If you have a pet that feeds on insects, you may have valued the option of creating a cricket colony and are looking for a cricket hatchery for sale to start your own community. It is very important to highlight the importance of looking for cricket farms in Spain or in any other country and never remove them from the environment, because in addition to causing an environmental impact, we could spread pathologies to our pets.
In this article on our site we will show you how to raise crickets, explaining in detail how to care for crickets at home and achieve a stable colony productive and he althy. With this you will achieve enough savings to soundproof the room or the place destined to contain the boxes that will contain the colony and will be enough to ensure the protein intake in the feeding of a bearded dragon, for example.
Necessary material
To breed crickets correctly, you must have a couple of plastic containers of between 30 and 50 liters each. The size will depend on the number of crickets you wish to breed. The first container should be used for breeding and breeding. The second container should be used for the incubation of the cricket eggs.
It is convenient that the containers have high walls to minimize the risk of some of your crickets escaping and deciding to stay in your own home. A 50 liter container is appropriate for about 400 specimens to live together. If it is less, the number of tenant crickets should be reduced in proportion.
If you decide to start your own cricket farm on a more modest basis, which I highly recommend, a shoe box will be optimal for holding up to 9 crickets. Don't try to infuriate more crickets because then they will eat each other (I also say this from my own horrifying experience). Crickets are clear that in a small space it is convenient to eliminate the maximum number of competitors to access the finite resources of their environment. You will need a second shoebox for the eggs to hatch.
Modifying the boxes
Boxes, both large and small, will need some modifications to prevent escape, as well as proper feeding of your cricket colony.
In large plastic containers, make holes in the plastic lid (round or square) of about 15 cm. in diameter, or side if the shape is square. Cover these holes with metal mosquito netting, since the plastic can be bitten and broken by its powerful jaws. Secure the mosquito net with duct tape to make it removable. This way you can put and remove the food from the colony.
Obviously in shoe boxes the holes will be smaller: 3 cm. in diameter or on each side. With such a small hole you will have to use a funnel to deliver the food.
Background Substrate
At the bottom of the boxes you will deposit a substrate of vermiculite or cork granules. Under this substrate you will put a layer of activated carbon of 0.5 cm.of thickness. The layer of vermiculite or cork should be between 3 and 7 cm. thick, depending on the size of the container.
This substrate should be changed frequently, as crickets produce a bad smell. Dead crickets should be removed on a daily basis. Otherwise, epidemics can occur that wipe out the entire colony.
Egg Laying Containers
Inside the tanks or boxes that house the cricket colonies, small containers with relatively high walls filled with surface soil without pesticides should be placed.
These smaller containers should be covered with metal mosquito netting, so that the female crickets can lay their eggs through an organ called the ovipositor, through the holes in the mosquito netting. In this way the eggs will be protected from the cannibalism that crickets use against their own species.
The soil in this smaller container should be kept slightly moist.
Once the eggs have been laid, the small container must be moved to another container or box, to hatch the eggs and give birth to the tiny cricket pups (the size of a grain of sand).
Feeding crickets in captivity
Have you ever wondered what house crickets eat? It is important that the crickets have a flat plastic container (its size will depend on the cricket colony) in which we will add commercial food for crickets,vegetables fresh greens, fruit or potato slices. Food must be mixed for a he althy diet. It is vital to always remove old food before renewing it. In this way, diseases that can spread among the colony will be avoided.
Fresh and renewed water must never be lacking in the colony. For the water you should use a plate with a damp sponge. Excess moisture can cause mold, mites or flies. Lack of moisture can prevent your colony from thriving.
Temperature
The ideal temperature for breeding crickets should be between 25º and 32º. 27º is the optimal temperature for reproduction. The optimum temperature for the cricket eggs to incubate will be 29º.
There are different ways to heat cricket pots. One of them would be a heater for reptiles. Another form can be an electric mat on which the containers are deposited. For the shoe box a nearby light bulb may be enough.
Reproduction
The colony should start with 30-50 crickets if you use the large containers. Or with 9 if you use the shoebox. Once you have confined the crickets to their container, after 2 weeks you will notice the females begin to lay eggs in the small containers with shallow soil. These eggs are about the size of half a grain of rice.
When the earthen container is full of eggs, you should move it to the breeding tank or box. Remember that the optimal temperature for incubation is 29º, and that the soil with the eggs should be slightly moistened with a spray bottle of mineral water (without chlorine). Lack of moisture will dry out the eggs and they will not hatch; excess moisture will cause mold and lead to the death of the little crickets.
When you remove the container with soil from the tank or breeding box, you should put a new one with surface soil and metal mosquito netting so that the female crickets can continue laying eggs. In the colony the number of females should predominate over the males.
Growth of crickets
When the crickets are large enough, move them to the container or breeding box. Do not forget that the excess of individuals causes them to attack and devour each other. Therefore, you will have to control this aspect of cricket breeding a lot. Every five or six months replace the hatchery with new crickets, to avoid inbreeding
