Is my cricket keeper box OK ?

[OffshoreMetal]

Hi , Today i made a box to keep and hupefully breed my crickets.
I want to know if everything is ok ? Ill be keeping the box in my house so i made it escape proof ;-)

The whole thing

The escape proof styrophoam

Everything closed.

Ok , I know they will suffocate i this but i will open it a couple of times a day to ensure they have enough oxygen.
How much often should i open it ?
Will they breed in this setup ?
Any suggestions is greatly appreciated !

 

[OffshoreMetal]

BUMP ! Ive put almost all my crickets in this so i would like to know if it is ok.

 

[NathanSoto]

BUMP ! Ive put almost all my crickets in this so i would like to know if it is ok.

It looks good just i think there should be some sort of airflow for those times when you cant open it a sufficient amount of times for them to get oxygen, believe me they can all die fast if they dont have enough oxygen and it sucks, maybe cut a hole in the top and put some screen over it, thats what i used for air flow when i used homemade tubs oh and i didnt use a substrate though i dont think sand would harm them.

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Thanks , I have tought about the screen but for now i dont have alot. Ill just cut a small hole for now but it is still better then what i had
I had 2 LITTLE blue cage for hermit crabs, I dont know why they even sell this for a crab since it cannot even house a single hermit crab well.
Im still using one to keep a small amount of crickets that will soon be fed.
What else could they need if i want them to breed ? Do they breed at house temperature or i should put like a light bulb to heat them a little bit ?

 

[NathanSoto]

Yeah those containers for hermits are crap haha, crickets can breed at house temperature but if you really want to promote breeding its best to heat the container around 80-86 degrees and it helps incubation. I also see you are using egg cartons which are good for them but not really for laying, i got best results using little containers of dirt covered with screen, because females have an ovipositor they can lay through the screen, and it also helps to divide the young and eggs from getting eaten or dug up, id say give them about 2-3 weeks to see results with the breeding, also if you want once they lay the eggs you can take the container or whatever your using and separate it from the others so they dont really get mixed up, once they hatch seperate them as well, and feed and water them the same as the others, and lastly to prevent over inbreeding you should start the process of new adult crickets about every 4-6 months, man i wrote a lot lol anyways hope this helps.

Best regards,

Nathan

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Thanks , Ill do the screened container today . I ordered 250 1/2" crickets, They should come soon. Im sure that will be more than enough for breeding
Ill also try to look in the garage for big pieces of screen, Even if i think there no more ( i used it for my terrarium ). They made the whole night whithout opening the crisket keeper so they will be fine until i get some screen.
And should i get realy small screen ? how big are the baby crickets ?

Thanks

 

[NathanSoto]

i just used regular screen but they are tiny like ants, so small screen might be better if you are going to keep them and hatch them in the same cage.

 

[OffshoreMetal]

OHh they are sooooooo Small ! Today i found some Screen Tape. Its like a roll of tape but make of sticky screen. Since they will not breed immediatly i think i have time to buy the smallest screen i can find.

 

[NathanSoto]

OHh they are sooooooo Small ! Today i found some Screen Tape. Its like a roll of tape but make of sticky screen. Since they will not breed immediatly i think i have time to buy the smallest screen i can find.

Sounds good, also good luck with the breeding.

best regards,

Nathan

 

[OffshoreMetal]

I changed my cricket box , i added screen and a red bulb.
After i took the pictures i added two vent holes ,One on the front and one of the back.(hot side went to 45*C :yikes I didnt cheked the temp with the vent holes but i have time , I wil lreceive my cricket order near Oct 20.
Heres the pictures

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

Not bad, not bad at all. I like it in fact.

You'll need to keep a close eye on that screen, it looks like the plastic/fiberglass type that crickets can chew through. Aluminium is chew proof:biggrin:

Maurice Pudlo

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Yeah is it the fiberglass one , I tought about buying the aluminium one but it was really mroe expensive ( 20$ the roll i think , and the one i have cost me like 7-8 $ ). I should have bought the aluminium one... Ill just keep a eye on it to make sure they do not chew it. I have enough to replace if necessary

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Oh , And i noticed some dead crickets in the hot side, Alot of crickets just stay there. Can they die because they stay too long near the bulb ? Or if they are too hot they just go away ???

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

You might try shifting the food and water to the other side of the enclosure, and check the temps if you can.

I think the black lights I see most often are 100W bulbs, I'm thinking a dimmer switch with the bulb you have or lower watt bulb will get the temps down to a reasonable level if they are now in the high 80s or low 90s.

You don't have to keep them much warmer than 73 - 75 unless you need to push out a gillion crickets a week.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Thanks ! I didnt tought about the dimmer... I have a spare one so ill use it right now.
It is a 100w red light bulb so it produce a big amount of heat. It will take more time to heat with the dimmer on , But sure wont "cook" my crickets
And i use playsand in a little ontainer for my crickets to lay in, But it dries up pretty quickly and gets as hard as cement

Do the crickets need a high stack of cardboard it dont matters ? Because if i move the food and water to the cold side , Ill have to put the cardboard in the hot side and i dont really want them too close of the bulb... Just in case.

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

What I do in my cricket bins is;

1) Take the egg flats and cut them down to four rows,
(
(
cut off two rows
(
(
(
(


2) Fold this in half long ways like this,
(
(
fold here
(
(

so it looks like this
( )
( )


3) Then I place them in the bins like this, as many as is needed to get from one end of the bin to the other
( )( )( )( )( )
( )( )( )( )( )


For egg laying I now use peat moss soaked and squeezed out pretty hard, I fill an 8oz deli cup about 2/3 with this.

I place this on top of the folded egg flats with one of the cut off sections of egg flat over it so it forms a ramp and hide over the deli cup of damp peat moss.

I pull the deli every week, or two if I am not all that concerned about keeping the crickets the exact same size. Pop on a lid, place it on a warm shelf and just wait for the zillions of little ones to hatch.

I keep food/water crystals on deli lids. All of which stay on top of the egg flats very well.

Maurice Pudlo

 

[OffshoreMetal]

Thanks , It took me a little time to clearly see your "graphic" But now i see it , Its a really good idea. I dont have peat moss here but i heard sand does the job. And if i dont mind having different sizes in my container can i just leave the sand jar there ?

 

[MauricesExoticPets]

Thanks , It took me a little time to clearly see your "graphic" But now i see it , Its a really good idea. I dont have peat moss here but i heard sand does the job. And if i dont mind having different sizes in my container can i just leave the sand jar there ?

I can't say I know for sure that it would be ok to leave pinheads in with adults because I don't do it that way and have never tried.

My kid has the camera with her and will not be home for another week I did the best I could with the graphic.

Maurice Pudlo