You’ll want to make sure that your container or tank is big enough for your cricket colony. One big mistake many people make when raising crickets is not buying a big enough container. When crickets breed in a very confined space, they actually eat one another so that there are fewer crickets to compete for resources. This isn’t something you want. Make sure to buy a big enough tank! Purchase a clear tote bin with a secure lid to keep the crickets in. High-sided plastic storage boxes are a common choice. A 14 gallon (53 L) (53 L) container can hold a colony of over 500 crickets with sufficient cardboard or egg crates to climb on. Smooth-surfaced tote bins will reduce the number of escapees. [2] X Research source
You can put screen on the surface of the soil to prevent crickets from digging or eating the eggs. Females can deposit eggs through screen using their egg laying spike (ovipositor). [5] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source
Female crickets have three long extrusions on their behind with the main one (called ovipositor) that it uses to deposit the eggs in the ground. Female crickets will also grow fully developed wings. Male crickets have two extrusions. [6] X Trustworthy Source PubMed Central Journal archive from the U. S. National Institutes of Health Go to source They have short, under-developed wings that they use to produce the familiar cricket call we hear at night.
You can treat the colony to fruit, potato slices, greens, and other vegetable matter to supplement their diet. Be sure to remove unfinished fresh foods before they mold or rot. Other, more bizarre foods may include tropical fish flakes, pond fish pellets, rabbit food (alfalfa pellets), or pretty much anything with high protein content. Try to mix the feeding up to keep your crickets happy. The health of your crickets will translate directly to the health of your pet(s). Try to supplement dry foods with fruits and vegetable scraps, as well as greens such as lettuce. This will ensure that your crickets are truly ready to be a nutritious snack for your pet(s). [8] X Research source
Try placing an inverted bottle reptile water dispenser with a sponge in the reservoir into your container. The sponge should help prevent any flooding or drowning in the tote bin. Cut one long side of a cardboard toilet roll and unfurl it to get a rectangle. Wrap this cardboard with very absorbent paper, such as paper towel, and hoist it up vertically in a corner so that it forms a kind of fort. A dish of water gel (also sold as soil substitute, e. g. “polyacrylamide”) or unflavored jello kept in a corner also makes a great watering hole.
When mating to breed, males only chirp between 55–100 °F (13–38 °C). Crickets do best when kept on the warmer side of 80–90 °F (27–32 °C).
While waiting for your crickets to lay eggs, be sure to keep the topsoil damp. Eggs that are completed dried out will die and be useless to you. Fill a mister with filtered water and periodically spray the topsoil to make sure the heat doesn’t dry it out completely.
Remember to moisten the soil in your rearing container every so often to make sure that the crickets have enough water. Consider also placing the rearing container on top of a heating pad set to 80–90 °F (27–32 °C).
Not enough space. Crickets need plenty of space to habitat and breed. If your crickets become too crowded, they will begin to feed on themselves in order to remove competitors from the ecosystem. Not enough/too much water. Crickets need more water than you may think — misting the soil and filling their water reservoirs every couple days is extremely important. At the same time, do not drown your crickets in water. Regular misting and refilling is enough. Not enough heat. Crickets like hot temperatures to live and breed in. Try to keep your container between 80 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit for optimum temperature.
