I keep crickets in a deep sterilite container with a big hole cut in the top and wire screen (not plastic or vinyl because they can chew through that) secured over it to allow proper ventilation. You don't have to use bedding but I put about 1 inch of dry oatmeal in the bottom which they like to eat. Put some old paper towel or toilet paper rolls in there for hides and some old small aluminum pie tins or jar tops in there to hold a slice of potato and some chopped up carrots for food. For water I like the cricket gel that they can't drown themselves in. I've used cotton before but it get's nasty... One thing to note is if they are kept very warm, they will not live as long. Also, you want to keep it pretty dry in there, humidity kills them and makes everything moldy and gross. Breeding your own crickets is really easy too and you can always sell off the extras to bait shops or pet stores to offset the cost. If done correctly, you can actually end up with a few bucks in your pocket and plenty of crickets for your herps!