things would still find their way into it and drown!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I consider myself a hero to crickets since I invested in the gel, I don't think I've waisted one since.

I've hatched the pinheads and put them in a seperate container but they all seemed to die after a couple days, they are in the same set up as the adults only smaller and with a screen top. I don't know if it is temps or humidity but they are right on top of the adult enclosure. I can't keep them alive through a single molt.

You'll have to keep them warmer than the adults.

And any food full of calcium or calcium supplements will make it so they cannot molt well or at all and die.

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The more you whine, the worse it will get.

I usually don't gut load with calcium like some people recommend. Instead I use a prepared diet, oatmeal, grains, fruits (mostly mango and banana) and vegetables. I was guessing that the temp was a little too cold for them as well as too dry. Im not sure of their current humidity but the adults do fine, and have been occupying the current egg medium like crazy. I think Im going to try a polyster twill (the stuff like cotton) I've heard it works great for them to lay their eggs.