Breeding crickets

[Dark Lady Kat]

I am considering breeding crickets for my daughters Lizards (Gecko's) and was wondering what is the life span of a cricket and how long does it take them to grow up she goes through 3-5 crickets per day per lizard 4 are small house geckos eating small crickets that are in for the winter and a leopard gecko eating large crickets we buy approximately 60 crickets a week from our local pet store and she is looking at spending her next savings on another leopard gecko so it is looking like it will in the long run be cheaper but from what I have read you have to remove the adults before the babies hatch too prevent cannibalizing of the babies or is this not necessary if there is plenty of room and food for the adults and babies. Any help appreciated or ideas and setups.

[3skulls]

The only thing I know about crickets is that they stink :p

I breed roaches, B. dubia, for my spiders, frogs etc.
You can buy them as feeders or start your own colony. I used to hate roaches but now I enjoy raising them.

Very easy without the stink, more nutrition, less chitin.

Just putting that out there :p

[Dark Lady Kat]

The only thing I know about crickets is that they stink :p

I breed roaches, B. dubia, for my spiders, frogs etc.
You can buy them as feeders or start your own colony. I used to hate roaches but now I enjoy raising them.

Very easy without the stink, more nutrition, less chitin.

Just putting that out there :p

I am not so sure I could grow roaches they creep me out even worse than worms do they are ummm unsanitary yes I know not necessarily true but its a roach LMAO I breed rats and euthanize and freeze them and I thought putting worms for the lizard in my fridge creeped me out but breeding roaches I think I will pass for now any way give me a while to think about it and I am sure I could convince my OCD and sanitary logic to shut off lol

[3skulls]

Haha
Read up on them, might change your mind.

I do remember there were some videos on cricket breeding on YouTube.

[ChrisS]

I 2nd the roach idea. Especially b.dubia. Crickets smell bad!! And babies are the best escape artists.

[Dark Lady Kat]

I 2nd the roach idea. Especially b.dubia. Crickets smell bad!! And babies are the best escape artists.

I cant I was just looking at several pictures and what if a lid gets left open by my daughter or worse if they get in my house I would move away literally I cant stand roaches in my house I am an obsessive cleaner to minimize the chances of even household roaches the thought of have hundreds and thousands that could one day just get out I would never sleep again I think I can live with crickets the cats chase those down and they would be housed outside my house crickets get out they wont try to find their way in roaches get out they are headed for my walls
sorry if it sounds way to girly but i cant do roaches not in the near future anyway maybe after a cricket experience it will be more logical in my brain my almost 6 year old daughter has turned many a cricket loose in my house and I was able to say ok its a cricket i couldnt do that with roaches

[barbie.dragon]

Dubias are much more nutritious than crickets as a feeder. Dubia roaches cannot climb surfaces either so you don have to worry about escaped roaches. Roaches are not dirty animals. They're found in dumps because there's a food source nearby and they hate light. Also dubia roaches are very slow moving and much cleaner than crickets.

[carlson]

I hear you there roaches are creepy and I hate them too! I've never liked them just a creepy little big I can't stand them walking on me

[barbie.dragon]

Dubias are much more nutritious than crickets as a feeder. Dubia roaches cannot climb surfaces either so you don have to worry about escaped roaches. Roaches are not dirty animals. They're found in dumps because there's a food source nearby and they hate light. Also dubia roaches are very slow moving and much cleaner than crickets.

The roaches you're talking about are very different from dubias. Dubias are slow, non flying and non climbing roaches. Completely different from what you're thinking. Crickets are far nastier than dubias. Search up dubia roaches instead of just cockroach. If your daughter left the container open they would not be able to come out.

[Exotic Ectotherms]

Like others have said...Dubia cannot climb smooth surfaces so even if the lid was left off they could not get out. Also, dubia are a tropical roach and cannot survive for long or reproduce in a non-tropical climate (like your house). I hated roaches too until I bred Dubia's for my beardie and my chameleon....they are VERY easy to work with and not dirty at all. I despise crickets because of the stink and the constant noise.